Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/50/102 B

Address :
Old Museum Buildings 7 College Square North Belfast County Antrim BT1 6AR

Townland:
Townparks

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Survey 2:
A

Date of Listing:
26/06/1979 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Office

Former Use
Gallery/ Museum

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:
J3345 7417

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Owner Category

Charity

Exterior Description And Setting

Three storey five bay rendered Greek Revival building of 1831 by Duff & Jackson set back at the centre of a terrace on College Square North. Roof slated with panelled parapet to the front and cast iron rainwater goods at the back. Rendered chimney stacks at each gable may belong to no.8. South wall stucco with dentilled pediment over central three bays which are slightly advanced, plain giant order pilasters between bays at first and second floor. Lugged architraves to d/h sash windows at first and second floor (6 over 6 at 2nd floor, 9 over 6 at first floor), with entablatures over first floor architraves. Continuous cill course to second floor windows broken by pilasters. Ornamental cast iron ventilation grilles over first floor windows. Cornice over ground floor with small plaster wreaths on the entablature. Ground floor has windows, round headed (6 over 6 d/h sashes with additional panes in the head) with moulded architraves in rusticated stucco with voussoirs, cills contained within architraves that descend to the plain plinth. Central portico with fluted Corinthian columns and plain response pilasters, with flat moulded and dentilled entablature and frieze and column bases enclosing five stone steps to the front door. Double door with five moulded panels framed by iron rosette studs and with fishscale fanlight. Paved area in front of the building on two levels, the rear one having originally been planted. Paving at the front is sandstone and enclosed by sandstone dwarf wall which originally supported cast iron railings. Rear elevation cement rendered with two gabled bays projecting above the basic roof level. Various windows, mostly d/h sash of differing fenestrations. The window on the landing above first floor was formerly 9 over 6 d/h sash; the window above it is 6 over 6 with additional margin panes at top bottom and sides; both these windows have original lamb's tongue glazing bars. Two-storey painted brick return to the building (G9) is slated with cast iron rwg. Main portion is three bay with central door, single pane d/h sashes behind protective iron bars. Setting: The centrepiece of a terrace of substantial late Georgian buildings (HB26/50/102 C-F and HB26/50/102A) which originally overlooked the lawns of Inst (HB26/50/023) until the Technical College (HB26/50/222) was built. Schedule of materials: Roof: Slated Walls: Stucco Windows: Timber RWG: Cast iron

Architects

Duff & Jackson

Historical Information

The Old Museum, a three-storey Greek Revival building situated at No. 7 College Square North, was constructed between 1830 and 1831 to designs by Thomas Duff (c. 1792-1848) and Thomas Jackson (1807-1890). Duff and Jackson established their architectural partnership in c. 1829, making the Old Museum one of their first joint contracts and one of Jackson’s earliest completed works; however in 1835 the partnership was dissolved when Thomas Jackson established an independent practise in Belfast (Dictionary of Irish Architects). The Dublin Penny Journal states that the foundation stone of the building was laid on 4th May 1830 and that it was constructed for the Belfast Natural History & Philosophical Society (Dublin Penny Journal, p. 237). The contemporary Townland Valuation (c. 1830) records that when originally completed the museum building was valued at £66. P. D. Hardy, in his Twenty-one views in Belfast and its neighbourhood’ (1837), wrote an extract on the museum shortly after its completion. Hardy states that the foundation stone was laid by the Marquis of Donegall, and that in the first stone was laid a bottle containing a number of documents including papers of the Belfast Natural History Society, a list of its members and subscribers, a Belfast Almanac for 1830, coins then used in the United Kingdom, and a Bible passage from the 12th chapter of Job which was translated into 15 different languages. Hardy states that the Belfast Natural History & Philosophical Society was initiated by a ‘few respectable young gentlemen of that town, nearly all of whom were engaged in commercial business, and who devoted those leisure hours to literary and scientific pursuits … they subscribed a small sum to pay for a room to meet in and at their meetings curious objects of natural history were exhibited, and original essays were read and commented on … their proceedings ultimately attracted the admiration and applause of the older and wealthier citizens of this great commercial town and its vicinity and a subscription was nobly entered on to procure the youthful society a public edifice for their meetings, and a depository for their valuable museum’ (Hardy, pp 36-37). The Museum of the Belfast History & Philosophical Society was increased in value to £130 by Griffith’s Valuation which was carried out in 1860; at that time the valuer noted that the museum also possessed a private residence for the use of the curator (in 1861 the curator was a Mr. William Darragh who was also employed as a taxidermist and prepared the exhibitions preserved animals). There was no significant change to the building until the Belfast Revaluation in 1900; in that year the value of the museum was slightly decreased to £116 whilst the two-storey curators house to the rear of the building was individually valued at £9. The valuer noted that the museum consisted of nine rooms (including sitting rooms but excluding kitchens) and was fitted with gas installations. Since its erection in the 1830s the museum was also the premises of a number of other local scientific institutions; the 1901 Belfast Street Directory noted that part of the museum was occupied by the Ulster Medical Society and that the Belfast Naturalist Field Club also held offices in the building. The Census of Ireland notes that a Mr. Samuel A. Stewart was the curator of the museum in 1901. Originally from the United States of America, Stewart (75, Methodist) resided at the curator’s residence with his widowed sister; the census building return described the museum as a 1st class building that consisted of two inhabited rooms (curators dwelling). By 1910 Stewart had been replaced as curator by a Mr. J. Sinclair; the street directories notes that the Ulster Photographic Society held offices in the building in that year (Belfast Street Directory – 1910). In 1929 the Belfast Municipal Museum and Art Gallery, Northern Ireland’s first national museum, was opened in Botanic Gardens. Upon opening, the many artefacts of the Old Museum on College Square North were transferred to South Belfast; however, the Belfast Natural History & Philosophical Society continued to meet at the site. No longer required as exhibition space, No. 7 College Square North became primarily utilised as a lecture venue and office space. By the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930, the value of the former museum stood at £131; the society’s lecture hall was located on the first floor whilst the remaining offices were occupied by the College of Nursing, the Ulster Society of Architects and the Institute of Chartered Accountants. There was no change to the occupants by the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland in 1935, although the value had slightly increased to £143 since the cancellation of the Annual Revisions. College Square North survived the heavy bombardment of Belfast’s city centre during the 1941 Blitz, and in the aftermath of the Second World War the terrace was included in the second revaluation of property in Northern Ireland which commenced in 1956. During the war, the various organisations continued to meet at the former museum; the 1943 Belfast Street Directory noted that the Ulster Hospital Libraries Association and the Ulster Academy of Arts had taken up offices in the building since the 1930s. By the second general revaluation, the former lecture hall on the first floor had been occupied by the First Church of Christ Scientist who utilised the space as reading rooms, however the Christian denominational organisation vacated the building by 1966 when the 1st floor was taken over by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors; by the end of the revaluation in 1972, the Old Museum continued to be leased by the Trustees of the Belfast Natural History & Philosophical Society and the value of the building stood at £410. Bardon states that the Belfast Natural History & Philosophical Society was established on 5th June 1821, when eight scholars from the Royal Belfast Academical Institution (HB26/50/023) met in the home of Dr. James Drummond, the President of the Natural History Society and ‘in a short time members accumulated impressive collections of antiquities and botanical, zoological, and mineral specimens.’ The society first met at ‘Inst’ before establishing a regular meeting at the Commercial Buildings on Bridge Street (HB26/50/060); however the society outgrew its provided accommodation and by 1830 a new site was acquired at College Square North (Bardon, p. 83). College Square was laid out in the early-19th century as a large open square containing the newly established Royal Belfast Academical Institution; in the mid-to-late-19th century College Square North was one of the most desirable areas in Belfast and attracted many professionals, including doctors and businessmen, however when the massive Belfast Technical College was installed at the corner of the square and cut off the pleasant view of the Academy’s lawns in 1900-07, many of the city’s professionals moved to South Belfast to more idyllic surrounds such as University Square beside Queens University (Patton, p. 74). No. 7 College Square North, although officially designed by Thomas Duff and Thomas Jackson, is now generally attributed to Thomas Jackson as one of his earliest commissions; Jackson is also believed to have designed the adjoining nos 5-6 College Square in a similar classical style (HB26/50/102A). Larmour states that Jackson’s design incorporates several Greek Revivalist elements which reflect the ancient ruins of the Aegean ‘with details compiled from various Athenian sources.’ He described the building in the following terms: ‘the sloping architraves to some windows echo those of the Erechtheum; the laurel wreaths across the frieze number eleven, like those of the Choragic Monument of Thrasyllus; and the very distinctive water leaf and acanthus capitals of the portico are copied from those on the Tower of the Winds’ (Larmour, p. 7). Brett, describing the museum as an expression of Belfast’s academic revival (the town was designated the ‘Athens of the North in the Georgian period) stated that the portico ‘is an exact copy of that of the octagonal tower of Andronicus at Athens’ whilst the upper portions are reminiscent of the Temple of Minerva (Brett, pp 18-19). The Old Museum has not been significantly altered in the 180 years since it was originally constructed; however during the troubles of the 1970s College Square North (known at that time as ‘Bomb Alley’) was frequently targeted in a number of bomb and vandalism attacks. Whilst the adjoining terrace fell vacant and into an advanced state of repair, No. 7 College Square North was well maintained and remained open throughout the period, despite repeated acts of destruction (including the complete demolition of the adjoining No. 8 in 1977 (Brett & Hardy, p. 37). The Old Museum was listed in 1979; the building continued to be utilised by a number of organisations until 1990, when the premises was converted into the Old Museum Arts Centre, a venue for creative arts, theatre and live events. In 2006, the Old Museum Arts Centre, outgrowing its accommodation, announced that a modern £9.2 million venue would be constructed in the Cathedral Quarter; the culture and arts organisation continued to operate from College Square North until April 2012 when the Metropolitan Arts Centre was opened. The Old Museum is currently lying vacant. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1832-33 2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1858 3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901-02 4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931 5. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938 6. PRONI VAL/720A-B – Townland Valuation c. 1830 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/7/5D – Griffith’s Valuation 1860 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/E/1-24 – Annual Revisions 1862-1930 9. PRONI VAL/7/B/12/49 – Belfast Revaluation 1900 10. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/18 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935 11. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/36 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-72 12. George Benn’s The History of the town of Belfast (1823) 13. Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. 1 (19 Jan 1833) 14. Belfast Street Directories (1843-1943) 15. First Survey Record – HB26/50/112 (1970) 16. First Survey Image – HB26/50/112 (1974) 17. Ordnance Survey Map – 130-13SE (1959) Secondary Sources 1. Bardon, J., ‘Belfast: An illustrated history’ Belfast: The Blackstaff Press, 1982. 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Belfast: 1700-1914’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1985. 3. Brett, C. E. B; Hardy, P. D., ‘Twenty-one views in Belfast and its neighbourhood’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2005 (being a reprint and update of Hardy’s 1836 work). 4. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. 5. 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 E. Spatial Organisation I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A three-storey Greek Revival building constructed between 1830 and 1831 to designs by Thomas Duff and Thomas Jackson. A fine Greek Revival building close to the city centre with a history of some significance, being the first privately funded museum in Ireland and a focal point for cultural activities in early Victorian Belfast. Although there have been some alterations, it is substantially complete with much historic fabric and detailing surviving. It forms part of a group described as the best surviving example of an 1830s terrace in Belfast, with the plain Georgian character of the terrace and its historic interest significant as a surviving part of Georgian Belfast, similar to the houses at 7-11 Wellington Place.

General Comments

Record renumbered from HB 26/50/112 to HB 26/50/102B

Date of Survey

16 January 2013