23 Bloomfield Road, Belfast

23 Bloomfield Road, Belfast

A distinctive semi-detached three-storey redbrick house built in 1900 to the designs of Belfast architect William J. Moore. The building exemplifies the Arts & Crafts style and forms part of a row of three pairs of semi-detached houses on the south side of Bloomfield Road, with which it has group value.

The house has a regular plan with a three-storey gabled bay to the front elevation facing north, a two-storey gabled projection to the east elevation, and a two-storey return to the rear. The pitched roof is covered with natural slate and finished with roll top red-clay ridge tiles, red-clay knob finials, and a shared redbrick chimneystack with corbelled coping and red-clay chimney pots. All gables feature timber barge boards. Half-round cast-iron guttering and circular cast-iron downpipes run throughout.

The redbrick walling is laid to a variation between English-garden bond and Scottish bond, with four courses of stretchers to one course of headers, and has a projecting plinth course. Window openings to the principal elevations are square-headed with stop-chamfer jambs to the brick openings. The windows are replacement 1/1 double-hung timber sash windows with coved horns. The front elevation has a two-storey three-sided canted bay supporting a third storey gabled projection rendered with mock timber detailing. The elevation is embellished with timber brackets, continuous painted sill course, flush painted lintel course, terracotta mouldings, and a terracotta plaque at the centre of each bay.

The east side elevation contains a two-storey single bay gabled projection with a segmental-headed door opening facing north. This is fitted with a replacement timber panelled door and fanlight, approached by a single nosed step. The east elevation has painted sills, flush painted lintels, and terracotta mouldings, with a terracotta plaque over the main doorcase.

The rear contains an asymmetrical two-storey redbrick return with pitched slate roof and roll top red-clay ridge tiles, appearing to have been enlarged to the east. The original portion retains a single course of decorative bricks. Window openings are square-headed with replacement top-hung uPVC casement windows. The west side elevation is abutted by the adjoining house No. 21.

The front yard is divided into a paved pathway and modest landscaped garden, enclosed by a redbrick dwarf wall topped with metal railings and a metal gate. To the rear is an alleyway separating the dwelling from a row of three-storey terraced houses. The exterior has retained most of its character, style, and proportions.

The house was first recorded vacant in the Annual Revisions of 1900. The property was owned initially by Mr. Francis Quinn of Francis Quinn & Sons and the Beechpark Estate Co. The first occupant was Mrs. Mary Murphy; by 1911 it had passed to Mr. Ernest Dickinson, a Marine Engineer. The 1911 census building return described No. 23 as a first class dwelling comprising 11 rooms. Ownership passed to Mr. Joseph McMaster by 1935, who retained it until the 1970s. The property value remained at £16 in 1930, increased to £24 by the First Revaluation in 1935, and stood at £28 by 1972.

William J. Moore (c. 1873–1921) was a Belfast-based architect who established a private practice in Ann Street by 1896. Nos. 21–31 Bloomfield Road would be amongst the earliest domestic buildings completed during his years in independent practice. Moore derived his style from the work of Scottish architect Norman Shaw, who made a significant break from established traditions of using either classical or gothic forms and became one of the stepping stones for the beginning of the modern Arts & Crafts movement.

The building underwent renovation in 1985 when the rainwater goods and bargeboards were repaired and the windows replaced with new timber sliding sashes. It continues to be used as a domestic dwelling. The exterior retains most of its original character despite these alterations.