2 COLLEGE GREEN

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey with attic red brick asymmetrical terraced house, built 1870-71 to designs by James Francis MacKinnon, and facing south on College Green, NE of the main quad at Queens University, Belfast. Group value with adjoining No. 4 College Green (HB26 27 032B) and College Green House (HB26 27 080); the three houses were built at the same time and shared a coach house, harness room and stables to the rear (now converted to a restaurant). No.2 & No.4 form part of a longer Victorian terrace, which overlooks the Theological College of the Presbyterian Church (HB26 27 004) in Queens Conservation Area, Belfast. College Green runs W-E from Botanic Avenue to Rugby Road and No.2 & 4 are located near the west end. Two-storey gabled return survives to rear, complete with yard walling and gate to shared alley, accessed from College Green Mews.

Natural slate duo-pitched roof with black clay ridge tiles including rear return, hipped roofed ground floor bay and gabled dormers to front (S) - photographic evidence from c1900 indicates that these dormers are later. Wide dormer to rear pitch with PVC membrane covering flat roof. Two red brick chimneys, both rectangular on plan: one centred on ridge and shared with No.4, with engineering brick corbelled ‘specials’ and six octagonal yellow clay pots; the other centred on gable end of return and rebuilt in red brick with simple projecting brick coping and one remaining octagonal clay pot. Modern roof-light to rear return.

MATERIALS -
ROOF: Natural slate, as described above
RWGS: Cast iron ogee profile gutter and replacement circular section RWP (S); and uPVC (N)
WALLS: Red brick in Flemish bond (S); Brownish-red brick in English Garden Wall bond (N)
WINDOWS: Single glazed double hung timber framed sliding sash with 1/1 panes (S),
Double glazed replacement timber framed sliding sash (N) unless otherwise described

South Elevation:
The south elevation is the principal façade. Asymmetrical, with entrance to left € and single-storey canted bay to right at ground floor; three segmental arched windows at first floor, one centred above door and the others paired above the canted bay. Heavy overhanging eaves on scrolled corbel brackets (incised carving to side face) and twin gabled dormers to attic, each having a pair of windows, decorative projecting bargeboard with spike finial and exposed rafter tails at eaves. Gable to each dormer clad in diagonal timber sheeting above windows; and side cheeks clad in horizontal timber sheeting, all painted. Bargeboard features round arched lower edge with Norman-style moulding and trefoil carving to spandrel above.
Gabled entrance projection with stone copings and finial; supported by Corinthian style columns on substantial stone plinth. Incised rosettes depicting flower heads are below apex and at eaves to gable. Wide flat arched timber framed panelled door (replacement) with stained and leaded glass fanlight featuring the number ‘2’. Norman-style arched opening above columns; and roll-edged detail to arched door surround.
Canted bay entirely rendered in stucco above cill height, with foliated stone capitals to pilasters between windows and continuous deep foliated cornice to parapet roof.
Other painted dressings, likely a combination of stone and stucco, include: projecting base plinth the chamfered top; continuous cill at ground floor windows, set flush with walling; plat band and projecting moulded string course at cill height to first floor windows and similar moulding at impost level, which continues as hood above deep surround to segmental arched heads; same moulding repeated again at attic level, lining base to aforementioned corbel brackets. Incised rosette between paired first floor window heads; and below stringcourse, jamb reveals feature stop-chamfered brick.

North Elevation:
The rear elevation faces north and overlooks a small alley shared by No.2 & 4 College Green and College Green House. The alley is accessed from College Green Mews and is overlooked on the opposite side by a former gabled stable block, now ‘Molly’s Yard’ restaurant.
As the back of house, this elevation is less formal that the principal façade, with simpler detailing. Walling is painted up to eaves height at return. Two courses projecting brick eaves with painted timber fascia fixed to upper course. Two storey gabled return to right (W) with single glazed sliding sash window at attic half-landing level to far right side; and one window each on ground and first floor to left – although both windows to left side are replaced as noted under ‘Materials’, the openings retain soldier coursed brick headers and projecting stone cills. Attic half-landing window is likely original with stone cill and 2/2 panes retaining some historic glass. Diminutive fixed lights flank first floor window obviously later with precast concrete lintels and cills. Modern glazed timber door to basement, with steps up to yard enclosed by concrete walling and covered by modern roof-light.
Wide flat roofed attic dormer spans almost full-width of rear elevation and contains uPVC framed casement windows, with horizontal timber sheeting between.
Gabled end of return is blank, with clipped eaves.

East Elevation:
No.4 College Green (HB26.27.032B) abuts main building.
East face of two-storey return: informally arranged, with two windows at ground floor and a timber framed glass door; and two windows at first floor. Walling is rendered up to cill height at first floor, and white-washed up to and including single row of projecting brick headers at eaves. Although the windows are replaced, the proportion of openings appears to be original with first floor windows retaining thick stone cills.

West Elevation:
College Green House (HB26.27.080) abuts main building.
West face of two-storey return - surveyed from College Green Mews. Where seen, it appears largely blank, detailed similarly to east face of return.

House is set back from College Green behind low red brick walling with chamfered stone coping (stone tooling marks visible through paint finish). Substantial red brick pillars, square on plan with chamfered edge and central groove; and flush stone cap with square-based pyramidal top. Replacement galvanised steel railings and gate, painted. Gate opens on to path of squared paving sets with single step to entrance door; latter has front edge replaced in reconstituted stone. Remainder of garden is grass bar a galvanised steel grille above light-well to basement window; walls to latter are roughcast rendered and painted white.
Rear boundary retains brownish-red variegated brick walling with cambered terracotta coping. Ledged and braced sheeted timber gate (replacement) leads to shared alley. Yard at No.2 paved in reconstituted stone flags with wedge-shaped area of raised decking immediately in front of return. Former stable block to opposite side of alley, aligned parallel to No.2 & 4 and contemporary with both these buildings and College Green House (HB26 27 080) - originally shared between the three.

Historical information

College Green was laid out in 1866 on what was then the semi-rural ‘Plains’ of Malone, the land east of the recently-established Queen’s College (completed 1849) and around and beyond the Union Theological College (completed 1853). The foundation of Queen’s prompted several decades of development in the vicinity, with regularly-planned streets filled with mainly High Victorian terraced housing for the professional and merchant classes moving southwards beyond the confines of a rapidly commercialising and industrialising centre of Belfast. The present nos.6-8 were the first to be built along the new thoroughfare in 1866, with nos.2-4, College Green House, (originally ‘Culfeightrin House’, rebuilt c.1882), and nos.24-26 next in 1870-71, 10-12 and 20-22 in 1876 and 14-18 in 1878. The street was originally conceived as part of Fitzroy Avenue (which stretches off eastwards beyond the intersection of what is now Rugby Road) and was considered as such for the first few decades of its existence, with the name ‘College Green’ applied only to Culfeightrin House and nos.2-8 on the 1871-73 OS map.

No.2 – Nos.2-4 College Green and Culfeightrin House were designed by Belfast architect James Francis MacKinnon for Archibald McCollum, a ‘general broker and commission agent’ of Skipper Street, both client and architect possibly sharing north Antrim connections. A tender notice was issued in mid-July 1870 and all three dwellings were completed the following year, with the finished properties sharing a coach house and stables to the rear. Culfeightrin House, which was originally occupied by McCollum himself, was (according to newspaper reports at the time) destroyed by fire in January 1882 and, left ‘a blackened ruin’. It was subsequently rebuilt, using - it would appear - at least part of the shell of the original structure, but possibly altering the internal layout.

The original occupant of no.2 was Angus James Mulligan, an employee of the Ulster Bank. He was still residing there in 1877, but by 1880 Matilda Johnston had taken up the lease, followed by John S. Shaw, a hatter, by 1884, William A Watson by 1887 and James A. Dewar (‘merchant’) sometime between 1890 and 1892. In the 1901 census, the 61yr-old Scots-born Mr Dewar (who describes himself as an ‘advertising manager’) was sharing the house with his wife, Ann, and a domestic servant, with the building itself described as a ‘first class’ dwelling with nine rooms in use. By 1911 the now retired and widowed Mr. Dewar was living there with his widowed sister, Mrs John Struthers. Before 1918 the property was acquired by W.R. Ogle (‘assistant superintendant postal telegraphs GPO’), who remained there until at least 1924. James McCartin, an ironmonger, was householder by at least 1932, and John Gallagher by 1943, the house passing to his wife (?or daughter-in-law), Patricia, by 1960, who was still there in 1980.

Between the latter date and 1986 the building was divided into three flats. An application was made in 2001 to have the ground floor flat converted to a doctor’s surgery, but it is uncertain whether this was followed through. The property appears to have remained sub-divided until at least c.2004.

The western dormer is not original, photographic evidence indicating that it was added at some point post c.1900, with the eastern dormer (which was originally smaller) presumably replaced at the same time. Their styling suggests this change took place shortly after 1900.

The building was listed in 1979.

References – Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/43/A/4, 14, 27, 42, 45 (1864-1930)
2 Belfast City Council Plans and drawings of Culfeigtrin House and nos.2-4 College Green, 1870
3 ‘Northern Whig’, 15 July 1870, 10 October 1876
4 Belfast Street Directories (various dates, 1870-1996)
5 OS town plans of Belfast, 1871-73, 1884
6 ‘Derry Journal’, 9 January 1882
7 Photo of College Green c.1900 [courtesy of Hearth Housing Association]
8 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/]

Secondary sources
1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’ MA Thesis (QUB, 1967)

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
R. Age
S. Authenticity
V. Authorship

Evaluation

Two storey with attic red brick terraced house, built 1871 and facing south on College Green, NE of the main quad at Queens University, Belfast. Group value with adjoining No. 4 College Green (HB26 27 032B) and College Green House (HB26 27 080); the three houses were designed at the same time by James Francis Mackinnon and they shared a coach house, harness room and stables to the rear (now a restaurant). The principal facade is asymmetrical with projecting doorcase and canted bay to ground floor embellished with decorative stuccowork; together with heavy overhanging eaves and gabled dormers, this high quality detailing sets it apart as a good example of domestic architecture from the Victorian era. A two-storey gabled return survives to the back, complete with yard walling and gate to shared alley, accessed from College Green Mews. Despite a wide flat roofed dormer with uPVC windows to the rear, this building retains much historic character, including the plan form and many fine interior features. Substantial red brick gate pillars and low boundary walling to the front, in addition to rear yard walling, significantly enhance ts character within the Queen’s Conservation Area.