Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/28/059 D

Address :
43 Malone Rd Belfast BT9 6RX

Townland:
Malone Lower

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
07/11/1991 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Office - Terrace

Former Use
House - Terrace

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
147/1SE

IG Ref:
J3330 7217

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Mid terrace four-storey two-bay red brick late Victorian town house, built 1886-87 to designs by William Eaton, architect. Located at north end of Malone Road, Belfast, No.43 is one of nine similar houses (HB26.28.059A-C & E-I inclusive) running between Malone Avenue and Eglantine Avenue. Rectangular on plan as a group on N-S axis with ends gabled; they form one of the most impressive terraces within Malone Road Conservation Area, each having full-height bowed bay with conical slate roof. Currently used as commercial offices, combined with No45 (HB26.28.059E), the pair sit mid-terrace, handed to mirror each other in plan and elevation. Three-storey return built at half-landing level to rear (W), adjoined to same at No.45 to form wider gabled return than remainder of terrace. No.43 abutted by single storey flat-roofed extension (of little historic interest), added c.1995 that fills yard and projects beyond west face of return by approximately 1m. Natural slate roof with bands of fish-scale slates; red terracotta ridge tiles and finials to bowed bay; black clay ridge tiles to main roof; artificial slates and black ridge tile to return. Large red brick chimney centred on ridge to main roof with simple corbelled brick coursing to cap and eight circular yellow clay pots; top six courses replaced with modern, smoother brick. Cast iron gutter supported on scrolled terracotta brackets and projecting eaves course to front (E); bowed bay rises beyond main eaves, highlighted by cornice of classical ornamentation in stuccowork below the gutter. UPVC gutter and circular section RWP to both rear (W) and return. Materials ROOF: Natural slate; return: artificial slate; extension: precast concrete paving slabs. RWG: Cast iron (E); uPVC (W). WALLS: Red brick walling laid to Flemish bond with painted render/stone dressings (E); variation of English Garden Wall bond to return (N, S & W). WINDOWS: Single glazed painted timber sliding sash with 1/1 panes, unless otherwise stated. Front Elevation (E): Front elevation faces east, two bays wide with bowed bay offset to right and entrance to left. Deep painted render base plinth with chamfered top; projecting moulded cill and string courses and textured render plat band to all floors; all painted. Textured render also to bowed bay, except some brick header courses between each floor level. Incised decoration in render above bay windows and edge roll moulding. Textured render surround to segmental headed door (without hood and label stops noted on other houses in terrace), above plat band on pink marble colonnettes with dressed sandstone plinth and capital (painted); plain fanlight above square-headed 5-panelled timber door; toothed rendered quoins below plat band and decorative terracotta panel (painted) above door head. Colonnettes and terracotta panel repeated on first and second floor windows above door. One replacement window noted to bay at 2nd floor, facing N – timber sliding sash, single glazed with 1/1 panes and matches original windows. Rear elevation (W): West elevation faces shared alley. Simple detailing: brick, soldier coursed window heads and projecting brick headers to eaves. Three-storey return to right (S) joined to same at No45 forming wide gable; painted timber bargeboard; one timber framed casement window with concrete head and cill to second floor; uPVC framed slide-back double glazed patio doors with rendered surround to first floor; and projecting flat roofed extension built in smooth red brick to ground floor, with uPVC door, porthole and large multi-paned windows; and raised parapet having semi-circular cut-out and radial metal guarding. Extension spans full width of No43 and encompasses yard with uPVC framed duo-pitched glass ‘lantern’ to roof. In front of door, external chequer-plate metal stair rises to first floor flat roof and connects to matching chequer-plate deck cantilevered from No.45, providing escape from both properties. Left of return, main building has one window to each level: uPVC to first and timber sliding sashes with 2/2 panes to second and 1/1 panes to third floor. Further uPVC window to main building above return at uppermost half-landing; and to right, small timber casement window with top-hung night vent. Double glazing to uPVC framed windows. ‘Ghost’ marking of single storey gabled extension (now removed) visible on W elevation of return. South Elevation: No.45 Malone Road (HB26.28.059E) abuts south face, including return. North Elevation: No.41 Malone Road (HB26.28.059C) abuts north face. North elevation of return has informal fenestration with one remaining timber framed sliding sash at second floor and flush modern door at first floor to far left; remaining openings are widened with concrete heads and cills and modern timber framed casement windows. Projecting boxed timber eaves supports ogee uPVC gutter. Setting Set back from tree-lined street with paved front gardens bound by low rendered wall with rounded top (no coping) and galvanised steel tubular rail on the west side of Malone Road. Part of terrace of town houses aligned parallel to main road. Front garden surfaced in precast concrete paving slabs with modern quarry tiled steps across both entrances to No.43 & 45. Young tree in front garden and white pebbles hard set to border at bay; otherwise paved. Located directly opposite Fisherwick Presbyterian Church (HB26.17.014) and from this aspect, at corner of Chlorine Gardens, it is most impressive. Rear yard bound by concrete block wall combined with No.45 to form car park with splayed section opening S to alley; wall topped by palisade fencing and projects further W than boundary to adjoining properties. Electrical substation to NE corner of yard, enclosed by palisade fencing and accessed by door opening N to alley.

Architects

Eaton, William

Historical Information

Nos.37-53 Malone Road were constructed in 1886-88 to a design by the then Botanic Avenue-based architect, William Eaton, on what had been the grounds of Eglantine Hill, a pre-1832 house bounded by the Malone and Lisburn Roads in the east and west what is now Malone and Eglantine Avenues to the north and south. The terrace, originally named ‘Windsor Gardens’, was built for James Johnston, possibly the insurance agent of that name listed in contemporary directories as operating out of Waring Street. The whole grouping appears to have been completed by mid-1888, and all of the properties are recorded as occupied in the earliest available street directory of 1890. No.43 – The first occupant of this building seems to have been a James C. Mayrs, a furniture seller with a ‘Cabinet and Carpet Warehouse’ at the corner of Royal Avenue and Garfield Street. The lease was taken up in c.1895-96 by a Miss Kelly, followed by Robert George Wallace, a linen manufacturer, in c.1898. In the 1901 census building is noted as 1st class dwelling containing 15 rooms occupied by Mr. Wallace, his wife, Bertha Anna, their son and daughter and two domestic servants. Mrs Mary Mackie is recorded as the tenant in 1907, and in 1910, Frederick Patrick Hughes of flour millers Hughes, Dickson & Co., who in the 1911 census is recorded as living there with his wife, Mary Eliza, their three children, a housekeeper and domestic servant. A ‘Lady Fullen’ is listed as the resident in 1915 street directory, Mrs. Mary Elliott in 1918, W. Aiken in 1930. By 1935 the property was in multiple occupancy, with a T.W. Gibson, Miss Orr and Miss Thompson listed as living there, with eight residents noted in 1940, nine in 1945 and varying numbers for the following fifteen years. The property is recorded as vacant in 1960 and appears to have remained us for much of the succeeding decade. By 1974 was occupied by McConnell’s advertising agency and by a tourist agent, with the latter replaced by an architect’s office by the mid-1980s. McConnell’s are noted as the only occupant in 1990 with the property recorded as containing three offices in 1996, occupied by an architects’ practice, and an insurance and an assurance firm respectively. The building was listed in November 1991. The extensioin to the return was added c.2007. References – Primary sources 1 PRONI VAL12B/43D/14 annual valuation revision book, 1882-97 2 PRONI OS8/30/3/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1883-84 3 ‘Belfast Telegraph’, 5 August 1886, 15 September 1887 4 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory’, (Belfast News-Letter, Belfast), various dates from 1887 to 1996 5 ‘Belfast News-Letter’, 23 April 1887 6 PRONI OS8/30/4/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1896 7 PRONI VAL7B/14/15 valuation of Belfast, 1900 8 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/] 9 PRONI OS8/30/5/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1903 10 PRONI VAL12B/43K/4 valuation book, 1906-15 Secondary sources 1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’, (unpublished QUB MA thesis), 1967 2 Rowan, A.J. And Brett, C.E.B., Historic Buildings...Queens University of Belfast, (UAHS, 1968)

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

R. Age S. Authenticity V. Authorship X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Mid terrace four-storey red brick late Victorian town house, built 1886-87 by William Eaton, architect. One of a terrace of nine similar houses comprising No.37-41 & 45-53 Malone Road, Belfast (HB26.28.059A-C & E-I inclusive); as a group they form one of the most impressive terraces within the Malone Road Conservation Area. The Malone Road facade is particularly striking due to the rhythm created by each having a full-height bowed bay with conical slate roof and a wealth of ornate detailing. Converted to offices with substantial alterations to the return and a single storey extension to the rear; this results in some loss of integrity and plan form. However, the domestic scale remains legible with some fine historic detailing inside that adds to its character.

General Comments

Date of Survey

29 November 2016