533 Antrim Road, Belfast, Co.Antrim, BT15 3BS

533 Antrim Road is a two-storey with attic end-terrace late Victorian house, built in 1879 in red brick with blue brick dressings. The architect is unknown. It forms the northernmost of a group of three closely related houses (Nos. 529–533) within a wider terrace of nine properties — originally known as Castleton Terrace — running along the east side of Antrim Road between Glandore Gardens and Glandore Avenue. The terrace was built in three distinct phases: the five Georgian-style houses at Nos. 519–527 were erected in 1878, the three Gothic-style dwellings at Nos. 529–533 (including this house) followed in 1879, and No. 517 was added in 1883. No. 533 is particularly similar to its two immediate neighbours to the south (Nos. 531 and 529), with which it shares Ruskinian detailing around the doorcase and windows. The building has group value with the other listed buildings in this terrace.

Historical Context

The Antrim Road was originally laid out in 1830. By the 1850s, as recorded on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858, the land to the north of the Belfast Waterworks and Limestone Road remained largely rural. As Belfast's population grew and its shipbuilding, rope-making and textile industries expanded through the mid-19th century, the townland of Skegoneil became one of the city's most affluent areas, attracting gentlemen's mansions and wealthy merchants' houses. Nos. 517–533 Antrim Road were constructed on the former grounds of Ashfield House, the home of solicitor Thomas McClelland. Ashfield House was demolished around the turn of the 20th century, though the majority of its grounds had already been built over during the 1870s and 1880s. The entire stretch appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1901–02, by which point the surrounding area had been fully developed with terraced streets.

The terrace was built for John Smith, a local builder and contractor. Although the architect of Nos. 529–533 is not known, it is thought likely that the adjoining Nos. 519–527 were designed by Redfern Kelly (1845–1928), a Belfast-based engineer who predominantly carried out contracts for the Belfast Harbour Commissioners. No. 533 was initially valued at £40 and first occupied by John Smith himself. By 1901 it was occupied by a Ms. Sarah Nolan, and the 1911 census building return described it as a first-class dwelling containing 16 rooms. The Smith family retained ownership until the 1970s. During the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936–57) the house was revalued at £47 and was occupied by a Dr. John Scott, who continued to reside there until the 1970s. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956–72), the value had been reduced to £44. The properties at Nos. 517–533 were listed in 1987. By 1985 No. 533 was recorded as being in office use, and in 2014 an application was submitted for its conversion to a children's crèche.

Exterior

The building has a rectilinear plan with a shallow two-storey return to the rear. The roof is pitched natural slate with projecting eaves and black clay angled ridge tiles. Rainwater is collected by ogee cast iron guttering discharging to rectangular section downpipes. There is a rectangular chimney stack with a corbelled coping and clay chimney pots. A wall-head dormer window features moulded timber bargeboards on decorative brackets with a timber finial. Modern rooflights have been added to both the front and rear elevations.

The principal elevation faces west and is two bays wide with an asymmetric arrangement. Red brick walling is laid in Flemish bond with blue brick banding at cill, impost and eaves level. Window openings to the ground and first floors are segmental-arched, formed with pairs of red and blue brick soldier courses as headers, topped by projecting hood moulds made up of alternating angular blue bricks. The windows themselves are double-hung timber sash windows with 1/1 panes and painted projecting cills. The wall-head dormer contains a round-arched window, also with 1/1 panes to a double-hung timber sash. At the centre of the principal elevation is a pointed arch door opening set on colonnettes with floriated capitals supported on a stepped plinth. The arch is formed in alternating bands of three soldier courses of red and blue brick, with a painted moulded hood above on floriated label stops. The door itself is a square-headed timber panelled door with a glazed pointed arch fanlight above, opening onto a single stone step. A two-storey canted bay window projects to the south end of this elevation.

The gabled north elevation is two bays wide and features a single-storey canted bay window to the east, an overhanging verge with bracketed timber bargeboards, and the same blue brick banding as the principal elevation. The south elevation is party to the adjoining No. 531. The east elevation was not accessible at the time of survey. The rear elevation is red brick with a two-storey lean-to return. The main rear wall is largely blank at upper levels where visible, except for a square-headed opening above the return with 2/2 pane sash windows. The first floor of the return has arched windows.

Setting and Boundary Walls

The forecourt is tarmacked. To the rear, a red brick wall with a square-headed opening fitted with a modern metal door leads onto a narrow alley accessed from Glandore Gardens. The north side of the yard is enclosed by a red brick wall divided into five bays by brick piers with stop-chamfer edge detail. The recessed panels between each pier are tapered in brick at the base and corbelled at the top to a dentilled brick course with a blue band and canted brick coping.

Materials: natural slate roof; cast iron rainwater goods; red brick walling laid in Flemish bond with blue brick dressings; original double-hung timber sash windows with 1/1 panes.