34 Station Road, Antrim, BT41 4AB

34 Station Road, Antrim is a Grade B2 listed building, a good example of an Edwardian villa built around 1905 for the 12th Viscount Massereene on the occasion of his marriage to Jean Barbara Ainsworth. The building is attributed on stylistic grounds to the leading Irish architect Vincent Craig.

The house is a two-storey building in Edwardian Free Style with a gabled and hipped attic storey, retaining most of its characteristic original features including tile-hanging and half-timbering to gables, wrought iron eaves brackets, Art Nouveau leaded lights to the stairway, and Queen Anne Revival glazing bars to the porch and dormers.

North-west Elevation

The main entrance faces north-west. This elevation comprises a central entrance bay flanked by gabled side bays. The roofs are covered in red Rosemary tiles with decorative ridge tiles and terracotta finials. Moulded timber barge boards support oversailing eaves on shaped timber brackets. Two red brick chimneys with brick cornices each carry five original pots.

A dormer window with a hipped tiled roof and finial contains a 3-light rectangular timber window with original Queen Anne Revival glazing bar pattern. Cast iron gutters and downpipe serve the elevation.

The walling to the ground floor is of red brick with a moulded brick plinth and moulded brick string course. The first floor is white painted roughcast render, rising to red tile hanging in the apex of the left-hand gable and to half-timbering with smooth panels in the right-hand gable. Similar half-timbering appears in the first floor of the central entrance bay.

The central entrance bay contains at ground floor an elliptically arched doorway with stop-chamfered reveals and moulded drip, holding an original arched timber panelled and glazed door with elliptical window and shaped apron. To the right is a small rectangular timber sliding sash window, 1 over 1 with horns, set in a segmental arched opening with a projecting chamfered cill; an extract fan has been inserted into the top pane. Above on the first floor is a 3-light window set in half-timbered panelling with elliptically arched timber windows containing decorative leaded lights in Art Nouveau style. The side of the entrance bay is of half-timbered panelling.

The left-hand gabled bay has at ground floor segmental arched rectangular timber coupled 3-light windows with sliding sash mechanism, vertically hung, each 1 over 1 with horns, set on a plain projecting stone cill. The first floor window is similar. The attic contains a rectangular timber 3-light casement window as a rectangular oriel with shaped timber brackets.

The right-hand gable has a projecting angled bay to the ground floor. Its front face contains a segmental arched 3-light timber sashed window; the angled corner contains a similarly sashed one-light window. Above on the first floor is a similarly sashed one-light. Extending to the left and set back is a single storey wing in red brick with a hipped red tiled roof. Cast iron gutters with PVC downpipe serve this element. Two segmental arched openings are present: one to the left contains a rectangular timber window, sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1 with horns, set on a projecting stone cill; one to the right is a former doorway now containing a rectangular timber fixed light window with segmental fanlight and smooth cement rendered panel beneath. The end wall of the single storey wing is of similar roof and walling with cast iron gutter; it contains a rectangular timber sliding sash window, 1 over 2 with horns.

North-east Elevation

The roofing and walling follow the pattern of the north-west elevation. One original dormer window with 3-light configuration as previously described has a flat roof. Oversailing eaves are supported on four wrought iron brackets with horse-shoe shaped terminals. PVC gutter with PVC and cast iron downpipes serve the elevation. First floor windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, 1 over 1 with horns.

Projecting from the ground floor is a single storey outbuilding with lean-to red tiled roof, extending to a screen wall in red brick enclosing a small side yard. The wall steps up to the right-hand side with a later modern brick lean-to additional projection to the north. This addition has synthetic slates to the roof and PVC gutter. A yard doorway to the rear elevation is segmental arched containing a timber boarded door. A doorway in the later extension is square headed containing a modern flush timber door with tongued and grooved sheeting to the side. The north side of the later addition contains a rectangular timber 2-pane fixed window.

Rear Elevation

The roofing and walling follow the pattern of the north-east elevation. PVC gutter and cast iron gutters with similar downpipes are present. A dormer with four wrought iron eases brackets contains a 3-light window as previously described with flat roof. A larger later dormer with flat roof and smooth rendered walls contains a rectangular glazed PVC door and sidelight, leading onto a modern steel fire escape stairway to ground level. The first floor also contains a modern rectangular glazed timber door leading onto the fire escape.

The first floor has one window in a segmental arched opening with rectangular timber sliding sash 1 over 1 with horns. One similar window appears to the ground floor, along with two larger 3-light coupled sashes.

South-west Elevation

This elevation features elements similar to previous elevations, including an original flat roofed dormer with four wrought iron eaves brackets. Two windows to each floor are set in segmental arched openings with 3-light coupled sashes as previously described.

Setting

The building originally stood in its own enclosed grounds but these have now been opened up into a larger hospital site. It faces the main road but is set back from it with a grassed area and car park in front; an access road runs alongside it. A car parking area is to the rear. Mature trees bound the site to the north and to the west.

The house was originally called Ferrard, but this name has since been appropriated for a modern hospital building standing immediately to the south. By 1991 it was being used as offices by the Northern Health and Social Services Board. The original architect's name was not recorded but was attributed on stylistic grounds to Vincent Craig.