Malone Golf Club former Stables and Outbuildings, 240 Upper Malone Road, Belfast, Co. Antrim, BT17 9LB

Malone Golf Club former Stables and Outbuildings

A courtyard complex of two-storey stable buildings built around 1835, located within the grounds of Malone Golf Club on the east side of Upper Malone Road, directly east of the Club House (formerly Ballydrain House). The buildings are arranged in a square formation around a central courtyard, with late twentieth-century abutments to the north and east.

The main structure features a pitched and hipped natural slate roof with hog-back ridge tiles, and a single reconstructed grey brick chimneystack at the south-west corner. Replacement uPVC gutters and downpipes are mounted on projecting redbrick eaves course. The walls are constructed of rubblestone basalt with red brick quoins. A flat-roofed late twentieth-century infill block in stretcher-bonded red brick occupies the north-east corner, and the first floor south-west corner has been replaced in grey engineering brick.

Window openings are generally segmental-headed with red brick block and start surrounds and projecting painted masonry sills. The windows are mostly replacement painted timber top-hung casements, with some replacement modern metal-framed casements and a small number of louvered openings. Door openings are likewise segmental-headed with red brick detailing. Two segmental-headed carriage arches to the south-east and north-east corners have replacement double-leaf braced planked timber doors.

The south-facing main external elevation features a series of high-level openings at ground floor with varied window types, including one original multi-pane timber window. The east elevation has a replacement ground-floor door opening and a single first-floor window. A coach arch opens to the right side. The north elevation has door and window openings to the west, now closed with modern blockwork, with limewash to the right section. The west elevation is abutted by a taller range projecting to the south-west, with a large metal shed abutting the extreme right.

Internally, the openings are irregularly arranged. Several doors to the courtyard have been widened, and a number of first-floor window openings are infilled with red brick. The north-east corner is partially spanned by a brick wall with a rectangular opening creating a covered store. An arcaded block to the north features rubble stone basalt walling with red brick piers and basket-handled arches, though these openings are now closed with modern blockwork. The yard is surfaced with modern concrete slabs.

The site is located within the extensive grounds of Malone Golf Club on formerly Ballydrain demesne. The entrance from Upper Malone Road is flanked by replacement quarry-faced basalt walls with rubblestone basalt copings and circular-plan gate piers. Two original ashlar sandstone gate piers are retained to the east of the modern entrance piers. Access to the building is via a long, tree-lined tarmac driveway which slopes gently westward toward the main club house, now connected to the stable block by a series of modern extensions. A former walled garden and gardener's cottage are located to the south.