52-58 Howard Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Attached corner-sited five-storey redbrick and red sandstone office building, built c.1900, with series of shop units to the ground floor. Rectangular on plan with two principal elevations facing west onto Great Victoria Street and north onto Howard Street.

Roof not visible behind red sandstone ashlar parapet wall on continuous overhanging cornice. Parapet comprising stone balustrade terminated by gableted sections to all end bays having a segmental pediment to the centre of the west elevation with carved coat of arms with each decorative element flanked by squat piers and ball finials. To the north elevation is a dentilated segmental pediment containing a carved cartouche with lettering; 'F & J Co Ltd', resting on half-fluted squat pilasters and flanked by carved linen swags in turn flanked by squat piers surmounted by ball finials. Redbrick walling laid in English garden wall bond to dentilated red sandstone cornice above ground floor and continuous moulded sandstone sill course to the fourth floor. Both elevations have slightly advanced end bays with the central three bays to each elevation defined by four Giant pilasters rising from first floor to parapet level. Segmental-headed window openings with red sandstone sills having moulded redbrick trims and single-pane timber sash windows with ogee horns.

North elevation is thirteen windows wide with three-centred arched window openings to the fourth floor and red sandstone keystone. Varying red sandstone and redbrick heads to remaining window openings. To the ground floor each retail unit is flanked by red sandstone ashlar pilasters to cornice level, while some shopfronts retain original polished red granite pilasters. To the centre of this elevation is a square-headed entrance bay with hardwood double-leaf glazed panelled doors, sidelights and overlights.

East elevation abutted by adjoining building No.42-46 Howard Street (HB26/30/034).

South elevation abutted by adjoining building No.14 Great Victoria Street.

West elevation is eleven windows wide, detailed as per north elevation.

Setting;
Located on a corner site at the junction of Great Victoria Street and Howard Street.

Roof N/A
RWG N/A
Walling Redbrick / red sandstone ashlar
Windows Timber sash

Historical information

The current building was constructed in 1901-3 as a warehouse for John Fulton & co, linen manufacturers and warehousemen, to designs by Young and Mackenzie and is first shown on the sixth edition OS map of 1931. (Patton; Street Directories)

The building first enters valuation records in 1906 as a linen warehouse valued at £880 fronting onto Howard Street, together with a series of shops fronting onto Great Victoria Street, five valued at £55 and the sixth, corner premises, valued at £110. The shops were let out to a variety of concerns. By 1911 the warehouse was occupied by Caledon Woollen Mills Ltd and in 1930 the building was taken over by Friends’ Provident and Century Life Insurance Company who converted it into offices to designs by Antoine William Roques, although Tulloch and Fitzsimons are also credited with having designed alterations and additions to the building at this time. In the course of the reconstruction, shops were also added to the Howard Street side of the building. (www.dia.ie; Valuation Records; Street Directories)

By 1936 the former warehouse was being let out as a series of shops and offices with varying valuations, the offices largely occupied by insurance companies. (Valuation Records) According to Patton, between 1940 and 1966, the landscape and portrait painter Frank McKelvey (1895-1974) had a studio here. McKelvey was highly regarded, his biography concluding, “he helped to forge a new and distinct way of representing the Irish scene which is the nearest approximation we have to a distinct Irish school of painting.” (Patton; Snoddy)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1901-2
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/6 – Sixth Edition OS Map 1931
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/P/1-8 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930)
4. PRONI VAL/12/F/3/1`4/1 – Annual Revisions (1930-35)
5. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/32 – First General Revaluation (1936-57)

Secondary Sources

1. Patton, M “Central Belfast: An Historical Gazetteer” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993
2. Snoddy, T “Dictionary of Irish Artists, 20th Century” Dublin: Merlin Publishing, 2002
3. www.dia.ie – Dictionary of Irish Architects online

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Five-storey redbrick and red sandstone office building, built c.1900, with series of shop units to the ground floor. Rectangular on plan with two principal elevations facing west onto Great Victoria Street and north onto Howard Street. A restrained Edwardian commercial building with some neo-classical stonework - it is a late example of a Victorian style warehouse and not of sufficient architectural interest to warrant listing.