Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/50/313

Address :
Imperial Buildings 70-74 High Street 19-21 Skipper Street Belfast County Antrim BT1 2BE

Townland:
Town Parks

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
13/04/2016 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Office

Former Use
Office

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130/13 NE

IG Ref:
J3408 7447

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

A four storey, with attic, commercial building, designed by W.J. Gilliland in 1907; it was re-erected from the second floor up, with some details missing, after bomb damage in 1941. It sits on the north side of High Street on the corner of Skipper Street. Hipped natural slate roof with flat topped dormers set behind a solid parapet from which rises a gabled dormer; an octagonal, copper conical roofed corner turret; brick chimneys. Rainwater pipes are square metal (some original cast iron) with rectangular hoppers. Walls are red brick laid in Flemish bond; sandstone cornices and banding, slightly projecting window bays and corner turret. The ground floor has banded pilasters of red granite, alternately polished and unpolished, foliate volute capitals of unpolished red granite, polished black granite plinths, modern polished granite frieze; carved sandstone to ground floor cornice: shield with '1907' over west pilaster, carved bracket volutes and foliate decoration to soffit of oriel projection of turret, carved wave-topped pediment with crown, foliate decoration and lettering "IMPERIAL BUILDINGS" over entrance. The windows are mainly square headed with the exception of the first floor curved bay which are round arched, the first floor openings are divided in two by stone transoms. The windows are metal framed, 2 paned, single paned to ground floor. The entrance arched head is infilled with beaten iron fanlight, modern metal grille doors below; the door set back in porch is glazed timber with stained glass lights over. The main south elevation has three window bays running between first and third floors, octagonal turret corbelled out from first floor to right corner; the slightly projecting flat bay to the left is surmounted by a gabled dormer with tripartite windows; the central curved bay has tripartite windows (round-headed to first floor); the slightly projecting flat right bay has bipartite windows; the turret has windows to three sides. The entrance sits under the curved bay with a wave-topped pediment. The rear north elevation has a projecting wing, above ground floor, to the east which has a blank red brick gable end. The rear wall and return wall are of white ceramic faced brick. The rear wall has two flat arched windows to first, second and third floors and a box dormer to the attic. A spiral metal fire escape stair sits against the return wall. Side east-facing elevation is seven windows wide with the turret on the left corner. To the left rises a tall freestanding chimney; to the right a chimney stack, continuing to the ground floor cornice, sitting centrally in a gabled dormer flanked by two windows. The windows to the second and third floors are square-headed with masonry lintels, projecting concrete cills. The first floor windows are varied, to the south is a quatre-partite window with heavy transom, stone architrave, moulded cornice with central arch and decorated tympanum, bracketed cill; adjacent to the right is a stone panel with two square grille openings, flat moulded cornice, bracketed moulded base with arch over a stone dressed slit opening below; the 8 first floor windows to the north are paired, divided in two by a heavy stone transom; a stone string runs at transom level. The windows are metal framed casements, 4 and 2 paned to upper floors, single paned to first. The ground floor matches the south elevation but with paired pilasters. The side west elevation is abutted by the former Belfast Bank building (HB26/50/040). Setting: Imperial Buildings sits on the north side of High Street on the corner of Skipper Street. It terminates the view north along Church Lane which runs off High Street to the south, it frames the view east down High Street which is terminating by The Albert Memorial (HB26/50/055). Abutting to the west is the elaborate former Belfast Bank building (HB26/50/040) and to the east, on the opposite side of High Street, is St. George’s Church (HB26/50/045). Schedule: Roof: natural slate Walls: brick and sandstone Windows: metal RWGs: square metal

Architects

Gilliland, W J

Historical Information

Imperial Buildings was constructed in 1906-7 to designs by William John Gilliland but upper floors were rebuilt after the Belfast Blitz. The office building with ground floor shops was commissioned by Messrs Campbell & Harden, solicitors of High Street and is first shown on the sixth edition OS map of 1931. The building enters valuation records in 1908 as two shops, valued at £83 and £110 and 33 offices on the first to fourth floors with valuations from £3.10s to £29. The associated plan shows a lift to the rear of the building which served the ground to third floors. Attics on the fourth floor housed further offices and accommodation for the caretaker, Robert Hanna. Valuers note that the cost of the building was £9-10,000. The building was ‘re-erected from the second floor up’ following bomb damage to High Street during the Belfast Blitz of 1941, although some details were omitted (Larmour). The building has provided accommodation for a number of companies and organisations including Farrow’s Bank Ltd, the Ulster Teachers’ Union and local offices for the Daily Mail and other newspapers (Street Directories). Since the 1970s the ground floor shops have been occupied by a sports goods retailer. 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/A/7/L/42\ Valuer’s Notes 1903 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/C/1-45 (1863-1930) 5. Street Directories 1908-1995 Secondary Sources 1. Larmour, P “Belfast, An Illustrated Architectural Guide” Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1987 2. Patton, M “Central Belfast: An Historical Gazetteer” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993

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

Historic Interest

V. Authorship X. Local Interest R. Age S. Authenticity

Evaluation

A four storey, with attic, commercial building, designed by W.J. Gilliland in 1907. The sandstone detailing on the predominantly brick building is unusual, with robust proportions and articulation of the façade including fine stonework details. It is a good example of the type, representing the ongoing commercial development of the city centre in the early Twentieth century, as well as a survival from the Belfast Blitz. It is also a good example of the work of a noteworthy architect, set within a conservation area.

General Comments

Date of Survey