75 University Road (Fitzwilliam Place)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively plain two storey gabled house, one of a somewhat squat, mildly Neo-classical, terrace of three (‘Fitzwilliam Place’) dating from c.1846-48. The terrace is set on the W side of University Road, abutting Queen’s University Student’s Union at an angle to the S, and roughly facing Lanyon’s original Queen’s College building of 1845-49. To the N is Fitzwilliam Street and directly in front all properties in the terrace share a garden, which lends the block a slight ‘country cottage’ air. No.75 is to the S end of the terrace (abutting the Student’s Union).

The symmetrical front façade faces E. To the centre of the ground floor is the front entrance which consists of a panelled timber door with plain rectangular fanlight, all encased with panelled pilasters, with decorative brackets supporting a cornice hood. The edges of the hood appear to be ‘enclosed’ in timber. Either side of the entrance is a fairly large window with plain sash frame, simple moulded surround and relatively slim cill. To the first floor are three similar windows, all smaller than those to the ground floor but with the outer windows broader and squatter than that to the centre. The façade has full height, panelled, outer pilasters, a deep eaves course and a gutter course. To the left side of the doorway is a small, bronze, oval plaque, commemorating this house as the birth place of novelist James Owen. Hannay.

The rear façade has a large, centrally located, two storey gabled return. To the N face of this return has three windows with modern frames (made to resemble sash with Georgian panes), to the ground floor. To the first floor are four windows with similar frames.

To the S face of the return there are three windows to the ground floor and four to the first floor, all with similar frames as those on the N face. To the left (E) on the ground floor is a lean-to (backing into the main rear façade) with a glazed door and two small-ish windows (with modern frames as before). Velux windows to lean-to roof. This lean-to acts as a short linking ‘corridor’ to No.73.

The W gable of the return is blank. This whole return was rebuilt in c.1991, replacing an earlier smaller version

The main rear façade has a 6 over 6 Georgian sash window to the left and to the right of the return at first floor level. There is a similar window to the right of the return at ground floor level.

The entire façade is finished in plain render and painted. The main roof is gabled and covered in natural slate. There are three Velux windows to the rear and a rendered parapet to the N gable. There is a rendered chimney stack to the N on the ridge (shared with No.73), with octagonal pots. Metal [?cast iron and aluminium] rw goods. High rendered walls enclosing yards to rear (one yard shared with No.73).

Historical information

What is now University Road began life as the original route from Belfast to Lisburn, and thence to Dublin. It was superseded in 1817 by the newly cut Lisburn Road, a short distance to the west, but with the establishment of Queen’s College in 1845, and the growing movement of Belfast’s merchant and professional classes to the suburbs, it witnessed much development from the mid 1800s onwards.

Fitzwilliam Place was a small part of this development. It stands on land which the had been leased from the Donegall estate since 1711 to the ancestors of one John Alexander, who had obtained a renewal of his title in 1823. In 1849 Alexander in turn leased part of this land to William Magill Collins, a solicitor with offices in Arthur Street, and in 1866 (in the wake of the break up of the Donegall Estate), Collins obtained full title to the property.

Shortly after obtaining his initial lease, Collins proceeded to build the present terrace (probably c.1846-8). As stated above, like many other terraces springing up in and around the newly built Queen’s College, this block was designed to attract Belfast’s professional and merchant classes. The earliest of Collins’ tenants were clergymen, merchants, manufacturers and fellow solicitors, in fact Collins himself lived in one of the houses for a time. Subsequent directories reveal later tenants (and owners) in similar moulds well into the mid 20th century such as wine merchants, accountants, doctors, clergymen, company directors and academics undoubtedly attached to Queen’s.

William Magill Collins himself died in 1880 and the properties passed to his daughters and their descendants. In 1962 all of the houses had been conveyed to Queen’s University who afterwards appear to have rented them to university staff. By the mid 1960s, however, with the expansion in the academic scope of Queen’s, the properties were given over for use as various faculty offices.

No.75
No.75 was originally built as the residence of the owner of the terrace, William Magill Collins. Probably because of this, it originally had a larger return than its neighbours, an outbuilding (possibly a stable) and a rear garden. When recorded in 1861, these additions were enough to give the property a substantially higher rateable value than the remainder of the terrace, £42 as opposed to £37. Collins remained in the house until c.1862 (when he moved to his newly built residence at Notting Hill) and it was leased to the Rev. Robert Hannay, the then incumbent of Christ Church (College Square North) and father of novelist James Owen Hannay (actually born here in 1865). Hannay was followed in c.1876-77 by a John A. Cochrane, who is listed in directories as ‘Secretary, Belfast Mining Company’, then an Alexander Mitchell (1899-c.1907), who in turn was followed by a Dr. A. Montgomery.

In 1929 the house was sold to a Dr. J.C. Rankin, who had lived there since c.1917. Rankin sold the property to another doctor, Sir Thomas Houston, and after Houston’s death two years later, No.75 was acquired by Queen’s. Queen’s rented the property to a J.J. Graneck, a librarian (presumably working for the University), until the mid 1960s when it was converted to offices initially given over to the QUB Games Fund, Appointments, the Careers library and the catering office. Recently the property has served as the offices for the QUB Enterprise Unit.

In c.1990-91 the property was extensively renovated with the return rebuilt on a larger scale.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/1/1/61 OS Map, 1st ed. 1832, Co. Antrim, sheet 61.
2 QUB Estates Office- Title deeds etc. concerning 75 University Road, 1823-1932.
3 PRONI ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ]).
4 PRONI OS/8/30/1/49 OS Town Plans- Belfast 1858, sheet 49.
5 PRONI Second (Griffith’s) Valuation, Parish of Shankill, 1861. [Printed volumes in PRONI search room and Linen Hall Library.]
6 PRONI OS/8/30/2/49 OS Town Plans- Belfast 1871-73, sheet 49.

Secondary sources
1 S.T. Carleton ‘The growth of South Belfast’ (QUB MA dissertation 1967).
2 C.E.B. Brett ‘Buildings of Belfast (London 1967, reprinted by Friar’s Bush Press 1985).
3 David Evans ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the vicinity of Queen’s University of Belfast’ revised edition (Belfast, UAHS, 1980), p.26 etc.
4 J.C. Beckett ‘Queen’s- A short history of Queen’s College Belfast and Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB 1984).
5 David Evans and Paul Larmour ‘Queens- An architectural legacy’ (QUB Inst. of Irish Studies 1995).
6 Brian Walker and Alf McCreary ‘Degrees of excellence- The story of Queen’s, Belfast 1845-1995 (QUB Inst. of Irish Studies 1995).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Relatively plain two storey gabled house, one of a somewhat squat, mildly Neo-Classical, terrace of three dating from c.1846-48. To the rear is a large two storey return, with modern window frames, which was added in c.1990-91, replacing a smaller return which was probably original.