Cabin Hill Preparatory School, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast, Co Down, BT4 3HS

Cabin Hill Preparatory School is a relatively large and much-extended two-to-four storey school building on the Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast. It was built around a sandstone Tudor Revival gentleman's residence of around 1860, which was itself extended in a similar style around 1903–5. A large, overtly modern, flat-roofed four-storey rendered block was added to the rear in 1946, with an adjacent equally large and equally modern brick wing of around 1980.

The building sits on a slight rise at the end of a winding, tree-lined drive to the north of the Upper Newtownards Road. To the northeast of the main building there is a further modern classroom complex, with playing fields to the north.

SOUTH (FRONT) ELEVATION

The south-facing front elevation has a complex, asymmetric appearance. To the left (west) is the original Tudor Revival residence of around 1860; to the right is the around 1903–5 extension. Both are linked by a recessed central portion belonging to the original section, with a large single-storey PVC conservatory spanning the area created by the recess. Both Tudor Revival sections are in light-coloured squared sandstone and display the typical elements of the genre: high-pitched slated roof, gables with corbelled ends, mullioned windows, label moulding, and tall chimney stacks. The conservatory, which forms part of the 1903–5 extension, was originally in timber. Many of the windows to the former house section appear to have early 20th century timber frames with steel frame insets.

At the centre of the elevation, between the two projecting sections, stands the single-storey PVC conservatory, which also serves as the front entrance porch. At its centre is a slightly projecting entrance bay with a glazed door flanked by plain sidelights and topped by a plain, pedimented gable. To either side are three tall windows with louvred top lights. The roof appears to be polycarbonate sheeting. The conservatory covers the inner double front doors, which are glazed with small timber panels to the lower section. To either side of these inner doors is a pointed arch-headed window with a plain frame and square drip moulding with label stops. At first floor level in the recessed section above the conservatory is a centred, slightly projecting gable containing a window with a four-pane mullioned and transomed frame, with a small window to either side, that to the right being slightly wider; both have modern frames.

The section to the left, representing the original house, has a centred window — previously the entrance door to the house — set within a single-storey porch with a castellated parapet. The opening has a pointed (Tudor) arch head. The left corner has a small diagonal buttress. At first floor level above the porch is a window with drip moulding and label stops. To the right is a full-height projecting gabled bay with a further canted single-storey bay to the ground floor, which has a hipped stone roof. At first floor level there is a six-pane window, and a wrought iron finial tops the apex of the gable. To the left of the porch is a further six-pane window with a four-pane window above; these windows sit within a narrow, slightly projecting gabled bay also topped with a wrought iron finial.

To the right of the conservatory is the large around 1903–5 extension, built in a similar style to the original portion but taller and in a slightly more roughly dressed sandstone. To the right of this section is a projecting gabled bay with a canted, flat-roofed bay window. The windows to the front are separated by stone mullions and are all two-pane. Centred above the bay is a large three-light window with stone mullions; each light has two panes, with a drip moulding and label stops over, as well as a relieving arch. At the apex of the gable is a small opening with a louvred frame and drip moulding with label stops, and a wrought iron finial. To the right of the bay is a window matching the description above: the central light has two panes while those to the left and right have four panes each. At first floor there is a similar window. A projecting stone string course extends across to complete the south elevation.

On the east face of the original section — the portion of façade overlooking the conservatory — there is a window with a three-pane frame, set just below a large finial-topped gable. On the west face of the around 1903–5 section, also overlooking the conservatory, there is a similar window, and above the roof there is a small flat-roofed dormer.

EAST ELEVATION

To the left side of the east elevation is a large gable. At ground floor level there is a single-storey flat-roofed bay matching that on the front right. To the right of this are two small two-pane windows. To the left side of the first floor is a triple-light mullioned window matching that on the front right, and to the right is a glazed and timber-clad walkway spanning between this section and the adjoining building. To the right of the walkway is a canted oriel bay with a stone corbelled base and stone hipped roof, containing a two-light mullioned window to the front with single lights to the sides; all lights have two panes. At second floor level there are three quite wide windows, which appear to be later insertions, all with modern steel window frames. The gable merges with a higher wall section to the right.

To the right (north) side of the east elevation is a very large four-storey flat-roofed extension added in 1946. This is overtly modern in style, with a rendered façade, long unbroken lines of steel-framed windows, and glass bricks. A large portion of the 1903–5 section was demolished to make way for this extension, which sits slightly forward of the original east elevation. To its left side is a recessed double door opening with what appears to be a Portland stone surround. Directly above is a projecting frame resting on a concave bracket inscribed with the date of construction (1946) and a moulded school crest. There are three recessed glazed panels, each comprising clear glass bricks set in a mullioned and transomed concrete frame; between the first and second and second and third glazed panels are recessed rock-faced sandstone panels. The glazing lights the stairwell and therefore sits at half-landing levels. To the right are three windows, each framed with fine projecting concrete edging, each containing five vertical steel frames, the centre of which has a small top-hung opener. There are three similar windows to the first floor, while the second and third floors have wide ribbon glazing framed with broad concrete mullions; there are nine windows to each of these floors, each containing two tall panes with two small panes above. There is a wide concrete overhang with a splayed soffit.

WEST ELEVATION

The west elevation of the original around 1860 portion is double-gabled, with the left gable projecting slightly. At ground floor level within the left gable is a centred single-storey canted bay with a stone hipped roof, matching the bay on the south front of this section. At first floor level there is a window with a four-pane frame. Within the right gable there is a four-pane window to the ground floor and a canted oriel window at first floor, supported on a stone corbel with a stone hipped roof, all matching the previous canted bay. Each gable has a wrought iron finial. The moulded string course noted on the front elevation continues across this façade.

NORTH ELEVATION AND REAR

The north elevation of the original around 1860 house has a relatively large rendered lean-to extension with two large modern-looking windows. At first floor level on the original façade there are three windows, that to the left being much smaller.

The rear elevation has an untidy, complex appearance, the legacy of successive 20th century extensions and alterations. To the left is the large 1946 extension; to the right is a later, probably 1980s, three-storey flat-roofed brick extension. This latter extension was added to the rear of a large two-storey gabled return with rendered façade and slated roof, which is probably largely around 1903. The yard between the two rear extensions has a wall with a double door.

At ground floor level on the 1946 section there are two framed windows matching those on the east façade of this section: that to the left has one large pane with two small top lights, while that to the right has four tall panes each with a top light. There are two similar windows to the first floor, each with four top lights over four tall lower windows. The second and third floors each have wide ribbon glazing with three mullioned windows to either side of a broad central mullion.

The west elevation of the 1940s extension faces into the narrow yard. At ground floor level there are seven unevenly spaced small windows. At first floor there are seven similar windows — five evenly spaced to the left and two to the right. At second floor there are three such windows to the left, while to the right there is a fire escape door opening onto a steel walkway connecting the 1940s extension with the gabled return extension; the walkway has a mid-point change of level reconciling the difference in floor levels between the two extensions. To the right of the walkway are two broader windows. At third floor level a steel fire escape stair zigzags down to ground level and exits within the rear yard.

The narrow exposed section of the north wall of the 1903–5 extension is much obscured by the fire escape steelwork but has at least one window to both the first and second floors. The east face of the large gabled return, which faces into the yard, is much obscured by the yard wall but appears to have two small flat-roofed extensions at ground floor level. At first floor level to the left there is a wider window with three narrower ones to the right and a further wide one beyond. At second floor there are four wider windows to the left side, the fire escape walkway to the right, and one further window beyond. At roof level there is a large flat-roofed dormer, and to its right a small barrel-vaulted dormer with a lead-covered roof.

At the north end of the return, to the right outside the yard, is the 1980s extension. This is slightly recessed, and the junction between it and its neighbour is articulated with a vertical glazed strip. The first floor is raised on stilts, giving a completely open but covered ground floor. At the centre of the first and second floors there is a modern window. The north face has six evenly spaced modern windows to the first and second floors; the brick panel below each window is slightly recessed, giving the effect that each window is framed with pilasters. The concrete floors and roof are expressed as horizontal concrete bands.

The roof of the older return is mainly obscured by the 1980s extension, but the gable rises above the flat roof and has a small bell cote above a square-faced clock.

The west face of the 1980s extension largely matches the east face. To the right is the west face of the large return. To the left are two windows to the ground floor and two similar windows to the first floor. To the right is a tall cluster of large stainless steel flue pipes. Further right is a three-storey section with a large window to each floor; the second floor window is slightly smaller and sits within a flat-roofed half-dormer. These windows sit at half-landing level. To the right of the three-storey section are two windows to the ground floor and two to the first floor, as before. To the right is a large gable containing a large multi-paned corbelled window serving the main stair.

All the gabled and pitched sections of the roof are slated, with several tall stone and brick chimney stacks. The rainwater goods are mainly cast iron.

To the southwest of the building is a large, flat rounded rock said to have been a favourite sitting place of the most famous inhabitant of the original late 18th and early 19th century single-storey Cabin Hill house, Dr William Drennan.

HISTORICAL NOTES

The name Cabin Hill refers to a cabin built in 1786–7 by Samuel and Martha McTier on a small parcel of land they had acquired for £50. As the name implies the original house was a single-storey thatched dwelling, though a painting of 1847 shows it to have had a fairly prosperous appearance — relatively large and well-kept, not quite the modest cabin the name suggests. After Samuel McTier's death in 1795, Martha continued to use Cabin Hill as a country retreat, frequently joined by her brother, the Belfast radical and founder of the United Irishmen, Dr William Drennan. Drennan died in 1820 and Martha in 1837, though the property appears to have been disposed of some time before the latter date: the 1833 valuation records it as the home of a Mr Tomb. By 1852 it had been acquired by John Dinnen, a Belfast solicitor. Dinnen appears to have retained the original house for some years, as it is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1858; however, the high valuation of £22 recorded in 1861 — as opposed to £6 17s 0d in 1833 — suggests that the new, much larger building was in place by that date.

This new dwelling, a two-storey gentleman's villa in the Tudor Revival style, remained in the possession of Dinnen's descendants until 1903, when it was acquired by R.J. McMordie, the future Lord Mayor of Belfast. Around 1903–5 McMordie greatly extended the house, adding the large section to the eastern side and the new entrance conservatory, all to designs by Hugh Brown. From early 1921 to early 1922, McMordie's widow leased the property to Sir James Craig, and after Craig became Prime Minister of the newly created Northern Ireland in June 1921, some cabinet meetings were held at the house.

In 1924–25, McMordie's widow sold Cabin Hill to the nearby Campbell College, which converted it for use as their preparatory school. Around 1935 the school added a porter's lodge to the main gateway. In 1946 the large four-storey modern-style wing was added to the rear of the main building. Further separate classrooms were built to the northeast of the building in 1973, and a further modernist extension was added to the main school around 1980.