Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/50/279

Address :
Cathedral Buildings 60-68 Donegall Street Belfast BT1 2GT

Townland:
Belfast Town Parks

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
28/03/2003 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Shop

Former Use
Shop

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130/13

IG Ref:
J3383 7470

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

Large four storey shop and office block of 1901-2 in brick with sandstone bands, large (vaguely Flemish) gables, tall chimneystacks and a high pitched slated roof. The property is set on the SW side of Donegall Street, to the NE of Belfast city centre. To the NW it is abutted by a modern style five storey office block, but to the SE the neighbouring buildings were cleared away to create a large plaza-like public space and the SE gable of the building has been rebuilt in a modern brick. The front elevation faces NE and is symmetrical. To the centre of the ground floor is a large segmental arched entrance recess within which is a large panelled timber double door. The door itself is set within a much smaller segmental headed recess with simple moulding around the recess itself with more decorative floral moulding to the to the shallow arched ‘tympanum’ with the smaller recess and similar decorative moulding to the ‘spandrel’ areas just above it. Just above this is a dentilled course above which is a large fanlight ensemble, consisting of three relatively large recessed elliptical arched lights with more moulded floral decoration to their ‘spandrels’. The entrance recess is topped with a large projecting curved ‘tympanum’ supported either side of the recess by two large decorative brackets. Within the tympanum ‘Cathedral Buildings’ is spelt out in large moulded sans serif capitals and directly below this is a moulded string course with integral moulded ‘keystone’. The tympanum is topped with a thick verge course with floral decoration thereon with two central floral ‘swirls’. Either side of the entrance there are two large shop fronts (four shops in all). Each shop front has a relatively plain modern appearance with large plate glass windows, recessed glazed doorways and eclectic modern signage. The fronts are each separated by a tall rusticated pier topped with a large two ‘pronged’ bracket with decorative floral mouldings at springing level and a curved tympanum-like cap. Between the ‘prongs’ of each bracket descends a square metal downspout. Above signboard level are two moulded string courses. To the first floor there are seven windows of various size. The two outermost (1st and 7th) windows are largest with sandstone mullions and transoms separating eight plain glazed lights. Both these windows are topped with a small curved sandstone tympanum, which resembles that above the entrance but with much plainer verge moulding. The 2nd and 6th windows are much smaller, consisting of two lights separated by a sandstone transom. The 3rd and 5th windows are slightly larger with four lights and mullions and transoms as before. The central window has six lights, mullions and transoms as before, but is topped with a small plain semicircular tympanum. The second floor windows follow the same arrangement as first floor, but are marginally smaller and with the two outermost windows as the central window to the first floor, the second floor central window also as that to first floor but with a curved tympanum as entrance. The 3rd and 5th windows to the first floor have similar shaped tympanums, but without the moulding. The elevation culminates with three large gables. The fact that these gables are (like the first and second floor levels) in brick with sandstone courses, gives them a ‘Flemish’ feel, however their relatively angular shape (with simple kneelers) is also similar to that on late medieval Irish tower houses. The central gable is larger and has a central six light window same as that to the centre of the first floor, only smaller. Above this are three small ‘arrow slit’ recesses. The gable has a stone verge coping with kneelers and a small crow step-like projection half way up each side, and, at the apex is relatively broad pier-like stone ‘finial’ with a semicircular ‘tympanum’ cap. The smaller outer gables repeat the detailing of the larger gable but without windows or side projections. Above the central arrow slit to each is a small quatrefoil shaped patress plate. On the roof between the gables are small-ish three light flat roofed dormers (two in total). The front elevation is in red brick above ground floor level with twelve narrow (Ruskinian style) sandstone bands interspersed unevenly throughout each floor (three to first floor, four to second and five to the central gable). Four square cast iron gutters stretch the height of the façade with the outer gutters slightly longer as they have the extra height of end parapets to span also. The spouts have large square hoppers. The SE gable is asymmetrical in shape and does not have any openings. This gable was formerly hidden by a neighbouring property, but with the demolition of the neighbouring building the gable has had to be re-faced and is now completely in red brick, with stone coping to the parapet. To the NW the property is abutted by a taller modern style five storey flat roofed office block of c.1965-70. The rear of the property appears to have originally had a large projecting single or one and half storey section, but this has been completely cleared away with its space now covered by part of a large c.1990s five storey office block. Because of the close proximity of the 1990s block, much of the right hand side of the rear elevation of the Donegall St. property cannot be seen. The visible portion of the rear, however, is finished in a (relatively recent looking) plain cement render (with moulded eaves course). To the far left there is a pair of tall segmental headed windows to the first floor and two (slightly shorter) to the second floor. All of these windows appear to have top hung frames made to resemble sash. To right of these there is a large segmental headed window to each floor, both with plain double sash frames. To right again (actually to the centre of the elevation) there are two large semicircular headed windows to the first and second half-landing levels. These have recent looking four pane frames with large panels underneath. The gabled roof is covered in what appears to be Westmoreland slate and has two large centrally located brick chimneystacks with shallow pots. The roof overhangs to front. Interior evidence suggests there are at least two large skylights to the rear, with at least two much smaller ones to front. The gutters to front (which appear to be cast iron) have curving projecting iron supports. The rw goods to rear appear to be metal, with PVC soil drainage pipes.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

This block of offices and shops, ‘The Cathedral Buildings’, was built in 1901-2 for F.R. Lepper, a tea merchant. The authorship is uncertain but Marcus Patton has suggested it may have been the work of Blackwood & Jury. Originally the property appears to have possessed a large single or one and a half storey store section to the rear (possibly Lepper’s tea store), but this was cleared away in the late 1900s- probably in the 1990s to make way for the present office block behind the property. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI VAL/12B/43c/18 pp.243a-b Annual valuation revision notebook, St Ann’s ward, Belfast, 1897-1905 2 PRONI D.1898/? Records of Messrs. W.H. Stephens & Sons, chartered quantity surveyors, Belfast, 1887-1965 [The card index at PRONI states that this collection contains original plans of The Cathedral Buildings dating from c.1900, however, these plans are not listed within the actual catalogue of the collection.] 3 Belfast and province of Ulster directory, (Belfast, 1902- ) Secondary sources 1 Marcus Patton, ‘Central Belfast- a historical gazetteer’ (Belfast, 1993), p.132

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Impressive four storey shop and office block of 1901-2 in brick with sandstone bands, large (vaguely Flemish) gables, tall chimneystacks and a high pitched slated roof.

General Comments

This is a test

Date of Survey

18 January 2002