Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/36/001 J

Address :
294 Tennent Street Belfast Co Antrim BT13 3GG

Townland:
Town Parks

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:
20/06/1984 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:
21/08/2015 00:00:00

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130-09SW

IG Ref:
J3225 7554

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

An asymmetrical, two-bay, two-storey-with-attic end-of-terrace brick house with wall-head dormer and canted-bay windows, constructed between 1907-09 and located to the west side of Tennent Street, in the Shankill area of Belfast. Facing east and rectilinear on plan with a two-storey, gable fronted return and an internal to rear. Building forms the end of a terrace and therefore comprises three elevations; front and rear project outward from the main line of the terrace. Steep-pitched, red tile roof with roll-moulded red clay ridge tiles; pitch runs perpendicular to rest of terraces and is abutted by roof of the adjoining terrace to the south (HB26/36/001I). Shouldered brick chimney rises from ground floor of north elevation and breaks through north side of roof which extends below roofline of main terrace; a low level pitched roof spans between principal roof and south side of chimney. Moulded detail to all chimney faces excluding south side; tall clay pots with rosette motif on each. Brick corbelling and decorative moulding to dormer eaves on principal façade, plain timber fascia elsewhere; uPVC rainwater goods; central attic window to front and rear. Walling is Flemish bonded brick, English Garden Wall bonded to rear; decorative terracotta vents throughout. uPVC windows throughout (ground floor left cheek of rear return not viewed); flat arch heads; offset brick sills with some concrete sills. Principal elevation is two openings wide at ground floor; uPVC front door with moulded brick, camber-arch surround; surmounted by deeply projecting, flat-roofed timber canopy. Segmental-arch replacement window to right, with glazing bars and label mould above. Central, flat-roofed canted bay window to first floor, supported on timber corbels. The south elevation is abutted by the adjoining terrace (HB26/36/001I). Rear (west) elevation contains two-storey pitched-roof return to right (recently re-roofed with concrete/reconstituted stone ridge); south cheek is blank; west gable has central windows to first and ground floor. Original form of the single-storey rear boundary wall retained; it abuts to west gable of return; extends to west, then north, sloping at a downward angle, continues horizontally and abuts to the fence to the north; doorway to yard. Camber-arched window to left cheek of return on first floor (ground floor of left cheek of return and of main rear elevation not viwed). Principal rear elevation has central window to first and ground floor; small window to left-side above return. Both the north and west elevations, and rear return have had areas of brickwork rebuilt or repointed. The north elevation forms the end of the terrace; vacant site to the north on the corner of Tennent Street and Crumlin Road now vacant land; alleyway runs from front garden to rear yard, between north side of building and boundary fence of vacant land. North elevation is blank apart from advancing chimney breast, which spans most of the elevation, with small offset buttresses at ground level; a diamond pattern in black brick adorns the centre of the chimney on ground and first floor level. Decorative lead flashing to abutment between chimney and roof tiles. Setting Located on the western side of Tennent Street in an urban
setting, between Crumlin and Shankill Roads. Small, newly paved garden with rebuilt half-height brick wall, timber fencing and timber gate to the east along Tennent Street; long, narrow garden plot at rear, running west to boundary wall. A paved walkway extends along rear of all properties in terrace, between garden plots and rear of buildings but has been sealed with locked gates to the south. Mixed use business park and apartment complex to west, on site of former Edenderry Spinning Mill. Crumlin Road Presbyterian Church (HB26/36/009) located to the north-east on the corner of Crumlin Road and Tennent Street. Gated alley runs along north of building between rear and front gardens; bounded to north by timber fence and metal railings of vacant land to north, on corner of Crumlin Road. North gable was previously hidden by tall neighbouring buildings but these were demolished in 2007. Subsequentltly, the north elevation now act as the main façade on Crumlin Road. Roof Clay tiles RWG uPVC Walling Brick Windows uPVC

Architects

Hill & Kennedy

Historical Information

Constructed as a part of Edenderry Terrace, the building first appears on the fourth edition OS map (1920-31) on a previously undeveloped site, which formed part of Edenderry flax spinning mill complex. Prior to construction the area had developed rapidly during the mid 19th century as a consequence of the thriving linen industry and the expanding industrial workforce. Erected between 1907-09 the building forms part of a residential terrace, which was built in stages over this period of time and comprises houses of similar design (HB File). This is confirmed by the Annual Revisions (1906-15) in which the house and yard were added in 1909 at a value of £14 10s and the first occupant listed as Robert McIlveen. The increased value of this building compared to others in the terrace is a likely result of the projection of the upper two storeys from the main building line, giving this house a larger area. The house is first listed as No.1 ‘Edenderry Gardens’ in the 1910 Street Directory but in the following decades it became renumbered as part of Tennent Street. In the first and second General Revaluations (1935 and 1956-72) the value of the house and garden increased to £21, with the occupier listed as Mrs McComb, followed by H. Shaw. Prior to the building and sanitation regulations of the late 19th century, houses were often shared by a number of families, with no drainage, water supply or rear access, meaning waste from the privy and ash pit was carried through the scullery (Wiener). Constructed by the Edenderry Spinning Company, this house stands as a representative of the design ethos associated with early 20th century terrace housing; intended for occupation by one family with the provision of a rear yard accessible by a passage at the front, a number of sizable windows on the main elevation and the modern amenities of the time. The house and terrace were built to the designs of the Belfast-based architectural partnership, Robert Hill and Edwin Kennedy (DIA). Constructed toward the end of the city’s second great building phase the house demonstrates detailing from the Arts and Crafts movement, including dormers, bay windows, roughcast and irregular rooflines (HB File; Larmour). The building remained under ownership of Edenderry Spinning Company until at least 1972 (second General Revaluations (1956-72). The Spinning Company continued to operate on the site to the rear of the property until 1988 and the area has since become an industrial park (Street Directories). The HB File notes some late 20th century repairs and alterations. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/60/1 First Edition Os Map (1832-33) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/60/2 Second Edition OS Map (1857) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/60/3 Third Edition OS Map (1901) 4. PRONI OS/6/1/60/4 Fourth Edition OS Map (1920-31) 5. PRONI OS/6/1/60/5 Fifth Edition OS Map (1920-38) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/M/3 - Annual Revisions (1906-15) 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/M/6- Annual Revisions (1916-30) 8. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/16- First General Revaluation (1935) 9. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/35- Second General Revaluation (1956-72) 10. Belfast and Ulster Street Directories (1902-1990) 11. Census of Ireland (1911) 12. HB File (HB/26/36/001 J) Secondary Sources 1. Larmour, P “Belfast, An Illustrated Architectural Guide” Friars Bush Press, Belfast (1987) 2. Wiener, R “The Rape and Plunder of the Shankill” Farset Co-operative Press Ltd, Belfast, 1978 (2nd ed 1980). 3. www.dia.ie - Dictionary of Irish Architects online

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Three-storey, single-bay terraced house of brick construction, dating from 1907-09. Designed by the architectural firm Hill and Kennedy, the building forms part of a group with the other houses in the terrace (HB26/36/001A-J), built by the Edenderry Spinning Company, which was located to the west of the site. The group as a whole has suffered from inappropriate incremental changes. Although of significance in that they demonstrate key elements pertaining to the Arts and Crafts movement at the time with varied detailing and roofline, their interest has been seriously compromised by loss of historic fabric and detailing and they are no longer of special architectural or historic interest.

General Comments

Date of Survey

18 September 2012