Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB23/14/008 A

Address :
60 Princetown Road Bangor Co Down BT20 3DT

Townland:
Corporation

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
27/01/1975 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

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:
115/12SE

IG Ref:
J5004 8200

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Owner Category

Private Private Private Private Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A substantial three-storey two-bay attached Victorian stucco house, built c.1875 and located on the east side of Princetown Road overlooking Bangor Marina. Rectangular on plan with large three-storey return to rear; two-storey bow window to front and south. Pitched natural slate roof; stucco chimneystacks having tulip pots on moulded plinths; decorative bargeboard and finials to gables. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods on boxed eaves. Walling is painted smooth render with rustication and vermiculated quoins to ground floor; corner pilasters with moulded panel to second floor; smooth render quoins to attic. Windows are 1/1 timber sliding sash; segmental-arch to attic. Bow window to main elevation has panelled pilasters dividing window openings; ground floor with dentilled moulded entablature and moulded cornice; first floor has moulded cornice. The principal elevation faces north-east; to left is two-storey bay window with paired segmental-arch window to gablet; to right is single window to gablet; first floor with window framed by panelled pilasters having decorative console brackets and moulded cornice (merging with cornice of bow window). Doric portico with plain entablature and ovolo moulded cornice; double-leaf two-panelled timber door with cast-iron door furniture; sidelights and transom light. The south-east elevation has window to all floors at right; to left is two-storey bow window with four openings; surmounted by paired segmental-arched windows to second floor. The south-west elevation has, to left, paired windows to first and second floor (that to first floor is stained glass); to right is three-storey rear return with two diminutive round-arched windows to second floor; two windows to first floor and two replacement windows to ground floor. Exposed section to left is blank; exposed section to right with tripartite mullioned window to second floor; paired windows to ground and first floor (second floor are segmental-arched). The north-west elevation is abutted by adjoining building (HB23/14/008B). Setting Positioned on a raised site overlooking Bangor Marina, accessed by a sloped tarmacadam driveway to west with painted masonry square gate piers having moulded cornice and square caps(HB23/14/008C). Lawned area to front enclosed by stone boundary wall with bold balustrade and ball finials to pillars; shared stepped access to front of house. Rear garden to rear enclosed by boundary wall and hedgerow. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Smooth render Windows: Timber RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

This area of Bangor began to be developed towards the end of the nineteenth century as the town expanded into a fashionable resort and commuter town following the opening of the railway in 1865. The area is shown as empty fields on the second edition ordnance survey map of 1858 but by the third edition of 1901, Princetown Road has been laid out in terraces and villas as far as the promontory, Wilson’s Point. This semi-detached pair of villas, known as ‘Augustaville’ first enters valuation records in 1875, as a development by Robert Russell Junior of two houses, unfinished, but valued at £26.10s each. This valuation is raised to £37 by 1882. (Annual Revisions) They may, however, have remained unfinished for some years, as a photograph held by Bangor Heritage Centre dated 1887 shows Augustaville still under construction. (Patton, p.161) Robert Russell is initially listed as the occupier of both houses and then as the occupier of number 60, ‘lodgers’ being recorded in number 62. In 1895 the valuation is reduced to £35 and the valuer indicates that the properties are seasonal lets, being ‘expensive houses to keep in repair...let furnished for May and June for £26’. (Annual Revisions) However, Robert Russell is listed in street directories of the period as resident in ‘Augustaville’ and the building may only have been let in the summer season, Russell retiring elsewhere, as was common practice in Bangor at the time. (Belfast and Ulster Street Directory, 1899). Robert Russell appears in the 1901 census as resident in the current house with his wife and seven-year-old son. His occupation is ‘linen and cotton manufacturer’. (1901 Census) Patton states that Russell was secretary of the gas company and that his family ran a drapery business in Bangor. (Patton, p.161) In 1906 the houses changed hands, the immediate lessor becoming Dr Lyons. (Annual Revisions) In 1908 the occupier is recorded as William K Crosby, but by the time of the 1911 census both houses in the pair had been taken over by Hugh Frances McDermott, retired master mariner. (Belfast and Ulster Directory) McDermott shared the houses with his son, also a master mariner, and his German daughter-in-law together with their three young children. Also in residence were Hugh McDermott’s three adult daughters and a male boarder who worked as a GPO clerk. (1911 census) Elizabeth Lyons, perhaps a relative of the landlord, was in residence by 1916. Subsequent tenants are recorded as William McIlroy in 1917 and William J Mahaffy in 1921. William J Mahaffy was a solicitor, partner in the firm H & W Mahaffy of Callendar Street, Belfast. His two sons are commemorated in Bangor Cemetery. The first, Henry Irwin Mahaffy was killed in 1917 while training as part of the Royal Flying Corps. The second, William Matchett Mahaffy was killed in 1942 in Germany. (http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com) According to the reminiscences of William Seyers, a development company began to build a hotel at the entrance to Marine Gardens and had a tool house on the site where Augustaville was later to be built. The company failed and the tool house building was run as tea rooms by a Mrs McAlpin for some years. (Seyers, p.13) Patton describes the houses as, “A magnificent pair of stucco semi-villas, possibly the finest on the Marine Esplanade” (p.161). The houses are still in use as private residences. References: Primary Sources 1.PRONI OS/6/3/2/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1901 2.PRONI OS/6/3/2/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-26 3.PRONI OS/6/3/2/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1939 4.PRONI VAL/12/B/23/7A-K – Annual Revisions (1866-99) 5.PRONI VAL/12/B/23/9A-S – Annual Revisions (1900-1930) 6.PRONI VAL/12/E/129/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plans (c.1864-1899) 7.PRONI VAL/12/E/129/2 – Annual Revisions Town Plans (1898-c.1916) 8.Belfast and Ulster Street Directory, 1899 9.Belfast and Ulster Street Directory, 1907 Secondary Sources 1.http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com – Great War Forum 2.Patton, M, “Bangor, An Historical Gazetteer” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1999 3.Seyers, W T “Reminiscences of Old Bangor” Belfast: Lion Gate Press, 1983

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A three-storey two-bay semi-detached Victorian stucco house, built c.1875 by Robert Russell. The architectural detailing is of good quality and typical of the period. Its setting is enhanced by a gate screen (HB23/14/008C) which it shares with the adjoining property. It has group value with its pair (HB23/14/008B) and is a noteworthy example of the type of Victorian villas that were developed along the Esplanade, built for the wealthy merchants and professional classes, and illustrating the growth of Bangor as a seaside resort town during the 19th century.

General Comments

Date of Survey

31 August 2010