6 College Park East, Belfast, BT7 1PS

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

High Victorian two and a half storey red brick end 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 and a university car park beyond. The gable end faces S onto College Park. 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). No 6 is part of a mixed row of six, with similarly styled neighbours Nos 1-3 (HB26/27/064A-C) & No 5 (HB26/27/064E) of the same date, with No 5 on its north side. The whole terrace, (along with ‘Hope House’ in College Park to the SE) is now integrated internally. A modern 2-3 storey flat-roofed building has been constructed behind Nos 4 & 5 which is connected internally with Nos 5, 6 and Hope House. The former rear yards of Nos 5 and 6 have been enclosed by modern construction and a new main entrance formed on College Park to the SE. The rear elevations of Nos 5 and 6 are now internal.

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):
Double fronted and asymmetrical two and a half storey red brick facade built in Flemish bond with a centrally located entrance to ground floor and a two and a half storey canted bay to right side, the top floor of which is jettied and extends above the eaves as a large half-timbered dormer. Smaller timber dormer on left side. Continuous painted stone cill course to first floor windows with bevelled brick course immediately below. Deep corbelled brick eaves detailing to two storey section below a natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles. Two stage brick chimney to right side at apex of gable with six terracotta pots. Stone corbel to eaves edge on right with flat stone coping to verge. Small painted rendered plinth with brick below to base.
The half-timbered jettied dormer above the canted bay has convex chamfered corners at each side infilled with brick in header detail. There are carved timber brackets beneath the timber bargeboard, a pointed timber finial to centre and exposed rafters ends. The smaller timber dormer on right side is timber-clad to the apex with fish-scale vertical slates to the cheeks.
All windows, apart from the dormer windows are 1/1 single-glazed, timber sliding sash with horns and are likely to be replacements. All others have chamfered brick reveals. The canted bay windows have continuous painted stone header ‘bands’ with chamfered bottom edge, while the paired window openings to left of the front door on both ground and first floor levels have shallow pointed painted render heads with a row of brick headers above. A single window opening with same head detail is located on first floor level, aligned with the front door below.
Both dormer windows have been replaced; those to the jettied dormer are four-pane timber casements while those to the smaller dormer are four-pane with the top panes top-hung.
Entrance consists of a pointed arched painted stone engaged surround beneath a pointed arched hood mould which terminates each side with a decorative foliated label stop. Indented keystone to centre. Original painted raised and fielded six-panelled timber door with plain round arched fanlight over, two (replacement concrete) steps up. Small garden to front now paved with concrete paving stones and gravel. Painted plinth wall to street with replacement painted metal railings. Rainwater goods are cast iron.

Side elevation (N):
Fully abutted by No 5 (HB26/27/064E) to the north side.

Side elevation (S):
Gabled side elevation onto College Park, abutted on E side by narrow two storey modern extension linking the rear of No 6 with the W gable wall of ‘Hope House’, a detached former dwelling fronting onto College Park.
The gable elevation of No 6 is largely symmetrical with a large stone corbel to each side at eaves level with a flat coping stone to each verge and a central flat section beneath the two-stage brick chimney. There are centrally located paired windows on ground, first and second floor levels. Ground and first floor window openings have the same detailing as those to the front elevation; chamfered brick reveals and shallow pointed painted render heads with a row of brick headers above. The second floor (attic) paired arch-headed windows have arched painted rendered heads above. Windows on ground level have separate painted stone cills, first floor openings sit above a continuous painted stone cill band with a row of corbelled brick below and the paired windows to the second floor share one cill. All windows to the gable wall are 1/1 single-glazed, timber sliding sash with horns and are likely to be replacements.

Rear Elevation (E):
A modern two storey extension abuts the rear wall of No 6 College Park East (and No 5), linking both houses with the new block constructed to the rear of Hope House. Much of the existing rear elevation of No 6 is now internal, within the new extension, with the exception of a narrow strip on the south side which remains external. This exposed section has a modern glass panel applied to the ground level section, up to window head height. Above on first floor level is a single 1/1 timber sliding sash window with horns (likely to be replacement) with a painted stone cill and splayed brick head. The roof of the modern extension over-sails this first floor window. The existing eaves is visible above the roof of the extension; PVC guttering below a flat-roofed dormer on left side with replacement timber triple casement window. On the right side (not visible from street level) is another flat-roofed dormer with an identical window. The roof to the rear pitch of No 5 is natural slate with black clay ridge tiles.
The (now internal) section of rear elevation of No 6 consists of painted render on the left side of ground floor level and modern timber panelling on the right side, either side of a former opening which retains its splayed brick head, and is now a shallow recess containing a radiator. Within the rendered section is a modern glass and timber door with glazed side screen (PVC downpipe to left of door). Directly above the door is a large arch-headed 2/2 half landing window with coloured glass margin panes and etched glass to main panes. A structural steel beam abuts the existing rear wall of No.6 at right angles to the right of this window. First floor level consists of two 2/2 windows to the right of the half landing window. The second floor half landing window (a similar but smaller version of the first floor half landing window) has been abutted by the roof of the extension, only leaving the bottom half of it visible below the new ceiling. The modern glazed roof structure of the extension abuts the rear wall of No 6 below existing eaves level, running N-S.
All windows to the rear have splayed brick heads (apart from the half landing windows) and painted stone cills. All windows are single-glazed, timber sliding sash with horns and some are likely to be replacements. All brickwork is laid in Flemish bond.

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 / Patteson / Patterson. 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 houses the various sources are actually referring.]

No.6 The earliest recorded occupant seems to have been Matthew Pattison (the man responsible for the building of nos.5-6 and neighbouring Hope House) who is listed as residing at number ‘6’ in the valuation book commencing in 1865. In the 1877 street directory (the first in which ‘College Park East’ appears) John Edgar is listed as the occupant, followed by a Mrs. Patterson (later written as ‘Pattison’- presumably a relative of Matthew) by 1880, who in turn was succeeded by William James Morton in c.1899. In the 1901 census, Mr. Morton was not in residence, and the occupants are listed as Louisa J. Morton (presumably William’s wife), her three daughters, her sister, father and three domestic servants, with the building itself noted as a ‘first class’ dwelling with 13 rooms in use. The Mortons vacated no.6 c.1905 with Rev. John J. Robinson, Dean of St. Anne’s Cathedral, the next tenant, after which (in c.1910) the property was converted to a ‘private hospital’, managed by Miss Elizabeth Caldwell, which by the mid-1920s had expanded next door to take in no.5. Miss Caldwell appears to have retired in the later 1940s and the building seems to have become her private residence, remaining as such until c.1964 when it was acquired by Queen’s University for use as its Department of Celtic., and later (c.1978) as the University’s computer centre, and was still in such as such into the later 1990s. Since then the building has been greatly extended to the rear and 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, end-of-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. 6 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 south gable of No 6 faces onto College Park and is abutted to the rear by a narrow two storey modern extension linking the rear of No 6 with the gable wall of ‘Hope House’. Despite these modern alterations, much of the original layout remains intact with the exception of linkages into No 5 on the N side. Original interior detailing remains such as the decorative plasterwork in the hall and the original staircase. The exterior retains much original character, proportions and detailing and is distinguished by its jettied dormer, a device used elsewhere in the city by Young and Mackenzie (28 & 30 Wellington Park, Belfast - HB26/28/055A&B). 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.