Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/30/008 F

Address :
24 Joy Street Belfast County Antrim BT2 8LE

Townland:
Town Parks

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
18/03/1985 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130/13SE

IG Ref:
J3409 7388

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Owner Category

Housing Association

Exterior Description And Setting

Mid-terrace three-storey redbrick house, built c.1840. Rectangular on plan facing west lining the east side of Joy Street forming part of a terrace of nine similar houses. Alterations carried out by Hearth Housing Association c.1985. Pitched natural slate roof with roll-moulded black clay ridge tiles and two rendered brick chimneystacks with clay pots. Cast-iron guttering to brick eaves course and cast-iron downpipe. Redbrick walling laid in Flemish bond with cement pointing and moulded plinth course. Square-headed window openings with rendered reveals, painted masonry sills and replacement 6/6 timber sash windows. Front elevation is two windows wide with a round-headed door opening having a moulded surround with keystone, scribed pilasters and impost mouldings and a replacement timber panelled door with decorative panels, lintel cornice and replacement fanlight opening onto a concrete step. Iron bootscraper set within the wall with rendered surround. North side elevation abutted by adjoining house No.22 (HB26/30/008E). Rendered rear elevation abutted by a single-storey return and having square-headed and round-headed window openings wtih replacement 6/6 timber sash windows. South side elevation abutted by adjoining house No.26 (HB26/30/008G). Setting: Forming part of a terrace of nine similar houses lining the east side of Joy Street. Roof Natural slate RWG Cast-iron Walling Redbrick Windows Replacement timber sash

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

No. 24 Joy Street is one of a terrace of seven three-storey Georgian houses which first appear on the 1858 edition of the Ordnance Survey map for Belfast (HB26/30/008A-G); however it is certain that the terracewas erected sometime prior to 1858 during the late Georgian period and the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps shows that construction of the neighbouring buildings in the area (such as nos 36-46 Hamilton Street HB26/30/009A-F) had begun by 1832-33. Joy Street had certainly been constructed by 1843 when the Belfast Street Directories first recorded the terrace, although at that time Joy Street was numbered differently. In 1852 the Belfast Street Directory recorded that No. 24 Joy Street was occupied by a Ms. Maria Wetherhead who, like many of the other properties in the area, operated a boarding house from the address. In 1859 Griffith’s Valuation noted that No. 24 was let by Ebenezer Crawford (who also owned the rest of the terrace) to a Mrs. Mary Porter at annual rent of £18; the valuer described the house as a three-storey B+ class (‘not new but in sound repair’) dwelling which measured 6 by 8 yds and was valued at £16. The Annual Revisions indicate that Mrs. Porter continued to occupy No. 24 Joy Street until c. 1905, however the Belfast Street Directories record that the house was occupied by John Smith, a coach builder, and a Mrs. Andrews in 1877 and 1880 respectively. The Annual Revisions also record that in 1884 the house was reduced in value to £14; although it is not known why No. 24 was revalued the entire terrace was similarly devalued in the same year. The 1901 Census records that Jane O’Neill, a widowed boarding-house landlady, had come into possession of the house by 1901. Many of the boarders who lodged in the area were musical artists or actors who performed in the nearby music halls and theatres; indeed two of the boarders recorded in the census of that year were of this profession, ‘English Music Hall Artists.’ The 1901 Census Building Returns described No. 24 Joy Street as a 2nd class dwelling which possessed six rooms, however by 1911 the number of rooms had increased to nine and the house was described as a 1st class dwelling. In 1900 around the time Jane O’Neill was first recorded as occupant No. 24 Joy Street was again reduced in value to £12 10s. however by 1906 this value had increased to £14 around the same time a Ms. Charlotte Harding purchased the entire terrace from Ebenezer Crawford. Mrs. Julia O’Neill occupied No. 24 Joy Street until at least 1918 and she was still recorded as occupant in the Annual Revisions when they ended in 1930. In 1920 Charlotte Harding put nos. 14-26 Joy Street up for public auction, the yearly rent for the terrace and a number of other buildings attached to the row being £416 3s. In 1935 the First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland recorded that the terrace had come into the ownership of a Mr. Joseph Tyney, who presumably won the auction (the 1911 Census described Tyney as a Manufacturer of ship parts). No. 24 Joy Street does not appear to have been utilised as a lodging house at that time when the valuer described it simple as a private dwelling occupied by a Mr. George Mullen and valued at £21.The value was raised slightly to £22 by the second revaluation which was carried out between 1956 and 1972 although a Mary Mullen had by that time taken possession of the house. No. 24 Joy Street continued to be occupied by a member of the Mullen family until the 1980s (Belfast Street Directories). Jim O’Hagan records that Joy Street gained its name from a former paper mill in the area which was owned by Henry Joy, a relative of Henry Joy McCracken, the United Irishman; the mill formerly stood at the junction of Ormeau Avenue and Cromac Street and due to the construction of the mill’s dam, acres of land to the south-east of Belfast’s town centre was reclaimed at the turn of the 19th century (O’Hagan, p. 13). Joy Street and the surrounding Markets area was laid out during the late Georgian period, gradually developing southwards from May Street on the reclaimed land. The grandiose redbrick terraces that were erected c. 1830-40 were originally occupied by well respected merchants; however, due in part to the mass influx of working class labourers into Belfast in the wake of the Great Famine, by the 1850s the merchant class abandoned the area, favouring instead the new suburbs in Malone to the south. With the flight of the merchant classes the buildings on Joy Street and Hamilton Street were occupied by working class labourers whilst a number of the larger dwellings were converted into lodging and boarding houses. The establishment of the Queen’s College in 1849 also resulted in a large number of student residents choosing the markets area where they sought cheap lodgings; this continued until c. 1850-70 when the student population moved to accommodation in the immediate vicinity of the university. After the student exodus the lodging houses in Joy Street and Hamilton Street predominantly became the destination of business lodgers and the performers that frequented the nearby Music Halls. The occupational history of No. 24 Joy Street shows that the building was one of the many buildings in the area that was for a time utilised as a lodging house although it was later used solely as a private dwelling (Brett and McKinstry, pp 2-6). Patton records that a young Charlie Chaplin rented a room in No. 24 Joy Street in 1907. During that time his early English career Chaplin came to Belfast with a touring circus (in which he performed as a clown); Laurel and Hardy also rented rooms on the street although it is not known which house they occupied (Patton, p.202; The Irish Echo, 5 Sept 2001). In the mid-1960s the Sub-Committee of the Ancient Monuments Advisory Council recommended that nos. 14-26 Joy Street should be maintained ‘as an excellent illustration of Georgian Housing in pre-industrial Belfast’ (Brett and McKinstry, p. 6). Patton states that after years of decline nos 14-26 Joy Street were restored for the Housing Executive between 1982 and 1986 by W. D. R. & R. T. Taggart. Patton described the intact terrace as ‘the finest block of Georgian houses in Belfast’ and a good example of ‘the grandeur and dignity of the Markets area when it was first developed’ (Patton, p. 203). No. 24 Joy Street was listed in 1985, along with the rest of the terrace, and continues to be occupied as a private dwelling. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1832-33 2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1858 3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901-02 4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931 5. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938 6. PRONI VAL/2/B/7/1B – Griffith’s Valuation 1859 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/1 - Annual Revisions 1863-1881 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/24 - Annual Revisions 1882-1896 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/35 - Annual Revisions 1897-1905 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/P/2 - Annual Revisions 1906-1915 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/P/5 - Annual Revisions 1915-1930 12. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/21 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935 13. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/50 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972 14. PRONI D2964/CB/221 – Public Auction: Particulars and conditions of sale for 14-26 Joy Street 1920 15. Belfast Street Directories (1843; 1852; 1861; 1877; 1880; 1901; 1910; 1918; 1920; 1930; 1940; 1950; 1960; 1970; 1980; 1990 16. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 17. Irish Echo (2001) Secondary Sources 1. Brett, C. E. B; McKinstry, TR. J., ‘Survey and recommendations for the Joy Street and Hamilton Street District of Belfast’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1971. 2. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. 3. O’Hagan, J., ‘The streets where we lived’ Belfast: Belfast: Unknown Publisher, 2006. 4. Patton, M., ‘Central Belfast: An historical gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993 5. First Survey Record – HB26/30/008 (1985).

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Mid terrace three-storey redbrick Georgian townhouse, built c.1840. Located on the junction of Joy Street and Catherine Street North in Belfast city centre, forming part of a terrace of nine similar houses. The building displays proportions and detailing typical of the Georgian period. Restored in recent years in a sensitive manner by Hearth Housing Association c.1985 much of the architectural fabric remains intact. Externally the building has retained much of its historic fabric with appropriate alterations. Number 24 adds significant value to the group as a whole, retaining the style and proportions of the terrace thus ensuring the continued survival of this rare example of late Georgian terraced housing in the centre of Belfast.

General Comments

Date of Survey

22 April 2011