Fountain House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Five storey commercial building designed in 1935-37 by Young and Mackenzie in Art Deco style. It runs between the west side of Donegall Place and Fountain Street bordering Fountain Lane to the south.

A modern flat roof stucture of panelled metal with stepped pediments to Donegall Place and Fountain Avenue sits over original entablature. Rainwater goods are unseen within structure. Walls are painted, lined render, rusticated to the first floor; a moulded cornice and plain frieze terminates top and base of masonry and similarly runs at first floor window head level. The ground floor is faced with black marble. The windows are flat lintelled, some with stepped reveals and occasional exaggerated keystones. Windows are replacement 2 and 6 pane timber frames with top hung lights. The ground floor shop front and entrance door are patent glazing.

The main east elevation is symmetrical, 9 windows wide, those flanking the central window are narrower. The central section projects slightly, framed by a full height rope moulding bound by ribbons. A balconette with solid render panels projects on curved brackets below the third floor windows, the first floor central window is recessed in a shallow arch with exaggerated keystone. The side sections are framed by shallow giant pilasters with cartouche 'capitals', balconettes project below the second floor windows. The plain frieze to the ground floor has metal lettering in the central section FOUNTAIN HOUSE with the number 19 at each side.

The south elevation is abutted by three storey building, above which one fourth floor uPVC window sits within a panel of lined render. The remaining elevation is of yellow brick.

The west elevation is 9 windows wide with a matching pattern to the east elevation, each bay of three windows is slightly recessed. The second floor central window is recessed in a round arch with exaggerated keystone; the first floor side windows are separated by plain render pilasters. Metal lettering FOUNTAIN HOUSE flanked by 34 is positioned in a slightly projecting central section of the ground floor frieze.

The north elevation is 21 windows wide. The 4 window wide section to the east is framed by pilasters with cartouche capitals and projecting cornice, the western two window bay is framed by plain pilasters and projecting cornice. A balconette projects below the 4 first floor eastern windows. Lettering FOUNTAIN LANE in ground floor frieze at each corner.

Setting

Fountain House forms the end of a terraced block on the west side of the busy Donegall Place, turning the corner on to the narrow pedestrian Fountain Lane and again on to Fountain Street.

Schedule:
Roof: replacement metal cladding
Walls: render
Windows: replacement timber
RWGs: unseen.

Historical information

Fountain House, a five-storey commercial building, located at nos 17-21 Donegall Place (occupying the corner with Fountain Street and possessing a separate entrance on Fountain Street), was constructed in 1935-37 to designs by Young & Mackenzie. An architectural partnership between Robert Young (1822-1917) and his assistant John Mackenzie (1844-1917), Young & Mackenzie was formed in 1867-68 and was described by the Dictionary of Irish Architects as ‘the most successful architectural practice in Belfast … [receiving] some of the most important commercial commissions in the city’ (Irish Builder, p. 615; Dictionary of Irish Architects).

When originally completed, nos 17-21 Donegall Place was not known as Fountain House but was called Moore House after James Moore, the landowner and proprietor of the former building on the site. The building consisted of two ground floor retail units and office space to its upper floors and was recorded in the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland in 1935 when the structure had not yet been completed. In 1935 the total rateable value of the unfinished building was set at £1,885; the valuer noted that the completed portion of the building was occupied by James Moore’s printing works, whilst the remaining sections remained unoccupied until 1937.

The Belfast Street Directories note that by the 1940s James Moore’s printing works had vacated the building; in 1943 the ground floor retail units were occupied by Etam hosiery and underwear merchants and Paige Gowns Ltd., a clothing warehouse. The first floor offices were occupied by a number of businesses and organisations including a dental surgery, a hairdressing salon, an accountancy firm and a number of Insurance Companies, whilst the remainder of the upper floors were utilised by the Northern Ireland government as H. M. Chief Tax Inspectors Office (Belfast Street Directory -1943). Due to the disruption caused by the Second World War, there was no further valuation carried out to the building until the second revaluation which commenced in 1956. Under the project the total value of the site had been greatly increased to £7,352 at which it remained by the cancellation of the revaluation in 1972.

Prior to the erection of Moore House in 1935-37, nos 17-19 Donegall Place was the site of James Moore’s printing business; the Belfast Street Directories note that James Moore Ltd. were ‘manufacturers of stationary for office and home [including] account books, lithography, type printing, engraving’ and manufacturing rubber stamps (Belfast Street Directories – 1918). The current building was renamed Fountain House in the mid-20th century and was listed in 1990; the First Survey Image (1989) records that Etam continued to occupy one of the ground floor retail units (Thornton’s chocolate occupied the other unit). Patton, writing in 1993, described Fountain House as a ‘five-storey Portland stone building with central feature framed in rope moulding bound with ribbons, and balconies at second and third floors; simple stepped parapet; side bays framed by very shallow pilasters with shields set in ribbons and scrolls as capitals’ (Patton, p. 103).

Fountain House was severely damaged by fire in 2005; in that year the damaged building was acquired by Deramore Property Group who stripped out the interior whilst retaining the façade. The renovated Fountain House was reopened in 2007 when it was occupied by the New Look clothing store (Future Belfast).

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938
3. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/14 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935
4. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/38 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972
5. Belfast Street Directories (1918-1943)
6. Irish Builder, Vol. 78 (11 Jul 1936)
7. First Survey Image – HB26/50/197 (1989)
8. Ordnance Survey Map – 130-13SE (1959)

Secondary Sources

1. Patton, M., ‘Central Belfast: An historical gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993.

Online Resources

1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie
2. Future Belfast website - http://www.futurebelfast.com/fountain-house.html

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A five storey rendered commercial building designed in 1935-37 by Young and Mackenzie in Art Deco style. Although exhibiting the motifs of the style, it is not among the best examples of the type and has been compromised by the loss historic fabric and detailing resulting from fire damage and the 2005/07 restoration. It survives as a façade only and no longer meets the statutory and policy tests as a building of special architectural or historic interest.