6 COLLEGE GREEN

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Mid-terrace two storey with attic red brick double-fronted house, built 1866 and facing south on College Green, NE of the main quad at Queens University, Belfast. Now used as Queen’s University School of Education. Group value with adjoining No.8 College Green (HB26 27 032D); the pair form part of a longer Victorian terrace incorporating No.2 – 26 inclusive, which overlooks the Theological College of the Presbyterian Church (HB26 27 004) within Queens Conservation Area, Belfast. Two storey gabled return built at half-landing level to rear, centred on and set parallel to the rear elevation. Original outbuildings and yard walling removed to make way for off-street parking accessed from College Green Mews.

Natural slate duo-pitched roof with black clay ridge tiles and two red brick chimneys, both rectangular on plan, centred on ridge with corbelled brick copings and octagonal yellow clay pots; one rebuilt (abutting chimney to No.4) and having five pots and the other shared with No.8 College Green with ten pots. Two barrel dormers to front (S) pitch with replacement timber framed sliding sash windows (double glazed); and two flat roofed dormers to rear with timber framed casement windows fitted with slim profile double glazing units.

MATERIALS -
ROOF: Natural slate, including rear return. Lead clad dormers. Ground floor bay roofs not seen.
RWG: Aluminium ogee gutter and replacement circular section aluminium RWP (S); uPVC (N)
WALLS: Red clay brick in Flemish bond (S) with painted masonry dressings;
Brownish-red variegated brick in English Garden Wall bond (N) above painted render to ground floor
WINDOWS: Single glazed timber framed double hung sliding sash with 1/1 panes (S) and multi-paned (N), unless otherwise described.

South Elevation -
The south elevation is the principal façade. Symmetrically arranged with formal fenestration. Central entrance flanked by single-storey projecting bays at ground floor; that to left is square on plan with two windows and that to right is canted. Three equal-sized windows at first floor with moulded string course forming cill; these windows align with centre of bays and entrance door below and each has 2/2 panes. Toothed quoins to far left (W) side. Deep, continuous base plinth with sub-floor vents and moulded top. Heavy eaves supported on scrolled brackets above deep plain frieze and moulded string course, all painted. Ground floor bays and doorcase have painted surrounds – as other painted dressings, these are probably combined stucco and dressed stone below paint. Bay windows have stop-chamfered detail to head and jambs; jambs extend to plinth with deep bull-nosed stone cills recessed between. Decorative round and diamond shaped incisions featuring abstract motifs above bay windows. Square headed timber framed four-panelled entrance door with plain glass fanlight in round-arched opening with roll-edge detail; all set within projecting surround with moulded cornice hood and incised roundels, similar to bays. First floor windows have moulded surrounds with plain frieze and projecting cornice hood with diamond-head moulded edge over row of dentils.

North Elevation –
The rear elevation faces north and overlooks a shared alley, College Green Mews. Largely symmetrical as front, although more plainly detailed with red brick soldier coursed headers, thick projecting stone cills and rendered reveals to openings (both painted). Two-storey gabled return (parallel to main building) centrally placed with large round-arched sliding sash window off-set to left at first floor; window comprised of 2/1 panes with stained and etched margin panes and two rows of brick headers form arch above. Return flanked by sliding sash windows with 6/6 panes to first floor and flat roofed dormers to attic. Single window at half landing level to attic (above return) has 3/6 panes. All walling is rendered smooth and painted up first floor level; sub-floor vents suggest suspended ground floor construction. To left side of return, flush timber stained door with sidelight and over-light exits to precast concrete paved steps with tubular metal handrail and grey brick retaining wall. Small timber framed casement window adjacent to door.
Galvanised steel bars fitted across external reveals to all ground and first floor windows.
East face of return has clipped eaves; small casement window and ‘indent’ of former door at ground floor; walling above is blank. ‘Ghost’ marking of former out-building / lean-to structures are notable above line of render.
West face of return has two timber framed casement windows with top hung night vents at ground floor and a single glazed sliding sash window with 3/6 panes at first floor (likely original).

Set midway along College Green, which runs between Botanic Avenue (E) and Rugby Road to (W). Dwarf rendered walling with canted top and modern metal railings line boundary to S and enclose small front garden. Concrete paving slabs to garden, including ramp and entrance steps. Tubular metal handrail aligned with ramp, painted to match railings.

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.6 Nos.6-8 were built in 1866 (the first properties to appear on the street) by timber merchant Robert Corry, the man responsible for the development of Upper and Lower Crescent in the 1840s and 1850s. The identity of the architect is uncertain. The lease of both was obtained by Mrs. Abigail Blackwood, who was herself the original occupant of no.6, remaining there until c.1893 when William Rutherford became resident. In the 1901 census, Mr. Rutherford (a ‘retired commercial traveller’) is recorded as living there with his Scots-born wife, Lily, their three sons and two domestic servants, with the house itself noted as a ‘first class’ dwelling with 13 rooms in use. The Rutherfords remained there until sometime between 1908 and 1911 when property came back into Blackwood family hands, with [?]Meta Blackwood living there with a domestic servant at the time of the 1911 census. She appears to have retained the house until at least 1951, with a Mrs. Jean Edwards there by 1960. By 1964 the building had been acquired by Queen’s University as offices for the Faculty of Law, remaining as such until c.1990 when it transferred to its present role as offices for the University’s Department (later School) of Education. It was probably at this point that it was linked internally with the existing Depart of Education offices within neighbouring no.8.

What appears to have been an outhouse attached to the rear of the property was demolished c.1960s. The building was listed in 1979 and (along with no.8) underwent a major refurbishment scheme in c.2014.

References – Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/43/A/4, 14, 27, 42, 45 (1864-1930)
4 Belfast Street Directories (various dates, 1870-1996)
5 OS town plans of Belfast, 1871-73, 1884
8 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/]

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

R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Mid terrace two storey with attic red brick double-fronted house, built 1868 and facing south on College Green, NE of the main quad at Queens University, Belfast. Group value with adjoining No.8 College Green (HB26 27 032D), the two houses are the earliest within a longer Victorian terrace, incorporating No.2 – 26. Toothed quoins to the outer edges of the front elevation indicate that they were once a stand-alone pair. Largely symmetrical front and back, No.6 retains a good deal of authentic character and although now used as offices, the interior layout & detailing remains domestic in scale with some noteworthy features. Despite loss of outbuildings and some casement windows to the rear, this buiilding remains a good example of its type. Its significance lies primarily in its group value with No.8 and in the integrity of the overall composition of College Green, which is amongst the most striking terraces in Queens Conservation Area.