46 Hampton Park, BELFAST, BT7 3JP

46 Hampton Park is a two-storey detached Arts and Crafts house designed in 1909 by Kendrick Edwards, a Liverpool-born architect who had settled in Belfast, and built in 1910 as his own family residence. It stands in a large, secluded and mature plot within Hampton Park, a residential cul-de-sac laid out between 1892 and 1910 on land that had formerly formed part of the grounds of Annadale, a dwelling of pre-1833 construction. The house was originally known as "The Leete".

Architectural Character and Materials

The house is defined by an asymmetric floor plan, complicated interlocking roof slopes, and intricate detailing both externally and internally. The walls are finished in original large smooth rounded pebble roughcast painted render, applied very coarsely. The roof is covered in rare thick brown stone slates laid in diminishing courses — an unusual treatment for Northern Ireland — with exposed rafter ends throughout. Three large rendered chimney stacks punctuate the roofline, the front one paired, all with pulvinated (cushion-like) cornices; this same cushion detail recurs in the interior joinery. Windows are mainly single-glazed leaded lights set within painted timber sub-frames, with opening lights in steel. Rainwater goods are cast metal with decorative cast iron hoppers.

Front Elevation (North-facing)

The north-facing front elevation presents two projecting gabled bays. The smaller bay to the right contains the recessed front door, which is raised four steps above ground level and features multiple small panes to the upper panel with matching side lights. An open porch with a projecting roof is carried on large carved brackets. Above the front door a canted staircase window rises to the upper floor. Two ornate cast iron rainwater hoppers flank the staircase window; one, dated 1910, is supported on curved straps with tulip motifs — a motif that recurs as a theme throughout the design. The larger bay to the left contains a projecting curved multi-paned window with leaded lights beneath a dentilled cornice.

Side Elevation (West-facing)

The west-facing side elevation presents one large gabled face. At ground floor level there is a curved projecting window closely similar to that on the front elevation, with a smaller but comparable window directly above it. An additional ornate cast iron rainwater hopper is positioned to the left. The gable features projecting shaped purlin ends.

Rear Elevation (South-facing)

The south-facing rear elevation contains a mixture of original and altered features. To the left is a single-storey flat-roofed sunroom with more modern detailing; a room in this position was shown as an addition on the original architect's drawings, though its precise construction date is unknown. Immediately to its right are a small window and a pair of double doors that represent a change from the original design. The small window now lights a side room off the lounge that was originally accessed from outside and intended to store bicycles; the double doors are a later addition, and a small pantry that originally served the dining room from this side has been removed. The dining room itself retains a large curved projecting bay window of the same character as those on the front and west elevations. To the right of this bay is a modern flat-roofed projecting sunroom, similarly detailed to the one at the opposite end of this elevation. At first floor level the roof slopes down to meet the top of the ground floor and incorporates two projecting flat-roofed dormers, both glazed with leaded lights.

Side Elevation (East-facing)

The east-facing side elevation is accessed from the rear through a timber gate matching one on the west side; both gates are carefully detailed with curved top members and may well be original. The roof, complete with exposed rafter ends, sweeps around from the front and rear elevations to cover the projecting ground floor. There are four rectangular windows of varying sizes at ground floor level, together with a door, and two small windows set in the gable above. Two sets of widened vehicular entrances with modern steel gates and fluted reconstituted stone caps give access to the site, connected by a random rubble stone wall with modern steel railings above. To the immediate east stands a modern flat-roofed double garage of little architectural interest.

Interior

The original floor plan is largely intact. The interior contains a wealth of high-quality Arts and Crafts detailing, including the pulvinated cornice and cushion-like joinery motifs noted externally. According to the 1911 census the house contained fourteen rooms occupied by the family.

Setting

The site is spacious with many mature trees and shrubs. A sweeping driveway leads to the front door from each of the two vehicular entrances. To the rear a large stone-flagged patio gives onto steps leading down to an extensive grassed garden. The house stands immediately beside Tudor Lodge, another listed Arts and Crafts house, and the combination of mature planting and neighbouring listed building contributes significantly to its setting.

Historical Background

Hampton Park was developed on the southern portion of the former Annadale estate, one of several small semi-rural gentlemen's residences that characterised the Ormeau and Ravenhill areas before the late Victorian and Edwardian spread of suburbia. The Annadale house had stood just south of the present Mornington Place, with grounds extending from the Ormeau Road to the River Lagan. Around 1890 a substantial southern portion of this land was acquired by Isaac Hampton, who began advertising "desirable villa and terrace sites" on perpetual leases in 1892. By 1900 six properties had been built, including Hampton's own residence, Eagle Hall, on the site of what is now Lowry Court.

Kendrick Edwards (1874–1943) was born in Liverpool and served an engineering apprenticeship there under C. E. Williams. He subsequently worked for Braby and Co. of Glasgow on various projects including the Mail Packet Pier at Dun Laoghaire, before being appointed chief of drawing-office staff at the Belfast engineering firm of Musgrave and Co. in 1898. He established his own practice in Belfast in 1907, initially as a consulting engineer working mainly on industrial and commercial projects, but he was also responsible for several dwelling houses, notably Strathearn at 124 Malone Road (built 1920, now demolished) and 6 New Forge Lane (1924). The original plans for No. 46 are captioned "Residence Hampton Park Belfast, for Mrs. Kendrick Edwards." In the 1911 census Edwards is recorded at the house with his wife Gertrude, their son Cyril, and a domestic servant, Catherine Murphy. After Edwards's death in 1943 the property passed to Cyril Edwards, who was still in residence in 1967. The current owners acquired it before 1980. The relatively minor alterations to the rear and ground floor are of uncertain date but may have been carried out in the 1970s or 1980s.