46 Hamilton Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

End of terrace two-bay three-storey redbrick house, built c.1835. Built as one of a terrace of six similar houses lining the south side of Hamilton Street. After a period of dereliction the terrace was refurbished c.1990 by Hearth Housing Association with only the exterior walls retained and commercial unit to the ground floor.

Natural slate roof, hipped to the west with black clay ridge tiles, lead hip ridges and two redbrick chimneystacks having clay pots. Cast-iron guttering to stepped redbrick eaves course and cast-iron downpipes. Redbrick walling laid in Flemish bond with rendered plinth course. Square-headed window openings with painted masonry sills and replacement 6/6 timber sash windows.

Two-bay three-storey front elevation with front railed area, lead-lined painted timber fascia above ground floor openings and rusticated rendered quoins to the outer corner. Off-centre round-headed door opening with moulded surround and replacement timber panelled door flanked by flat-panelled pilasters, stepped lintel cornice and decorative fanlight over. Door opens onto concrete platform and two nosed steps flanked by low rendered plinth wall and replacement iron railings enclosing a small front paved area.

East side elevation abutted by adjoining house No.44 (HB26/30/009E).

Two-bay three-storey rear elevation abutted by a single-storey lean-to extension, spanning entire terrace. Camber-headed brick arches to all window openings, irregularly placed to light rooms to the right and half-landings to the left. Bipartite 6/6 timber sash window to the lean-to with a single timber glazed door. Door opens onto communal rear bitmac parking area accessed via pair of tall timber sheeted gates to either end of terrace, supported on pairs of tall redbrick piers and redbrick screen walls with concrete coping.

Two-bay three-storey west side elevation with rusticated render quoins to either end. Square-headed window openings with masonry sills, 6/6 timber sash windows to the rear first and second floor openings, blind to the remainder.

Setting:
Forming part of a terrace of six similar houses lining the south side of Hamilton Street.

Roof: Replacement natural slate
RWG: Replacement cast-iron
Walling: Redbrick
Window: Replacement timber sash

Historical information

Hamilton Street is one of a terrace of six three-storey buildings which were mostly developed by 1832-33, the first edition Ordnance Survey map shows that nos. 36-40 were constructed by that year whilst nos. 42-46 were likely constructed soon afterwards. The Belfast Street Directories records that Nos. 36-46 were numbered differently as nos 24-34 in 1852 and in that year No. 46 Hamilton Street was occupied by a Mrs. Coleman who, like many of the residents of the area, operated a boarding house from her property. By 1859 Griffith’s Valuation recorded that a Mrs. Mary Browne had come into possession of the building which she let the house from Elisha Crawford at £ annual rent; Crawford also continued to own the rest of the terrace until c. 1906. The valuer described No. 46 Hamilton Street as a B+ class (‘not new but in sound repair’) dwelling which measured 6 ½ by 7 ½ yds and was valued at £15.

The Annual Revisions record that Mrs. Browne continued to occupy the house until 1875 when a Mr. John Weir, a manufacturer, briefly came into possession of the site residing there by his death in 1877 (PRONI Wills Catalogue – 29 Dec 1877). Upon Weir’s death the house was taken over by a W. Hafferin who operated a public laundry from the premises. In 1885 the house was solely used as a warehouse and its valued was decreased to £15, however by 1901 No. 46 Hamilton Street was occupied by a Mr. James McCready, a ships stoker who continued to operate a boarding house from the address like previous residents before him; the 1901 Census notes that a number of actors performing at the Grand Opera House resided at the address on census night. In c. 1906 ownership of No. 46 Hamilton Street passed from Elisha Crawford to a Mr. Archibald Savage who continued to own the length until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930. The 1911 Census records that Savage let No. 46 Hamilton Street to a Ms. Elizabeth Patton by that year when the Census Building Return described the building as a 1st class boarding house and dwelling which consisted of six rooms and possessed no out offices. Patton vacated the site sometime between 1911 and 1918 when a Ms. Rose Maguire came into possession (Belfast Street Directory).

In 1935 the value of No. 46 Hamilton Street was increased to £19 10s. under the first general revaluation of property in Northern Ireland; by that time both the occupant and owner of the house had changed. A Ms. Minnie Coulter purchased the house c. 1930 and from 1930 let the address to a Mr. Charles Knocker, a general labourer; Charles Knocker, or a family member of the same name, would continue to occupy No. 46 until the 1980s (Belfast Street Directories). During the Second World War Hamilton Street was badly damaged in the Belfast Blitz, when the Luftwaffe targeted the nearby shipyard industries, and many of the houses along the street were lost (Patton, p. 179). Nos. 36-46 were repaired and after the war were included in the second revaluation of property in Northern Ireland which took place from 1956; No. 46 Hamilton Street’s value was raised to £21 at which it remained by the end of the project in 1972. Charles Knocker resided at this address until at least 1980 when the entire terrace was vacated, falling into a state of dilapidation before being restored 1988-90.

Hamilton Street was built in the 1830s on reclaimed land to the south-east of Belfast’s town centre; this land was created by the construction of a paper mill dam along the Blackstaff River at the current junction of Ormeau Avenue and Cromac Street (O’Hagan, p. 13). Patton records that Hamilton Street drew its title from the family name of the Dukes of Abercorn who resided in No. 3 Hamilton Street from 1818 (now demolished). The street originally attracted high ranking merchant class residents including many who were employed in the newspaper and printing trade; however by the 1850s the area had become more distinctly working class as businessmen moved to grander houses in the Belfast suburbs. With the flight of the merchant classes the buildings on Hamilton Street and the neighboring Joy Street (HB26/30/007A-C; HB26/30/008A-F) became mainly inhabited by working class traders but also by students who frequented Queens College which had been established in 1849. Due to their size and proximity to the town centre a number of the large houses on Joy Street were converted into lodging and boarding houses for the new influx of students; the majority of the similar houses on Hamilton Street were maintained as private dwellings, however No. 46 was used throughout much of its history as a lodging house (Patton, pp 179-180).

In 1971 Brett described the houses on Hamilton and Joy Street as ‘the best example left in the city of late-Georgian Belfast’ (Brett, p. 4). Many of the remaining houses on Hamilton Street, returning into Catherine Street North and Joy Street, were demolished in 1988 by which time the surviving nos. 36-46 had also fallen a state of disrepair. Between 1988 and 1990 the Hearth Revolving Fund restored the terrace with the addition of a new running bay at the rear; however this restoration has resulted in the loss of the original interior features (Patton, pp 179-180). No. 46 Hamilton Street was listed in 1985 along with the rest of the terrace and continues to be occupied.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1832-33
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901-02
4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931
5. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938
6. PRONI VAL/2/B/7/1B – Griffith’s Valuation 1859
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/1 - Annual Revisions 1863-1881
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/24 - Annual Revisions 1882-1896
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/35 - Annual Revisions 1897-1905
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/P/2 - Annual Revisions 1906-1915
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/P/5 - Annual Revisions 1915-1930
12. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/21 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935
13. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/50 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972
14. Belfast Street Directories (1843; 1852; 1861; 1901; 1910; 1918; 1920-21; 1930; 1940; 1950; 1960; 1970; 1980).
15. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
16. PRONI Wills Catalogue (1877)

Secondary Sources

1. Brett, C. E. B; McKinstry, T. R. J., ‘Survey and recommendations for the Joy Street and Hamilton Street District of Belfast’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1971.
2. O’Hagan, J., ‘The streets where we lived’ Belfast: Unknown Publisher, 2006.
3. Patton, M., ‘Central Belfast: An historical gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993.
4. First Survey Record – HB26/30/009 (1987).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

End of terrace two-bay three-storey redbrick Georgian townhouse, built c.1840. Located on the south side of Hamilton Street in Belfast city centre, forming part of a terrace of six similar houses. The building displays proportions and detailing typical of the Georgian period.
Restored in recent years following a period of dereliction , the house required a large amount of repair work resulting in some loss of the original architectural fabric. However the terrace has been restored in a sensitive manner by Hearth Housing Association c.1985.
Externally the building has retained much of its historic fabric and late-Georgian detailing. Number 46 adds significant value to the group as a whole, retaining the style and proportions of the terrace thus ensuring the continued survival of this rare example of late Georgian terraced housing in the centre of Belfast.