Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/50/228 B

Address :
Queens Arcade Donegall Place Belfast Co Antrim BT1 5AB

Townland:
Town Parks

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
30/06/1993 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 SE

IG Ref:
J3375 7419

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

Top-lit double-height arcade running on an east-west axis, built c.1880, accessed via ground floor to No's. 29-33 Donegall Place, opening onto Fountain Street via a symmetrical two-storey block (possibly built c.1930) and flanked by a multi-bay three-storey connecting wing to the south and a multi-bay two-storey wing to the north. Extensively modernised c.1932 with Art Deco shopfronts inserted to the designs of Sage of London. Pitched natural slate roof to the west block and connecting wings, shallow pitched glazed roof to the central arcade with lead ridge and lead-lined valleys. Cast-iron rainwater goods to the connecting wings. Painted rendered walling throughout. Square-headed window openings with masonry sills and single-pane timber sash windows (unless otherwise stated). Principal entrance to arcade via the central bay of No's.29-33 Donegall Place with replacement hardwood shopfront and pair of fluted masonry piers to the street. Secondary entrance to arcade via symmetrical two-storey rendered west block, five windows wide with a central recessed topped by pedimented parapet with thermal window opening over arcade entrance abutted by a glazed steel canopy (c.2000). Stepped segmental-head window openings to the first floor with keystones (windows boarded up) set within square-headed recesses and a full-span sill course forming the cornice over the ground floor. Tall square-headed window openings to the ground floor flanked by Doric pilasters with replacement timber-framed display windows. Segmental-headed door opening to the right, detailed as per first floor windows with replacement double-leaf timber doors, rendered lintel and plain overlight. Setting Set on an east-west axis and running between Donegall Place to the east and Fountain Street to the west. Roof: Natural slate/glazed RWG : Cast-iron Walling: Render Windows: timber

Architects

Mackinnon, James F

Historical Information

Queen’s Arcade, a long High-Victorian shopping arcade, extending from Donegall Place to Fountain Street, was constructed in tandem with George Fisher’s Queen’s Arcade Chambers (HB26/50/228A) whose four-storey building provides the main access to the arcade at no's 29-33 Donegall Place. When completed the Arcade originally consisted of 25 individual retail units, all of which were also leased by George Fisher; the ground-floor retail units on the south side of the arcade possesses a first and second storey over, whilst the units to the north possess a single floor of rooms overhead. The Annual Revisions noted that the retail units were valued between £15 and £25; the total value of the Arcade stood at £418 in 1881. Under the Belfast Revaluation (1900) the total value of the arcade was increased to £860; at that time all of the retail units were leased by Otto Jaffe. Jaffe (1846-1929), one of the largest linen suppliers in Ireland and twice-elected Mayor of Belfast, purchased Queens Arcade and the adjoining Queen’s Arcade Chambers in 1895. Queen’s Arcade was quickly established as one of the most popular commercial stores in the centre of the city of Belfast; in 1901 the arcade included clothing warehouses, a coal importers office, a lending library, a watchmakers shop and a photographic studio; on the south side of the arcade the Queen’s Café has operated from the site since the turn of the century (Belfast Street Directory – 1901). There was little alteration to the arcade over the following three decades aside from changes in the occupants of the units; in 1910 the North of Ireland Loan Bank occupied a unit on the southern side of the arcade, whilst at that time the photographic studio was known as the Vienna Photo Art Co; in 1918 many of the same occupants still operated from the arcade including the Queen’s Café, the lending library and a number of the minor businesses (Belfast Street Directory – 1910-1918). By the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1935) the total rateable value of the arcade was increased to £2,391. There was no further valuation of the site carried out due to the disruption caused by the Second World War; however in the aftermath of the conflict the arcade was revalued in the 1950s. Under the second revaluation (1956-1972) the final value was set at £4,195. Donegall Place was originally the location of Belfast Castle gardens prior to the building’s destruction in 1708; in the 1780s the current street was laid out providing a link, from the original 17th century centre of the town, to the White Linen Hall which was erected in 1783-85. Originally known as Linen Hall Street, the avenue was rechristened Donegall Place in c. 1810 when the area around the Linen Hall was renamed Donegall Square in honour of the Second Marquis of Donegall who resided at Donegall House (which formerly stood at the corner of the square and Donegall Place). Donegall Place was at the very edge of Belfast in the early-19th century and then consisted mainly of private dwelling occupied by the leading citizens of the town. During the 19th century the central location of the thoroughfare, coupled with the expansion of the town and the granting of city status in 1888, resulted in the commercialisation of Donegall Place. The vast majority of the buildings along the street date from the mid-to-late-Victorian period; the sole surviving Georgian remnant of Donegall Place is no's 25-27 Donegall Place (HB26/50/030) which adjoins Queens Arcade and the Queen’s Arcade Chambers (Beckett, pp 28-29; Patton, p. 102). Queen’s Arcade, along with the entrance at Queen’s Arcade Chambers, was designed by James Francis Mackinnon, a Belfast-based architect active in Belfast from 1863; in 1880 when he designed Queen’s Arcade, McKinnon was the official architect to the Belfast Union Board of Guardians (Dictionary of Irish Architects). When originally completed the arcade was depicted on contemporary maps as the ‘Queen’s Road,’ however this had been altered to Queen’s Arcade by 1901. The glass vault roof is a latter addition and was constructed in 1887 by James John Phillips (c. 1841-1936 – better known as the unofficially preferred architect to the Methodist Church in Ireland). There was no significant change to the arcade until 1932 when the 25 original shopfronts were replaced by new modern units although Larmour states ‘only a few vestiges of that stylish work remain’ (Larmour, p. 47). The two-storey Fountain Street façade is believed to date from the 1930s and is likely to have been erected as part of the work undertaken by Sage of London (Patton, p. 1930). Queen’s Arcade was listed in 1993; in that year Patton described the arcade as a ‘two-storey arcade with pitched glazed roof carried on perforated iron trusses with paneled barrel soffits; first floor windows semicircular with spoke divisions; cornice above first floor with richly carved floral ornament.’ Between 1987 and 1993 a canopy was added at each entrance of the arcade; however these have since been removed, the canopy at the Fountain Street entrance was installed in c. 2000 (Larmour; Patton, p. 104). Queen’s Arcade continues to be utilized as a commercial arcade; the Queen’s Café is the oldest continuous occupant and has held the premises on the southern side of the arcade since at least 1900. A small number the original 1932 shopfronts have survived, however the majority of the retail units now possess modern shopfronts. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1858 2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901-02 3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931 4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/D/1-14 – Annual Revisions 1862-1896 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/C/34-42 - Annual Revisions 1897-1930 7. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/14 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935 8. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/38 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972 9. Belfast Street Directories (1877-1943) 10. First Survey Record – HB26/50/030 (1971) 11. First Survey Image – HB26/50/030 (1976) 12. Ordnance Survey Map – 130-13SE (1959) Secondary Sources 1. Beckett, J. C., ‘Belfast: The making of the city’ Belfast: Appletree Press, 1983. 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Belfast: 1700-1914’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1985. 3. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. 4. Patton, M., ‘Central Belfast: An historical gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

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 K. Group value

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest Z. Rarity V. Authorship

Evaluation

Top-lit double-height arcade running on an east-west axis, built c.1880, accessed via ground floor of Nos. 29-33 Donegall Place (HB26/50/228A), opening onto Fountain Street through a symmetrical two-storey block and flanked by a multi-bay three-storey connecting wing to the south and a multi-bay two-storey wing to the north. Although compromised by the modernisation of most of the shop units, this is the only example of a nineteenth-century shopping arcade in Belfast with its overall form intact. The 1930s refurbishments add further interest to the structure as good examples of shopfronts of the period and part of the commercial development of the City centre representing a distinctive feature, the forerunner of modern shopping 'malls'.

General Comments

Previously HB26/50/228

Date of Survey

03 December 2012