2 College Park East, Belfast, BT7 1PS

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

High Victorian two and a half storey red brick mid terrace double-fronted former house, now used as university offices; built 1869 to a design by Young & MacKenzie. The terrace is located at the junction of College Park East and University Avenue with front elevation facing W onto College Park East. It is part of a mixed row of six, with similarly styled neighbours Nos 1 & 3 of the same date, with No 1 (HB26/27/064A) on its north side and No 3 (HB26/27/064C) on its south. The whole terrace, (along with ‘Hope House’ in College Park to the SE) is now integrated internally. To the rear is a two storey return and former yard, which back onto a wide alleyway (which, along with those of the neighbouring buildings, now functions as a small car park) running along the rear of the whole terrace. College Park East is located immediately south of Union Theological College (HB26/27/004) and to the east of the main buildings of Queen’s University (HB26/27/005). The front elevation overlooks a university car park.

Materials:
Roof: Natural Welsh slate
Walls: Red brick in Flemish bond
Windows: Timber sliding sash with horns, single-glazed (likely to be replacements)
RWGs: Cast iron

Front elevation (W):
Walls are in Flemish bond brickwork with deep corbelled brick eaves detailing to W facade below a natural Welsh slate roof with black clay ridge tiles. Stepped brick chimney to left side with concrete coping and six pots visible, likely to be clay. Decorative brick and terracotta band between first and second floor levels, and a painted stone plinth with brick below.
The front elevation is double fronted with paired openings to left of front door on GF & FF levels and a timber dormer with paired semicircular headed windows above at attic level. In the centre there is a single window opening at FF level aligned with front door below. On the right side is a two storey lead flat-roofed canted bay with a wall-head dormer above at attic level. Dormer has paired semicircular headed windows above, separated by a candy-twist painted plaster column with Corinthian-type capital beneath brick voussoirs. Both dormers have decorative timber bargeboards, pointed timber finials and exposed rafter ends. The smaller dormer to left side is timber clad and has a timber roundel above the windows. Its dormer cheeks are vertical slate.
Centrally located entrance consists of tall segmental arched opening with entirely stone surround including ¾ column jambs with tall bases and Corinthian-like foliate capitals, painted brick reveal and recessed panelled timber door with plain fanlight over. Small garden to front now paved with concrete paving stones, replacement steps and modern wheelchair ramps with metal railings. Painted plinth wall to street with replacement painted metal railings. All windows are single-glazed, timber sliding sash with horns and are likely to be replacements. GF windows to left side of front door are 12/1 and all others are 1/1. Ground and first floor windows to left and above front door have bevelled brick relieving arches and chamfered brick reveals while the canted bay windows have painted stone header ‘bands’.
Rainwater goods are cast iron.

Side elevation (N):
Fully abutted by No 1 (HB26/27/064A) to the north side.

Side elevation (S):
Fully abutted by No 3 (HB26/27/064C) to the south side.

Rear elevation (E):
The rear elevation of the main block is abutted centrally by an original two storey return, both roofed in natural Welsh slate. The original yards to left and right have been converted for further university offices / classrooms and have been covered over by a modern flat roof, creating single storey accommodation. Either side of the rear return, on the rear elevation of the main block, is a 2/2 window with splayed brick headers, above the flat roof sections below. Aligned with the latter windows are two small timber dormers above at attic level with 1/1 windows below semi circular heads. Both dormers have painted timber cladding to the front and over-hanging exposed rafter ends and slate cheeks. There is a single 2/2 window at second floor half-landing level just to the right of the rear return ridge.
The north and south faces of the rear return are exposed at first floor level, above the flat roofs. On the north side there are three windows, a 2/2 with frosted glass to toilets, a 1/1 with frosted glass to a small store and a larger landing window. The latter opening has rounded corners with brick voussoirs and contains a 3/2 window with three arch-shaped plain and coloured leaded panes to the top section and two rectangular panes below, one with coloured leaded lights (opening casement) and the other plain. On the south side there are four window openings, all 2/2 and with frosted glass.

The rear elevation of the rear return (onto the carpark) has a clipped eaves and has 1/1 window at left side on FF level. The ground floor has two 1/1 windows at GF level, behind painted metal bars. The yard wall extends either side, one storey tall, forming the rear walls of the modern rooms under flat roofs. There is a wider 1/1 window behind metal bars on each side of the main return. All windows to the rear have splayed brick heads. All windows are single-glazed, timber sliding sash with horns and are likely to be replacements. All brickwork is laid in Flemish bond. Rainwater goods are cast metal.

Historical information

College Park East, originally simply known as ‘College Park’, was laid out in or shortly before 1864 on what was up to then the edge of the still semi-rural ‘Plains’ of Malone, just east and south of the recently-established Queen’s College (completed 1849) and Union Theological College (completed 1853). The foundation of Queen’s in particular prompted several decades of development in the vicinity, with regularly-planned streets filled largely with 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 (approximately) centrally-positioned No.4, built in 1864, was the first of this terrace to be completed, with nos.1-3 and 5-6 following in 1869 and ‘Hope House’, (not strictly part of the row, but directly abutting the rear of No.6), in 1873. Nos.1-3 appear to have been developed by William Sherrie (a brush manufacturer, with premises in North Street), no.4 by Alexander Holmes, and nos.5-6 and ‘Hope House’ by Matthew Pattison. A tender ‘for making streets in College park East’ was advertised by Young & MacKenzie in August 1870 and this firm was indeed responsible for the design of this house and its neighbours.

[Note – The property to the north end of the terrace, present no.1 College Park East, faces into the latter but is actually accessed from University Avenue. Consequently the initial (1870s-early 80s)
references to the row in both the street directories and the valuations are confusing, as some include the property as part of College Park East, and others as part of University Avenue with discrepancies in the street numbering as a result. Due to this it is difficult to trace the earliest occupants of the terrace with accuracy as we cannot be wholly certain as to which house the various sources are actually referring.]

No.2 The earliest recorded occupant seems to have been John Charley, a coal merchant who is listed as residing at number ‘2’ in an 1870 annotation in the valuation book. Mr. Charley appears to moved next door to no.1 sometime before 1877, (although given the confusion as to the street numbering we cannot be completely certain of this), and was succeeded by Rev H.M. Williamson, who in turn was followed before 1880 by R. McGeagh (of ‘McGeagh & McLaine’ – probably Robert McGeagh who also later moved to no.1 – although, again, we cannot be certain). After this the numbering becomes consistent and the occupant is named as W.R. Patterson (‘linen merchant’) followed in c.1882 and Henry McNeill, a solicitor, in 1899 /1900. Mr McNeill appears to have died in 1900 and the property continued to be occupied by his widow for a short time before the lease was taken up c.1902 by another solicitor, J.C. White, whose wife or sister, Edith Evelyn White, is named as householder in the 1911 census, when she was occupying the house with a domestic servant and another who is described as a ‘waitress’, with the building itself noted as a ‘1st class’ dwelling with 17 rooms in use. By 1918, Rev G.A. Stevenson, Rector of St Mary Magdalene Parish was in residence; he appears to have stayed on until the later 1940s.

By 1951 the property had been amalgamated with its northern neighbour, no.1, to become a nursing home run by Miss Elizabeth Bradshaw. It remained as such until c.1962, when the combined buildings had become the ‘Queen’s District Nurses’ Home’ for the Belfast County Borough Health Committee; with both noted simply as ‘Community Health Services’ by 1980. By 1990 both had come into the ownership of QUB, being utilised for a number years as temporary premises for the university’s Department of Modern History. No.2 is now integrated internally with the rest of the terrace with the whole presently serving as the offices for the QUB School of Sociology, Social Policy & Social Work.

References – Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/43/A/4, 14, 27, 42, 45 (1864-1930)
2 Belfast Street Directories (various dates, 1870-1995)
3 Belfast News-Letter (3 Sept.1869)
4 Northern Whig (19 Aug. 1870, 8 April 1948)
5 Belfast Telegraph (28 Oct. 1898)

Secondary sources
1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’ MA Thesis (QUB, 1967)
2 Harron, Paul, ‘Architects of Ulster: Young & MacKenzie…’, (Belfast, UAHS, 2016), pp.216, 302 [Harron states that the whole terrace was developed by William Sherrie, but the valuation books and contemporary newspaper notices suggest he was only responsible for nos.1-3.]

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
V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

High Victorian, two storey with attic, red brick, mid terrace double-fronted former house, constructed to the designs of Young & MacKenzie in 1869. The terrace is located at the junction of University Avenue and College Park East, to the immediate south of Union Theological College (HB26/27/004) in the Queen’s University area of South Belfast. No. 2 is part of a mixed row of six, with No.4 being the first of the terrace to be completed in 1864, followed by Nos 1-3 and 5-6 in 1869 and then ‘Hope House’, which directly abuts the rear of No.6, in 1873. The whole terrace is now integrated internally and is now used as university offices. The original floor plan has been altered on all levels; the original rear yards are now internal with flat roofs and rooms have been altered on first and second floor levels to give access to Nos 1 and 3 either side via corridors. Despite these changes, much interior detailing remains such as the unusual communal area on ground floor with decorative timber panelling. The exterior retains much original character, proportions and detailing with its fine doorway with Corinthian-like foliate capitals. The terrace has strong value as a group (HB26/27/064A-F) which adds significant character to its setting within the Queen’s University area.