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Drawings & Descriptions in Balluta By
homas MacGill wrote a book for visitors naval o$cers, merchants #ocked to the island to Malta in 1839, describing St Julian’s as seeking trade opportunities. ‘a favourite place’ which has ‘within but a In 1818 Aspinall took the bold step of Tfew years, become an extensive straggling village, marrying Marianna Galizia, aunt of the Maltese where several English families have villas’. architect Emmanuele Luigi Galizia (1830- Valletta was the centre of political and 1907). %e growing trend of ‘mixed marriages’ commercial life. Yet from the earliest days between Catholics and Anglicans was then of the British presence in Malta, those who the subject of considerable controversy in could a!ord it also sought houses with gardens Maltese Catholic society. %is cut both ways, outside the city, elsewhere on the island. One as Protestants also did not approve of marriage of the earliest popular ‘resorts’ among British with Catholics. residents was the bay of St Julian’s. At this Aspinall was an active and prominent period, St Julian’s was a small hamlet and member of society. He was appointed on the "shing village, within the parish of Birkirkara. "rst Council of Government in Malta in 1835, Among the residents of St Julian’s was remaining a member until the Council was Nicholas John Aspinall and his family, who dissolved in 1849. Following the completion lived at Spinola Palace in the 1830s and also of St Paul’s Anglican church in Valletta in had a house in Strada Mercanti in Valletta. 1844, he participated in raising money for Aspinall came to Malta from England as a the endowment of the Anglican Bishop of young man in 1811. He established himself Gibraltar together with numerous leading as a merchant when trade was #ourishing English residents in Malta including Sir John on the island, although it su!ered a setback Hookham Frere. following the plague outbreak of 1813. In the In the 1850s, the Aspinalls moved ‘into the early years of the British presence in Malta, country’ in the parish of Tarxien. Nicholas John besides colonial government o$cials and Aspinall died in 1857 at the age of 71 and was ViGiLO - Din l-Art Ħelwa 29
Top left: Early 19th-century buried at the Protestant cemetery in Floriana, %e site stretched from ‘Kirxa hill’ on one view of Balluta bay with the Msida Bastion garden today managed by side, to Balluta bay below, and a substantial 'Belvedere' (G. Muir). Above: Columns above Din l-Art Ħelwa. Professor Nicola Zammit length along Old College Street today. Part arcades at 'Belvedere.' wrote an obituary for Aspinall and recorded of this site was later cut across and excavated Top right: 'Belvedere' today. that he spoke several languages, loved literature for Prince of Wales Road (Manwel Dimech and had a passion for the "ne arts, and that he Street), leading directly from the Sliema loved Malta. He was a good friend of the British ferries to Balluta bay, built by Emmanuele painter Charles Allingham, who lived and Luigi Galizia as government architect in the worked in Malta from 1818 to his death in 1850. 1860s. Villa Aspinall in Tarxien has been restored Another well-known property with as o$ces and this project won a Din l-Art extensive gardens dating to the same period is Ħelwa architectural heritage award in 2011. Villa Frere in Pietà, home of British diplomat In his guidebook of 1839, %omas Sir John Hookham Frere (1769-1846). Villa MacGill made it a point to note that the most Frere was recently awarded the highest level impressive house on the other side of St Julian’s of scheduling protection by the Planning bay was that owned by John Watson. MacGill Authority. and Watson were business partners and shared By 1837 John Watson’s wife Elizabeth, some investments. Like Watson and Aspinall, née Pilkington, had passed away and in 1844 MacGill was part of the British mercantile he and his seven sons and one daughter sold community residing in Malta, settling on the ‘Belvedere’. %e reasons for this decision are island in the "rst decade of the nineteenth unclear, but it is possible that it may have been century. He had investments in various prompted by "nancial concerns. enterprises, and was also consul for Greece. His daughter Elizabeth, then married to John Watson’s house at St Julian’s was the Captain George Gri$n RN, stipulated that the large property named ‘Belvedere’, which in the sale should not include a particular enclosure early nineteenth century stood alone in the of land called ‘tal Ballut’, bought for 400 scudi landscape, on the hillside overlooking Balluta from Dr Luigi Caruana Dingli in 1832, as she bay from the Sliema side. wanted her father to continue to have it for as Watson had moved to Malta in the "rst long as he remained in Malta. decade of the nineteenth century. He was As things turned out, John Watson involved in trading activities, and in the late remained on the island until his death in 1820s he acquired the site at Balluta where 1848, when he was residing at St Venera. he built his villa ‘Belvedere’, with extensive Like Aspinall and Frere, he was also buried gardens, stables, a coach room, "elds and at Msida Bastion cemetery in Floriana. outhouses. MacGill notes that Watson Some of his sons resided abroad, in Calcutta, intended to cultivate the Brazilian cotton plant Constantinople and elsewhere, while others there, introducing it into Malta. stayed in Malta for longer. ViGiLO - Din l-Art Ħelwa 30
‘Belvedere’ was sold by the Watsons to of the house, gardens, "elds and tenements. Top left: Courtyard with Lachlan Mackintosh Rate in London in 1844, %ese drawings and descriptions were drawn arcades at 'Belvedere'. Above: Architectural detail. for the sum of 2,500 British pounds, or 30,000 up by perit Paolo Attard on 4 October 1844. Maltese scudi. %e keys were handed over by the %ey include measurements of each space beginning of 1845 and it was rapidly converted within the grounds. into a Protestant college. In the 1870s it was An outer door at a point close to what is resold and in 1877 it was turned into a Jesuit now Scicluna Street led into a small portico college and renamed ‘Villa St Ignatius’. supported by two columns. %is led towards Plans of the property as it was when owned the main house through a bower with fourteen by the Watsons, survive in the notarial archives columns, across a parterre with some trees and in Valletta together with details of the interior a water system.
1 – landing place with 8 – passage leading small iron balcony leading to water closet. to rooms and arcade. 9 – water closet. 2 – arcade with balustrades, within 10 – small closet. walls supported by nine columns and two pillars. 11 – room with cupboard.
3 – room with two 12 – terrace. cupboards. 13 – room with chimney 4 – another room and cupboard. with cupboard, iron balcony and awning. 14 – room with iron balcony overlooking parterre. 5 – winding staircase on landing place leading to 15 – room with store room, small closet and cupboard. roofed passage leading to terrace and small staircase 16 – room with two leading to signal tower. cupboards.
6 – parlour with chimney. 17 – room with another balcony overlooking garden. 7 – large corridor with staircase leading 18 – small room with downstairs. two cupboards ViGiLO - Din l-Art Ħelwa 31
Below the house was a garden with orange 4 – roofed entrance with with staircase leading to staircase of seven steps from cellars and upper !oor. trees, vines and #owers, and another bower parterre, leading to passage. Wine cellar underneath. with columns and water canals. At the back, the house had another entrance with a small 5 – lateral room with 16 – room with chimney chimney, two windows and cupboard. Cellar portico and columns. Here there was a coach and cupboard. underneath with southward room and stables, leading into a spacious yard window, two chimneys and with store rooms, cellars, hens and cattle. 6 – lateral room with all two stoves for washing. windows looking into A gate opened from the courtyard onto parterre, and a sink. 17 – room with cupboard. the road, which led to the main route towards Cellar underneath with two Valletta and Birkirkara. %is road, today Old 7 – kitchen divided by windows one southward arch supported by two and one northward. College Street, must have been realigned pillars with stoves, oven, further back from the house when adjoining tank, sinks, two cupboards 18 – small closet. buildings, including St Ignatius chapel, were and three windows, and staircase leading to pantry 19 – another court with tank, added behind ‘Belvedere’ later. with two windows, one pump and several trees, and %e house itself had spacious rooms on looking into garden and large gate leading to road. the ground #oor, with a dining room and the other into court with stone table in the middle 20 – stable with sca"old for kitchen, and a basement including a wine under part of the kitchen. fodder, #tted up for three cellar. %e rooms were arranged around a horses, and cupboard. balustraded court yard with arcades on three 8 – servants room above staircase. 21 – coach house with sides and a view over Balluta bay. %e principal sca"old for fodder rooms were on the "rst #oor, with a parlour, 10 – dining room with adjoining stable. bedrooms, balconies and a large terrace on chimney and ‘side board place’ in wall and door 22, 23, 24 – three rooms. the Sliema side. %e house had main staircases leading to arcade. near both entrance doors on the ground #oor, 25 – staircase leading and winding staircase led to an intriguing 11 – arcade. to three cellars under rooms 22, 23, 24. ‘signal tower’ on the roof. 12 – staircase leading to Beyond the garden, the property stretched upper !oor from passage, 26, 27, 28 – another down the hill over various "elds with almond with pantry underneath. staircase leading to small storeroom and privy. trees, vines, orange trees, pomegranates and 13 – room with cupboard other fruit. A door and round staircase led to and small closet with water 29 – courtyard. the road at Balluta bay below. cock to convey water from cisterns on terrace. 30 – store room for fowl. %e villa’s surrounding land was built up over the years, and the Protestant and Jesuit 14 – court with arcades on 31 – several small colleges in turn added substantial buildings three sides, a balustrade stone hen roosts. parapet, and staircase to the house. Yet despite the accretions and with iron railings 32, 33, 34 – three its dilapidated state today, the main original leading to garden. small cattle stables. structure of Villa Belvedere still survives. But 15 – another entrance with 35 – another stable. it is under serious threat. small portico on south side, supported by columns, 36 – small store room. ViGiLO - Din l-Art Ħelwa 32
Developers have cast their eye on the old 1 – outer door with small 24 – door leading to #eld, portico supported by with large tank, staircase villa as a lucrative site for a block of apartments, two columns leading to and water course to convey and in 2018 they started demolishing part house through a bower water from the road, and of the structure illegally. Din l-Art Ħelwa with fourteen columns. canal to water gardens. "led a case against the Planning Authority 2 – parterre crossed by 25 – #eld with almond trees. for not acting to stop that demolition at the bower, with trees mostly time, and there is also a law suit "led by the vines, rainwater tank 26 – #eld. with pump, and small Court against the developer and a Planning built cistern to water 27 – #eld with #g trees. Authority o$cial for contempt of court trees of parterre and linked to this incident. garden through canals. 28 – #eld with small adjoining garden. Din l-Art Ħelwa has asked the Planning 3 – house. Authority to schedule and protect the villa, 29 & 30 – #eld. but this request was refused. An appeal before 19 – garden with orange trees, vines and !owers, 31 – #eld with door the planning tribunal is ongoing, requesting a divided by walks, including leading to road. reversal of the PA’s decision not to schedule. bower with twenty-two Meanwhile, the Superintendent for Cultural columns, and stone 32 – vineyard divided into canals for watering. #ve enclosures, with winding Heritage issued a protection order, and the walk, well, door leading to developer has "led a suit to revoke it. 20 – water closet. road with round staircase All these legal actions are still pending and diverse trees, small 21 – small room for closet with small cupboard, and their outcome is uncertain. %e house garden implements. staircase with stone seats has signi"cant historical and architectural and door leading to garden. importance, and should be protected. Like 22 – staircase leading to trench for manure. 33, 34 – garden and Villa Frere and Villa Aspinall, ‘Belvedere’ adjoining enclosure, survives as a valuable example of Malta’s 23 – small adjoining with fruit trees, tank, cultural heritage of the nineteenth century. garden with orange passage, small room, and trees, pomegranate room leading trees, and vines. to the road. !e author thanks Dr Franco Vassallo for his assistance. Photographs of 'Belvedere' today courtesy of Edward Said and Jean Pierre Attard. References: A. Ganado, ‘John Watson’s Belvedere and the Maltese Protestant College’ Sunday Times of Malta (11 March 2018). Plans at Notarial Archive of Valletta, Not. J. Assenza, 19 September 1844; Not. C. Curry, 10 September 1851.