Pump House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Long rectangular single storey pump house of c.1885-89, in typical late Victorian eclectic style with various gables and Romanesque arched openings, all in polychrome facing brick. The building, which has a deep basement level to house the pumps, (which are still used to pump out the adjacent Thompson Dock) is situated on Clarence Warf, within the Harland & Wolff ship yard complex, to the W side of Queens Road, on the W side of Queens Island. To the immediate E of the building is the large aforementioned Thompson dry dock, and to the immediate W is the Alexandra dry dock- now permanently filled and home to a small naval training vessel.

Basically the building is a series of joined gabled pavilions constructed in red brick with cream brick dressings to the gable verges and semicircular and segmental arch headed openings. The facades are decorated with many classical motifs i.e. roundels, key stones acroteria etc. A large number of unsympathetic door and windows have been added in recent times.

The W elevation comprises of three joined gabled pavilions to the right and one long section with a central projecting gabled bay to the left. The main entrance is reached by a set of four sandstone steps and is placed within a tall semicircular arch headed opening to the centre of the third pavilion gable (counting from the right). Double timber doors are flanked by a single pass door to either side. The upper area has mullioned and transomed timber frame with small square panes. The upper section of the opening has cream coloured brick surround and archivolt and a sandstone drip moulding. The decorative key stone is formed in sandstone and is inscribed with the letters BHC (Belfast Harbour Commission). Flanking the main arch are is a smaller matching arch. These arched openings have large sash windows with horizontal astragals. The gable is framed with plain projecting cream coloured brick pilasters which support heavily moulded (pediment like) verge. The verge is finished with a moulded stone coping with an acroterion to the apex. At the junction of the verge and the pilasters is a ‘shouldered detail’ with corbelled brickwork. Much of this detailing is repeated around the building.

To the right of this gable is a further but lower gable with similar verge detailing. To the centre of the gable is a blind roundel formed in cream coloured brick. A pediment is completed with the addition of a fine sandstone string course. The pediment rests on a series of four segmental arch headed openings. The openings were bricked up but openings 1, 3 and 4 now have quite modern, utilitarian sheeted doors added.

To the far right is a further gable which is the same height as the first but narrower. A small blind roundel is set within the gable, as before. To the eaves / pilaster junctions are further roundels. To the centre is a double height semicircular headed opening, as before. The opening is filled with tall timber diagonally sheeted gates. In recent times the right door leaf was bricked up and a modern steel window inserted.

The left of the W façade comprises of the side of a long symmetrical pavilion (the pump house proper) with a central projecting gable as before. The centre of the gable is a large timber framed, mullioned and transomed window as before. The gable is flanked either side by matching five arched openings. The centre arch of each is elliptical and frames timber double doors with simple radial fanlight. The two windows to either side have semicircular arched openings and sash windows, all as before. To the left of the right double door is a bronze war memorial plaque.

The N elevation is a simple gable flanked by pilasters with decorative eaves, all as before. To the lower left side a small pair of double doors was added in recent times.

The E side of the pump house proper is identical to that to the W barring with the exception that the group of five openings to the N of the gable projection are all windows.

To the left of the pump house is a further gable, as before, but with less ornate moulded verge detailing. Two evenly spaced semicircular arched openings flank a memorial plaque which commemorates the building of Thompson’s Engraving Dock in 1911. The opening to the left is blind while that to the right has a sash window as before. Both have brick dressings and sandstone drip moulding, as before.

To the left of this is a further lower gable, much as before. To the ground floor are three small modern and unevenly spaced modern doors.

To the far left if the gable of the third pavilion all as before but with two unevenly spaced modern door openings, as before. This gable projects forward slightly. The base has heavy brick buttresses. The exposed N face has a further memorial plaque dedicated to the opening of the Alexandra Dock on the 21st of May 1889.

The S façade was symmetrical with a two ‘warehouse style’ loading bay doors stacked on top of the other. To either side is a blind semicircular arched recess which rests on a sandstone string course which merges with drip mouldings. Below the right arch is a memorial plaque which remembers the work of the designers, supervisors and builders of ‘This Dock’, (presumably Alexandra Dock, since it was built first). Below the left arch are five modern openings, three windows flanked by two doors.

The building rests on a low sandstone base. Roofs are covered in blue natural slate. RW goods are a mixture of square section down pipes with ogee gutters and round section PVC. To the middle of the ridge of the pump house is a tall gabled [?]plant room which is finished in corrugated asbestos sheeting.

Historical information

This pump house was built between 1885 and 1889 by the Belfast Harbour Commission to serve the newly cut Alexandra graving dock. The dock itself (named after Princess Alexandra, who cut the first sod in 1885) was completed in early 1889 and was inaugurated by the newly completed White Star liner ‘Teutonic’. To serve the dock a large steam crane, reputed to be one of the finest within the British Isles, was installed alongside ‘capable of lifting loads of 100 tons at 50ft, 80 tons at 60ft and 60 tons at 70ft’.

Between 1903 and 1911 the much larger Thompson dry dock was cut to the immediate east of the pump house. Today the Alexandra dock is permanently filled (and is home to a small naval training vessel). The pump house itself still serves the Thompson dry dock.

References- Primary sources
1 D.2805 Harland & Wolff Papers

Secondary sources
1 ‘The Port of Belfast 1785-1985’ (Belfast Harbour Commissioners 1985)
2 Michael Moss and John R Hume ‘Shipbuilders to the world:125 years of Harland & Wolff’ (Belfast 1986)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Long rectangular single storey (Belfast Harbour Commission) pump house of c.1885-89, in typical late Victorian eclectic style with various gables and Romanesque arched openings, all in polychrome facing brick. Basically the building is a series of joined gabled pavilions constructed in red brick with cream brick dressings to the gable verges and semicircular and segmental arch headed openings. The facades are decorated with many classical motifs i.e. roundels, key stones acroteria etc. A large number of unsympathetic door and windows have been added in recent times.

The building, which has a deep basement level to house the pumps,(which are still used to pump out the Thompson Dock) is situated on Clarence Wharf, within the Harland & Wolff ship yard complex, to the west side of Queens Road, on the west side of Queens Island. To the immediate east of the building is the large aforementioned Thompson dry dock, and to the immediate west is the Alexandra dry dock- now permanently filled and home to a small naval training vessel.