140 Upper Dunmurry Lane, Dunmurry, Co. Antrim, BT17 0HE

An Edwardian house built in 1909 in the Arts and Crafts style by the important local architect Percy Morgan Jury of Blackwood & Jury Architects, designed for his own use. This is an exceptional example of a house of this period, displaying all the traits of the Arts and Crafts movement. The building has retained almost all of its features of interest, making it rich in historic and architectural character. The original interior layout remains unchanged and has retained most features including plasterwork, joinery, ironmongery, fireplaces, and much of its flooring. The surrounding formal garden, mature trees and lawn, although reduced in size, retain their essential character and complement the building. This is a rare example of its kind in Northern Ireland.

The house is a two-storey structure with an attic above, set over a multi-bay oblong plan form with projecting bays. It is located off the north end of Upper Dunmurry Lane, opposite the Kilwee industrial estate, northwest of Dunmurry.

The pitched roof is laid with Westmoreland Green slates with clay ridge tiles inclined towards the gables. Simple moulded stone coping runs over the gable ends with matching corbels at the eaves. Double kneeler stones sit at the gable shoulders with an apex stone of increased incline and clipped verge over the coping stone. Five clusters of tall Jacobean stone chimney pots rise from roughcast brick chimneystacks, varying in number. Extruded metal rainwater goods run throughout. The walling is natural finished roughcast with natural finished stone surrounds and details. Windows are metal framed, side-hung and fixed leaded lights with long-and-short stone surrounds and label mouldings over principal openings. Where windows are grouped in two or more, they are divided by stone mullions. The principal door is a timber double door with a split Tudor arch glazed panel and original ironmongery.

The principal elevation faces south and is asymmetrically arranged. The front entrance is located off centre to the left, flanked by matching two-storey gabled bays. The front door sits under a timber lean-to porch, inset into a carved stone surround and flanked by two fixed replacement lights encompassed by decorative squared rubble stone detailing. The windows to the projecting bays are tall lights, grouped in fours at ground floor and threes at first floor. To the right, the ridge line drops with a large dormer located off centre. Smaller windows are asymmetrically arranged at first floor with a large lean-to greenhouse abutting the ground floor. The corbel stone detail continues across the eaves line.

The left elevation is asymmetrically arranged with three original window openings—two at ground floor and one at first floor—plus one new opening with fairly sympathetic surrounds, despite a uPVC window frame. A leaded light gablet sits over the ridge line of the projecting bay.

The rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged with the two-storey gabled projecting bay located to the right. This bay has lowered ridge and eaves lines but retains its detailing. The rear door is located left of centre on the projecting bay, inset into a Tudor-arched carved stone surround with further decorative squared rubble stone. A pair of square windows are located to the right, with a large stone canopy over, supported by a pair of carved stone canopy brackets. Above the canopy is a date stone inscribed with 1909 and the architect's initials PMJ (Percy Morgan Jury). To the left of the first floor window openings is a Gothic style blank, inserted at a later date. The remaining openings are original, with steel frames and leaded lights. The right gable is asymmetrically arranged with varying original openings. A single-storey pitched roof outbuilding housing the boiler abuts at ground floor on the left.

The house sits within its own formal gardens. A large portion of the original land was developed with two-storey suburban dwellings; however, the remaining grounds are well secluded from view. The grounds are accessed through a small gated entrance lined with mature trees. A large lawn is located to the southwest. A pair of curved stone steps lead from a paved area in front of the main porch to a sunken area with formally arranged clipped hedgerows. To the south, a pair of wrought iron gates and stone piers with urns over, and railings to the side, lead into a cultivating area with a small pond fed by a brook to the east.

Percy Morgan Jury was born at Brooklands, Belfast, in 1875, the son of W.J. Jury, owner of the Imperial Hotel, Belfast, which prompted the naming of the house "Brooklands". The house does not appear on the Ordnance Survey map until 1925, where it is captioned "Brooklands", but the date stone over the canopy on the rear elevation confirms both the build date of 1909 and the architect. Jury formed a partnership with William Blackwood in 1901, and the practice continued through his son Arthur Edward Jury until 1973. After a successful and well-recognised career, Percy Morgan left the practice in 1945 and died the same year. His wife continued to live at Brooklands until 1949. From 1949 to 1972, the dwelling was occupied by Alan Rogers, and then by Mr Donnelly until 1984. The building is currently used as the Radha Krishna Temple of the Hare Krishna sect. The original gate screen to the north and outhouse to the east of the main house were removed during construction of the Dunmurry By-pass circa 1986-87.