'Rosebank', 100 King's Road, Belfast, County Down, BT5 7BW

'Rosebank', 100 King's Road, is a substantial two-and-a-half-storey Freestyle suburban detached house dating from 1896, prominently positioned on rising ground to the northeast side of King's Road in what was then the village of Knockbreda. It is finished in painted render and roughcast, though photographs from around 1927 confirm that originally only the ground floor was rendered, with the upper floors — comprising the greater part of the structure — left in facing brick. The application of render to the upper floors is undocumented but is presumed to have occurred after that date.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces roughly west. Slightly to the right of centre at ground floor level is the main entrance: a large segmental-headed opening with a bevelled reveal, filled by a partly glazed timber double door with narrow sidelights and a fanlight, approached via a disabled access ramp. To the left of the entrance rises a full-height square bay topped with a 'Flemish' gable. At ground floor level this bay contains a grouping of three flat-arched windows with plate-glazed timber sash frames, the outer two being narrower than the central one. An identical grouping appears at first floor level, while at second floor level there is a pair of similar but shorter windows. The ground floor windows share a common cill, while those to the upper floors sit on moulded cill courses, the lower of which continues as a string course across the north, south, and west elevations. Further string courses run above window height at first and second floor levels — the lower of these also continuing around the building — and between these and the cill courses are decorative moulded panels. The ground floor of this bay has plain 'in-out' moulded quoins, while at first floor level the quoins are vermiculated. Directly above the entrance is a large window similar to those already described but with a moulded surround, and above this is a small half-dormer containing a window with a modern timber frame. To the right of the entrance is a two-storey canted bay with windows to each face on both floors, detailed as elsewhere except that the centre window on the first floor has a modern frame. This bay also has panels between its cill and string courses. Above it rises a large 'Flemish' gabled half-dormer with a window in a modern frame.

The front elevation is finished in plain render to the ground floor and roughcast render above, all painted. There is a bevelled base course and a moulded eaves course. Quoins correspond to those on the full-height bay. The gables have moulded edges to their parapets and simple block-like finials. The other elevations are treated in similar fashion.

To the left-hand side of the ground floor of the north gable there is a relatively small single-storey flat-roofed extension with a doorway fitted with a modern door to its east face. At first floor level on this elevation there is a window broadly matching those to the first floor of the front elevation. At second floor level there are two windows of differing sizes: the narrower one to the left retains a sash frame, while the larger one to the right, which does not appear to be original, has a modern frame.

On the south gable, at ground floor level to the left, there is a window with a modern PVC frame. Roughly to the centre of the first floor there is a fire escape doorway with a modern door, and to its right a window with a PVC frame. At second floor level there is a doorway to the left, with two windows to its right similar to the second floor windows on the north gable. A large spiral fire escape stair has been erected adjacent to the south gable.

To the rear of the building there is a relatively large two-storey double-pile return covering most of the rear elevation, except for a small section to the right (north). On the north face of the return, to the left at ground floor level, there is a small flat-roofed extension, to the south of which stands a large oil tank; the west face of this extension has a doorway with a modern door. To the right of the extension, on the return proper, there is a small window with a PVC frame and a doorway with a modern door. At first floor level on the north face there is a broad, probably enlarged, window with a PVC frame, and to its right a much smaller louvered opening set at a high level.

On the east face of the return, at ground floor level, there are three relatively small windows: the rightmost retains a timber sash frame, while the other two, grouped closely together, have PVC frames. At first floor level there are two windows to the right of centre; the left-hand one is filled with decorative stained glass, while the other, slightly larger, has a PVC frame. On the south face of the return, which is flush with the south gable of the main block, there are two ground floor windows, both with PVC frames, and at first floor level a similarly sized window with a timber sash frame, partly set within a small gable — though the window is not set high enough for the whole ensemble to be classified as a half-dormer.

In the exposed section of the rear elevation of the main block — the section to the right of the return — there is a ground floor window with a PVC frame, and at second floor level a modern half-dormer with what appears to be a flat roof, though this could not be clearly verified. The roof of the building, including the return, is slated, and there is a large corbelled brick chimneystack to each of the two main gables. Rainwater goods are a mixture of cast iron and PVC.

Internally, the building has undergone considerable alteration, particularly during its later institutional uses, and relatively little of original interest survives.

The house stands in a relatively large garden to the front and to the north and northwest. The garden is enclosed from the road by a tall 'Bradstone' wall with a vehicle gateway at the west end; although the wall has been rebuilt — probably in the 1970s — map evidence suggests its position was not altered at that time. Immediately to the north is a modern single-storey dwelling believed to have been built around 1977 for a caretaker. Immediately to the northwest of the house stands a mature monkey puzzle tree.

'Rosebank' is first recorded in the Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory of 1896, listed among the dwellings making up the then village of Knockbreda. It appears in the valuations at the same date with a rateable value of £40. Its first recorded occupant was a builder, J. McMaster, believed to be John McMaster, the man responsible for the construction of McMaster Street and presumably also for the construction of Rosebank itself. He may previously have occupied an earlier house on or near the same site, as a property called 'Rose Cottage' is listed in his name until 1895. McMaster remained at Rosebank until 1909. In 1911 the house was acquired by a Mrs Simms, followed in 1919 by J.W. Cunningham, described as a wholesale merchant. Subsequent occupants were S.J. Fitzsimons, a confectioner (1926–33); R.J. Yarr, a linen merchant (1934–65, with his wife remaining until 1970); F.J.D. Falkiner (1970/71–74); and J.B. Ballagh (1974/75–77). In 1977 or 1978 the building was taken over by the Eastern Health Service and used as a children's home, later becoming an outpatient clinic, probably in the 1990s. At the time of survey in November 2004 it was vacant and for sale. The small extensions to the north side of the house and the separate caretaker's dwelling are believed to have been added when the building was converted to a children's home. The garden wall is also thought to have been rebuilt around this time.

The road on which the house stands was originally called Church Road and was renamed King's Road from 1902, the change believed to have been made in tribute to King Edward VII, who visited Belfast that year.