69 University St

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Three-storey, High Victorian, mid-terraced, brick, former townhouse of 1878-79 with pitched roof with a conical roof over bowed bay and a truncated chateau roof over square bay. One of a terrace of five, No 69 is the second building from right and is flanked by Nos 65-69 (HB26/27/046A) University Street (Dukes Hotel) on right and No 71 on the left, with which No 69 is now linked internally. Rectangular on plan, the terrace faces north and lines the south side of University Street, a long thoroughfare which runs between University Road on the west side and Ormeau Road on the east, within the Botanic Avenue Area of Townscape Character. Extended to the rear with a two storey flat roofed twentieth century building (c.1980s). Nos 69 & 71 are now in use as offices for the School of Education at Queen’s University.

Materials:
Roof Natural Welsh slate with black clay ridge tiles
Walls Red brick (Flemish bond), header bond to bowed window, painted stone, painted stucco.
Rainwater goods Painted metal downpipe to front / cast iron guttering to front / PVC to rear
Windows Timber sliding sash with horns, single-glazed (possibly replaced).

Front Elevation (N):
Three storey brick façade built in Flemish bond with a centrally located entrance at top of a flight of six steps, flanked on left side by a three storey bowed bay with conical slate roof and a three storey shallow square bay on right with a truncated chateau roof. Pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles. Brick chimneys to both left and right sides, shared with neighbours.
All windows to the front are single-glazed 1/1 timber sliding sash with horns and are possibly replacements.
Each storey of the bowed bay on left side has a painted stone surround to three large square-headed window openings with plain engaged painted sandstone capitals at shoulder height and rounded-edge mouldings above the capitals. Continuous painted stone cill course. Each level is separated by brick laid in header coursing, including the base below ground floor window cill. The bow culminates in a natural slate conical roof with a decorative lead apron and cast iron finial above a decorative stuccoed eaves band with fleur-de-lis motif.
The doorway in centre has a segmental headed painted sandstone arch with carved edges above corner colonettes with simplified foliated capitals to each side on tall raised chamfered stone bases.
Door appears to be the original raised and fielded panelled timber door with replacement ironmongery.
On first floor level, and aligned with the former doorway below are two narrow window openings within a painted stone surround with Corinthian-type decorative plaster capitals and chamfered stone bases, but with the column shafts missing. The chamfered stone bases remain.
Above on second floor level is a centrally located diminutive window opening with a carved stone surround. Decorative eaves within middle section between bowed bay on left and square bay on right with carved stone brackets above a stone string course.
The shallow square right side bay has two large window openings within a painted stone surround with painted stone corner colonettes on each level. Ground floor level has Doric-type capitals and chamfered stone bases, first and second floor levels have decorative Corinthian-type capitals, chamfered stone bases, but with the column shafts missing. Rough coursed sandstone with chamfered painted stone coping to plinth below brickwork.
The square bay is topped with a truncated chateau roof with fish scale bands in natural Welsh slate and a decorative lead apron to top flat section. Decorative stuccoed eaves band with curving leaf motif.
Continuous painted stone cill courses to all floors.
Pitched natural Welsh slate roof with black clay ridge tiles. Brick two-stage chimney stacks to right and left (both rebuilt), centred on ridge with corbel detailing and multiple yellow clay pots with triangular tops. Chimney on right side is built in Flemish bond and that on left in stretcher bond.
Ogee cast iron guttering to front, discharging from conical and chateau roofs to gutter in central section and then to painted metal downpipes.

Nos 69-73 sit behind an original low heavy coursed rough sandstone wall with a painted cut stone coping which runs between original painted sandstone piers with square bases, diminutive engaged corner colonettes with Corinthian-like capitals and a square chamfered coping. Replacement painted metal gates and railings. Six replacement reconstituted stone steps to landing area paved with concrete slabs. Steps flanked by replacement low heavy coursed pink sandstone walls with cut stone coping. Disabled ramp access within former front garden area, modern paving flanked by same pink sandstone walling. Ramp curves around bowed bay of No 69 and falls to the entrance of No 71 adjacent.

Side Elevation (W):
Fully abutted by Nos 65-67 University Street (HB26/27/046A) Duke’s Hotel.

Side Elevation €:
Fully abutted by No 71 University Street (HB26/27/046C).

Rear Elevation (S):
Two and a half storey brick façade in Flemish bond abutted on left side by a two storey brick, flat roofed c.1980s extension (of little interest to this survey) which extends to the SE. Small single window opening on first floor level at left side (above flat roof of extension) with a wall head dormer above. Paired (modern) windows to first floor half landing to approximate centre of rear elevation. Three storey shallow square gabled bay to right side, advanced slightly from main elevation. Bay consists of double doors (modern timber glazed) to ground floor level, and two window openings above on both first and second floor levels. Both dormers have a pitched natural Welsh slate roof, painted timber barge boards with decorative brackets with knopps and cross-tie members, exposed rafter ends to sides.
All windows to rear are uPVC. All window openings have stone cills and splayed brick heads. Corbelled and bevelled brick eaves. Pitched natural Welsh slate roof to rear slope of roof. Black clay ridge tiles. Plastic rainwater goods.
A courtyard area is enclosed by the rear walls of Nos 69 and 71, the side walls of the rear return of No 73 and the L-shaped modern extension at the rear of No 69. Concrete paving slabs to courtyard on both upper and lower levels, with brick retaining walls forming edges and large planters for shrubs and trees.

Two storey extension and building to rear of Nos 69 & 71 backs onto College Green Mews, which runs between Botanic Avenue on the west side and Rugby Road on the east. The south side of College Green Mews is backed onto by the rear boundary walls and extensions of the houses along College Green (HB26/27/032A-L) to the south.

Historical information

The westernmost stretch of University Street was formally laid out in 1858, its western end intersecting with what was then Malone Road (present University Road) and culminating to the east at Albion Lane, a semi-rural track that lead from the present Shaftesbury Square, fringing the ‘Plains of Malone’ to the eastern end of what is now University Square. In c.1865 Albion lane was broadened and extended southwards to become Botanic Avenue and at the same time an extension to University Street was opened off its eastern side to link, (via the already extant Irvine Terrace, present nos.171-73, and crossing a stream along the way), to Ormeau Road. During the course of following two and a half decades this was developed with rows of mainly red brick three-storey terraced housing of various styles.

Nos.65-75, originally known as ‘Princess Gardens’, was one of the street’s grander terraces. It was constructed in 1878-79 by William Gabbey a builder and contractor then of ‘Lower University Street’, who was responsible for a large number of the dwellings within this street during this decade, but also Fitzroy Avenue and Sandhurst Road. The identity of the architect is not known. Gabbey collaborated with W.J. Gilliland of Belfast on a building in Church St, Dungannon in 1879, but whether the two had worked together before this is uncertain.

The original occupant of no.69 (originally no.4 Princess Gardens) was Thomas Alexander, a ‘chemical agent’, who was succeeded c.1886 by a Mrs. Doran. In c.1888 the property was converted to a ‘Ladies School’ run by Mrs. Anna Hunter, that in the 1901 census is recorded as having 15 pupils boarding, as well as Miss Hunter and two housekeepers, with the ‘house’ itself a ‘first class’ building with 13 rooms in use. By 1911 there were 11 boarding, 5 teachers and 2 housekeepers, a growth in overall numbers that in c.1913 prompted the school to expand into the neighbouring property (present no.71), with the enlarged institution taking the name of the terrace to become ‘Princess Gardens School’. The school remained there until 1972 when the combined property was acquired by Queen’s University for use as its Department of Education.

References – Primary sources
1 ‘Belfast News-Letter’, 4 October 1879
2 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory’, (Belfast News-Letter, Belfast), various dates from 1880 to 1996
3 PRONI VAL12B/43/A/4 annual valuation revision book, c.1865-81
4 PRONI VAL12B/43/A/14 annual valuation revision book, 1882-97
5 PRONI OS8/30/3/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1883-84
6 PRONI OS8/30/4/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1896
8 PRONI VAL12B/43A/36 annual valuation revision book, 1897-1905
7 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/]
8 PRONI OS8/30/5/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1903
9 PRONI VAL12B/43P/3 valuation book, 1906-15
10 PRONI VAL12B/43P/3 valuation book, 1906-15
11 OS maps, 1958, 1970 (online - http://www.centremapslive.co.uk/)

Secondary sources
1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’, (unpublished QUB MA thesis), 1967
2 Rowan, A.J. and Brett, C.E.B., Historic Buildings…Queens University of Belfast, (Belfast, UAHS, revised ed. 1980)
3 David Evans and Paul Larmour, ‘Queen’s an Architectural legacy’, (Belfast, 1995), pp.51-53

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Three-storey, High Victorian, mid-terraced, brick townhouse of 1878-79, now in use as offices. One of a terrace of five, No 69 is the second building from right and is flanked by Nos 65-67 University Street (HB26/27/046A - Dukes Hotel) on right and No 71 on the left, with which No 69 is now linked internally. It now serves as the offices for the School of Education at Queen’s University, and has been refurbished for this means with some alterations to the original plan form including the replacement of the original staircase. Despite the retention of some interior historic features, and the character and detailing to the front façade, with the loss of the staircase, the addition of the large modern extension to the rear and the integration with No 71, the authenticity and intactness of this building have been reduced and it therefore is not of sufficient architectural interest to merit listing.