17 COLLEGE GARDENS

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Mid terrace, three-storey with attic red brick late Victorian town house, built 1877. Architect unknown. Part of block of four, including No.15, 16 and 18 College Gardens (HB26.28.019A, B & D), the block is largely symmetrical to front with No.15 mirrored by No.18, both at gable ends with narrower properties No.16 & 17 between. Set midway along College Gardens, a tree-lined street of similarly scaled townhouses running from Malone Road to Lisburn Road and within Queens Conservation Area; the buildings face south and overlook the grounds of Methodist College. Three-storey return built at half-landing level to rear (N), adjoined to same at No.16 to form wide gable; return abutted by one storey over basement hipped roofed appendage at gable end. Metal escape stair spans rear yard between return and No18 College Gardens. House recently restored to single family dwelling, although rear external escape stair suggests formerly converted into flats (TBC – CHECK FILE HISTORY).

Natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles and flat roofed dormer to both front pitches with glazed cheeks. Three chimneys, two shared with No16: one centred on main ridge and replaced in modern red brick with several yellow clay pots; and one centred on gable of rear return, rendered with no cap or pots; third chimney rises from eaves at N elevation with replacement brick above gutter level. Projecting moulded eaves on curved brackets that alternate with pitched square motif on deep frieze, all set on projecting string course with continuous band of dentils below. Rear eaves simpler and comprises two courses of projecting brick.

Materials
ROOF: Natural slate, including rear return; dormer roof not seen.
RWG (S): Ogee profile cast metal gutter with square section cast metal RWP to main roof and uPVC gutter and RWP to canted bay
RWG (N): Half-round gutter (MATERIAL TBC???) and cast iron RWP (N) .
WALLS: Red brick walling in Flemish bond with stucco dressings, unpainted (S); and English Garden Wall bond (N).
WINDOWS: Timber framed single glazed sliding sash with 1/1 panes (S) and 2/2 panes (N), unless otherwise stated.

Front Elevation (S):
Asymmetrical with entrance to right (E) at ground floor and stuccoed canted bay with three windows to left (W) at ground floor; three equally spaced windows at first and second floors; and narrow flat roofed dormer to attic, offset to left above eaves cornice. All windows are segmental headed and diminish in height from ground to second floor level.
Rendered base plinth with moulded top. Ground floor bay has stop-chamfered head and jamb to windows, with heavy bull-nosed cills set within reveals; decorative string course above windows and projecting moulded cornice on block modillions.
Square headed timber framed entrance door comprising two full-height arched panels with raised fields and bolection moulding; plain glass segmental arched over-light; elaborate stucco surround, with roll-edged reveals, foliated scrolled console brackets and moulded edge to hood; floral stone roundel between console brackets with plain spandrels.
Predominantly red brick walls at first and second floor level, with projecting moulded stucco surrounds and cills at first and second floor windows. Decorative foliated stucco detail above surrounds to second floor window heads. No17 differs from remainder of terrace in that rendered / stone dressing are unpainted and first floor windows are without hoods.

Rear Elevation (N):
North elevation surveyed from Elmwood Mews – access to rear yard not obtained. Three-storey return built at half-landing level to left (E) side and one windows each to first and second floor to right (ground floor not seen). Red brick walling in English Garden Wall bond, detailed simpler than front elevation with projecting brick eaves course, soldier coursed brick headers and square-cut stone cills (unpainted). External metal escape stair spans yard with landings at return and main building.
North elevation of return: projecting timber bargeboard with exposed curved bracket at purlin end and sheeted timber soffit, all painted. One window to second floor, offset to right (W) and two windows to first floor – that to left has 1/1 panes with translucent glass and coloured glass margin panes. Ground floor abutted by hipped roof appendage, narrower on plan that return and having hipped natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles, painted timber eaves board and red brick walling in stretcher bond (suggesting later construction date); north face has single timber sliding sash window with 1/1 panes, painted reveals and soldier coursed header.

East Elevation:
Abutted by No16 College Gardens, including return.

West elevation:
No18 College Gardens abuts main building. West face of return overlooks yard; detailed to match rear of main building with brick walling, soldier coursed headers and square-cut stone cills. Projecting brick eaves to roof support half round gutter; RWP appears to be cast iron. Openings informally arranged; at second floor: original timber framed sliding sashes with 2/2 panes appear to be retained; first and ground floor windows not seen – first floor largely obscured by external fire escape stair .
West face of ground floor appendage has single opening with precast concrete lintel over.

Building sits mid-terrace in block of similar town houses, rectangular on plan and aligned E-W parallel to road. Boundary at front of property marked by low red brick walling with chamfered edges to stone coping; and hedging over. Lawn and planting to front garden, with hedging along boundary with No16 and modern metal fencing along boundary with No18; copper beech tree at SW corner. Wrought iron gate opens from Elmwood Ave onto concrete surfaced path with two bull-nosed stone steps at entrance, flanked by painted dwarf walls with open balustrade between square end piers, all having cambered caps (unpainted). Cast iron boot-scraper on top step, thought to be original. Variegated brownish-red brick wall in English Garden Wall bond with rounded terracotta cap aligns rear boundary and steps in height where single-storey lean-to outhouse abuts yard side; sheeted timber door leads from yard to Elmwood Mews at right (W) side and evidence of former opening to left, now filled with modern red brick (possibly former opening for coal delivery).

Historical information

Background - College Gardens (originally ‘College Gardens Avenue’) is located on land which prior to the early 19th century had been one of the series of strip farms running from what is now the Malone and University Roads to the Bog Meadows. Probably laid out in early 1600s, the integrity of these was broken up by the cutting of the Lisburn Road in 1816-19 and the construction of the Ulster Railway in 1837-39. Around the same time, greater security of tenure from the Donegall estate lead to the gentrification of what remained of these farms with the building (or upgrading of existing structures) to create small country villas and the laying out of small demesnes within the plots formerly farmed. The land to the immediate north and south of College Gardens belonged to such a villa, ‘Vermont’, a pre-1770 house, possibly rebuilt or enlarged c.1815 and enlarged again c.1840s – on this occasion by John Riddell, a Belfast ironmonger. The building of Queen’s College a short distance to the north-east in 1845 sparked the suburbanisation of the area, and in 1865 Vermont itself was sold for the building of another educational establishment, Methodist College. The latter was completed in 1868 and a new private avenue laid out the lower ground to the immediate north, with building plots on the northern side of this. Beginning at the eastern end, present nos.1-6 were constructed in 1871, nos.7-18 in 1877, no.33 and 34 in 1879, 19-22 in 1881, 23-26 in 1882 and 27-32 in 1883.

No.17 This property belongs to a terrace of four symmetrically arranged single-fronted townhouses built in 1877. The identity of the architect is not known, but the developer of everything in College Gardens from no.11 to no.32 appears to have been Rev. George Cron, the then minister of the Evangelical Union Church in Wellington Place.

The original occupant of no.17 seems to have been R. Graham, listed in the 1880 street directory as a ‘com agent’ [commission agent?], who was succeeded in c.1882 by Robert O. Cunningham, Professor of Natural History and geology at Queen’s College [present QUB], who in turn was followed by a Mrs. E. Philpot in c.1889, Captain A.B. Crake ‘Rifle Brigade’ in c.1891, Rev. D.A. Taylor in c.1893., A.F. Porter, ‘solicitor’ in 1896 and Mrs. Katherine Rosa Martin in 1901. In the census of the same year Mrs. Martin (nee Kennedy), a widow, is recorded as living there with infant daughter, a younger brother and sister, and a domestic servant with the building itself a ‘first class’ dwelling with 13 rooms in use by the family. By 1911 Mrs. Marin Martin her daughter and a sister were still there, along with her father, William Archer Kennedy, and a domestic servant. By 1951 the property had come into possession of Mrs. Martin’s daughter, Anna Hessy Martin, who is noted in the directories as a masseuse. She was still there in 1964, but by 1969 the property was in the possession of Queen’s University and was acting student accommodation, remaining as such until at least 1996. The present owners in c.2007. It is presently in use (once again) as a domestic dwelling.

No.17 College Gardens was listed in Sept 1979.

References – Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/43D/7 annual valuation revision book, 1862-82
2 ‘Belfast News-Letter’, 3, January 1877, 23 March 1878
3 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory’, (Belfast News-Letter, Belfast), various dates from 1880 to 1996
4 PRONI VAL12B/43D/14 annual valuation revision book, 1882-96
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
7 PRONI VAL12B/43A/36 annual valuation revision book, 1897-1905
8 PRONI VAL7B/14/15 valuation of Belfast, c.1900-01
9 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/]
10 PRONI OS8/30/5/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1903
11 PRONI VAL12B/43P/3 valuation book, 1906-15
12 PRONI VAL12B/43P/7 valuation book, 1916-30
13 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)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
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 three-storey with attic red brick late Victorian town house, built 1877. Architect unknown. It has group value with No.15, 16 and 18 College Gardens (HB26.28.019A, B & D) as part of a block, which is largely symmetrical to the front. Set on tree-lined street of similarly scaled townhouses running from Malone Road to Lisburn Road and within Queens Conservation Area; the buildings face south and overlook the grounds of Methodist College. Asymmetrical and well proportioned with fine stucco detailing and projecting bay to main façade. The original rear return, complete with most 2/2 paned sliding sash windows, survives as well as yard walling. Largely intact, No17 is significant as a good example of a late Victorian terraced dwelling. Bull nosed stone entrance steps, adjoining walling and a cast iron boot-scraper significantly enhance the quality of its setting.