23 COLLEGE GARDENS

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

End-of-terrace three-storey over basement (with attic) red brick late Victorian town house, built 1882; architect unknown. Part of a block of four, including No.24, 25 and 26 College Gardens (HB26.28.021B, C & D), symmetrical on plan and elevation with No.24 mirrored by No.25 and No.23 & 26 to gabled ends. Located towards west end of 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. Full height projection to rear (N) of No.23, abutted by double return comprising three-storey hipped roofed and two-storey flat roofed parts, all offset to right (W). Historic associations with Vere Foster, renowned educationalist who campaigned for teacher’s rights and former president of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, a blue commemoration plaque from the Ulster Historical Circle is fixed above the entrance. Building currently used as offices, combined with No24.

Natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles. Two large red brick chimney centred on ridge each with simple corbelled cap and several circular clay pots: one shared with No.24, replaced in part; and one at gable end. Modern flat roofed dormer to front pitch and two roof-lights to rear pitch, one modern and the other conservation-style. Projecting moulded stucco eaves and fluted corbel brackets on plain frieze band to front and returned at far N & S sides of gable; and alternating angled headers at projecting eaves to rear.
Materials
ROOF: Natural slate
RWG: Cast iron ogee profile gutter;
RWP: Square section aluminium to main roof (S) and circular section uPVC from bowed bay, N & return.
WALLS: Red brick walling in Flemish bond with painted moulded stucco dressings (S);
Red brick in English Garden Wall bond to rear (N) and return.
WINDOWS: Single glazed double hung single glazed sliding sash with 1/1 panes (S) and 2/2 panes (N), unless otherwise described.

Front Elevation (S):
Facing south, Italianate in style with classical proportions. Asymmetrical, with aedicule at entrance to right and single-storey bowed bay with five windows and openwork parapet to left. Entire ground floor in painted stucco; red brick walling over with moulded stucco dressings including continuous projecting cills at first and second floors. Bowed bay sliding sashes have replacement double glazed units with timber slips and metal security bars fitted across external reveals. Three windows each to upper floors, diminishing in height, all segmental arched: plain stucco surrounds to first floor with projecting hoods (pedimented to middle window; shallow pitched to side windows); and moulded stucco surrounds to second floor with corresponding brackets below cill course. Projecting base plinth with moulded top, cill, head and cornice with plain frieze to bowed bay. Painted stucco toothed quoins to SE corner. Timber framed four-panelled door and plain glass fanlight, with bolection moulding to fielded and pitched panels, flanked by Corinthian-style pilasters and topped by deep moulded pediment with foliated tympanum bearing date ‘1882’. Inner face of fanlight glass has applied gold lettering ‘23’ and ‘I.N.T.O’.
Single-storey flat roofed extension set back to E side, built in matching red brick, stretcher bond, with one segmental headed sliding sash double-glazed window (concrete cill) and uPVC roof membrane dressed over projecting eaves board.

Rear Elevation (N):
North elevation overlooks Elmwood Mews; asymmetrical with full height projection built at half-landing level abutted by double return comprised of three-storey hipped roof and two-storey flat roofed parts, all offset to right and built over basement. Single window at each floor to main building left of return; that to second floor retains historic glass. Painted metal grill provides ventilation to basement in place of window. Modern polished metal flue extends from basement to above eaves level. Plainly detailed compared to front: brownish-red brick with soldier courses above flat-arched windows and simple stone cills. Evidence of former chimney removed from centre of full-height projection. Hipped roof return has single window at second floor centred on ridge, otherwise blank. Flat roofed return informally arranged, with timber framed top-hung casement window offset to right and diminutive metal framed fixed light to left at first floor; smooth rendered and painted walling below first floor cill height, with no openings at ground floor and a single recessed doorway to basement having curved reveal to one side only.

East elevation:
Gable end– largely blank, with frieze and projecting moulded eaves on corbelled brackets to far N and S sides at base of projecting moulded timber bargeboard; plain painted timber band sits flush with verge. Small round-arched sliding sash attic window near to eaves at both sides. Chimney centred on apex as described above. Toothed quoins (painted) returned from front façade. Flat roofed single storey extension abuts E boundary with No24 where walling is blank, rendered smooth.
E face of full height rear projection has one window at each half-landing level: to ground floor, a replacement timber framed casement; to first and second floor, original sliding sashes with 1/1 panes; and same to attic with 2/2 panes. All plain except second floor window, which has square leaded stippled glass panes.
E face of double return has informally arranged windows. Two sliding sashes survive at first floor, one with 1/1 pane, another with 2/2 panes and a small casement between the two also appears to be historic. Elsewhere, windows are replaced with top-hung timber framed casements although openings appear to be original with soldier coursed headers, rendered reveals and stone cills. Sheeted timber door (replacement) at basement level, painted.

West Elevation:
No.24 abuts west elevation of main building. W face of full-height projection and return: largely blank with smooth rendered base plinth, casement window at ground floor near to main building, modern zinc clad bridge which spans yard at No24 and adjacent two-part modern casement window; both windows have precast concrete lintels and cills.

Set back from tree-lined street by mature hedging and planting on south side of College Gardens, building forms end-of-terrace to block of similar town houses, rectangular on plan and aligned E-W parallel to road. Mature hedging and modern metal railings align boundary with adjacent front gardens at No.22 & 24 respectively. Dwarf wall, rendered and curved on plan terminates in circular pillars with conical caps to either side of entrance door. Front garden and path to rear paved with precast concrete flagstones with mature planting in gravel beds. Cherry tree next to front gate.
Rear overlooks Elmwood Mews - shared alley running full length of College Gardens and connected to Elmwood Avenue. Red brick walling in English Garden Wall bond and curved terracotta cap with simple metal railings over divides yard from No.22. Modern red brick wall with galvanised steel lintel and metal roller shutter above wide vehicular entrance to off-street parking area within rear yard, shared with No24. Modern concrete steps retained by red brick walling lead from fire exit door within flat roofed extension at ground floor to tarmacked yard at basement level.

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.23 This property belongs to a terrace of four symmetrically arranged single-fronted townhouses built in 1882. 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 1884 street directory records the occupant of no.23 as William Davis (‘warehouseman’). He vacated the property in c.1894 and it remained empty until in or just before 1899, when Robert Hardy Lawrie is recorded as the householder. In the 1901 census Mr. Lawrie, a Scots-born excise man, was occupying no.23 with his (Belfast-born) wife, Mary, their four grown-up daughters, a house guest and two domestic servants, with the building itself noted as a ‘first class’ dwelling with 14 rooms in use.

The Lawries moved out c.1909, and were succeed by William Masterson, a tea merchant, who in the 1911 census was living there with his wife, Mary Matilda, and a domestic servant. The Mastersons had moved on by 1918, and were followed by a succession of medical doctors / surgeons, Howard Stevenson by 1924, G.R.B. Purce by 1932 and H.P. Hall by 1943. Dr. Hall seems to have died c.1962 and the property remained with his widow, Kathleen who by 1969 was sharing part of the building with Faber, Oscar & Partners - consulting engineers, by 1969 and with the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation by 1974. This was still the case in 1980, but by 1986 the latter group is named as the sole occupier.

The building was extensively refurbished in c.2013-14 with a 'bridge' link constructed between the return of this and no.24 to the west.

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
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
U. Historic Associations
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

End-of-terrace three-storey over basement red brick late Victorian town house built 1882; architect unknown. Set on a tree-lined street of similarly scaled townhouses running from Malone Road to Lisburn Road; the buildings face south and overlook the grounds of Methodist College. Amongst the later houses within a block of four, No.25 has group value No.23, 24 and 26 College Gardens (HB26.28.021A, B & D). The street demonstrates the evolving styles in building at the time with various influences evident although unified as a whole in height and scale. Well proportioned in Italianate style with stucco embellishment to the front façade, No.23 is a good example of late Victorian domestic architecture. Historic association with Vere Foster, renowned educationalist who campaigned for teacher’s rights, adds significant interest. Now office accommodation, the plan form is altered slightly but a good deal of original joinery and authentic historic detailing, including the original staircase, remains intact.
Curved walling and dwarf pillars at the entrance enhance the character of it’s setting within the Queens Conservation Area.