Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/27/064 G

Address :
Hope House College Park Belfast BT7 1PS

Townland:
Malone Lower

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
University/ College Building - Terrace

Former Use
House - Terrace

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
147/1SE

IG Ref:
J3378 7267

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Late Victorian two and a half storey red brick former detached house, now used as university offices and integrated with Nos 1-6 College Park East (HB26/27/064A-F) on its W side with a connecting extension; built 1873 to a design by Young & MacKenzie. Hope Houses fronts onto College Park, a short pedestrianised street linking Rugby Road on the E with College Park East on the W. The terrace is located immediately south of Union Theological College (HB26/27/004) and to the east of the main buildings of Queen’s University (HB26/27/005). A modern two storey flat-roofed building abuts the former rear wall of Hope House and extends towards the N, enclosing the former rear yards of Nos 5 and 6 College Park East. The front facade is situated between the gable wall of No 6 and the narrow facade of the modern link-extension on the left (W) and two storey twentieth century housing on its E side, separated by a narrow alleyway leading to the rear of the rest of the terrace (Nos 1-6). Materials: Roof: Natural Welsh slate Walls: Red brick in Flemish bond Windows: Replacement timber top-hung RWGs: Cast iron & PVC Front Elevation (S): Double fronted asymmetrical two and a half storey red brick facade built in Flemish bond with a centrally located entrance to ground floor and a single storey canted bay to left and a square bay on right, both with replacement lead roofs. On first floor level there is a pair of window openings on left side above the canted bay, a single window opening in the centre aligned with the front door below and another single opening on the right, above the square bay. At attic level there is a large wall-head dormer on each side with a terracotta finial, possibly added at a later date as a different brick has been used. Paired window openings to each dormer. Modern velux window to section between dormers. Continuous painted stone cill course to first floor windows with bevelled brick course immediately below. Deep corbelled brick eaves detailing below a natural slate roof with red clay ridge tiles. Plain brick chimney to right and left sides at apex of gable with six terracotta pots to left side, and three seen on right side but number unknown. Both chimneys are of plain brickwork with four courses of modern brick to top section. Stone corbel to eaves at each side with flat coping (possibly concrete) to verge. All window openings have chamfered brick reveals (apart from dormer windows which are plain). The canted bay window have continuous painted stone header ‘bands’ with chamfered bottom edge, while the first floor window openings have shallow pointed painted render heads with a row of brick headers above. All windows to the front are replacement timber top-hung. Entrance consists of a replacement timber panelled door beneath a semicircular plain fanlight within a semicircular arch-headed opening. Painted stone engaged surround beneath a pointed arched hood mould which terminates each side with a decorative foliated label stop. Indented keystone to centre. Carved lettering either side of keystone stating “HOPE HOUSE” and small carved roundels with a flower motif either side. Entrance is three (replacement concrete) steps up from pavement. Modern ramps, steps and concrete dwarf walls with modern metal handrails to front. Rainwater goods; cast iron guttering, PVC downpipes. Side elevation (W): Abutted by the modern connecting extension. Only the apex of the gable wall and chimney are exposed. Horizontal coping beneath chimney, possibly stone but difficult to tell. Side elevation (E): Gabled side elevation onto alleyway is asymmetrical with a large stone corbel to each side at eaves level with a flat coping stone to each verge and a central flat section beneath the chimney. On ground floor level there is a single window opening on extreme left and two other openings towards the right side; the opening on the left is a window while the one on the right is a modern ventilated door. On first floor level there are three window openings; one on extreme left and two single openings towards the right side. On attic level there are two smaller window openings. Ground and first floor window openings have the same detailing as those to the front elevation; chamfered brick reveals and shallow pointed painted render heads with a row of brick headers above. The second floor (attic) arch-headed windows have arched painted rendered heads above. Windows on ground level have separate painted stone cills, first floor openings sit above a continuous painted stone cill band with a row of bevelled brick below and the windows to the second floor have separate painted stone cills. All windows to the gable wall are replacement timber top-hung. The E wall of the original rear return extends from the gable wall towards the N. This section has a single window opening at half landing level with a brick soldiered head. Bevelled brick eaves. The modern extension extends from this point onwards towards the N. All windows to the side elevation are replacement timber top-hung or casement. Rear Elevation (N): Original rear wall removed and fully incorported into modern extension.

Architects

Historical Information

College Park East, originally simply known as ‘College Park’, was laid out in or shortly before 1864 on what was up to then the edge of the still semi-rural ‘Plains’ of Malone, just east and south of the recently-established Queen’s College (completed 1849) and Union Theological College (completed 1853). The foundation of Queen’s in particular prompted several decades of development in the vicinity, with regularly-planned streets filled largely with High Victorian terraced housing for the professional and merchant classes moving southwards beyond the confines of a rapidly commercialising and industrialising centre of Belfast. The (approximately) centrally-positioned No.4, built in 1864, was the first of this terrace to be completed, with nos.1-3 and 5-6 following in 1869 and ‘Hope House’, (not strictly part of the row, but directly abutting the rear of No.6), in 1873. Nos.1-3 appear to have been developed by William Sherrie (a brush manufacturer, with premises in North Street), no.4 by Alexander Holmes, and nos.5-6 and ‘Hope House’ by Matthew Pattison / Patteson / Patterson. A tender ‘for making streets in College park East’ was advertised by Young & MacKenzie in August 1870 and this firm was responsible for the designs of nos.1-6, but the architect responsible for Hope House is uncertain. Hope House was advertised to let in spring 1873, the advert stating that it contained ‘three reception rooms, three pantries, kitchen, scullery, &c. [on the ground floor], four bedrooms, two dressing rooms, bathroom, and water closet’ in ‘the first flat…five bedrooms, napery, and storerooms’ in the ‘second flat’, as well as the ‘usual yard accommodation…a back green flower plot, and conservatory.’ From this it would appear that the building was originally intended to accommodate two separate tenancies (with shared reception rooms and kitchen etc.), but from the beginning it only appears to have been leased to a single tenant. Charles C. Connor, a linen merchant, was the first of these, followed in 1882 by David Corbett (‘of Brown, Corbett & Co., wine and spirit merchant’), who in turn was succeeded in c.1889 by John Edgar. In the 1901 census, the 66yr-old Mr. Edgar (who describes himself as a ‘gentleman’), is noted as living there with a domestic servant, with the building itself a ‘first class’ dwelling with nine rooms in use, (although going by the 1873 advert the actual number of rooms must have been greater than this, and indeed 16 rooms are recorded in the 1911 census.) By 1911, Mr Edgar, his wife, Mary, a grown-up daughter and domestic servant were occupying the house, and the family retained the property until at least 1925. By 1932 Rev. F.J. Paul, the principal of the close by Theological College was in residence and the house remained in the College’s hands, acting as a Presbyterian student’s hostel and community centre by the mid-1960s, a role it retained until at least 1995. At some point after this the building was acquired by Queen’s University and in recent years has been greatly extended to the rear, modernised internally and integrated internally with the rest of the terrace, with the whole presently serving as the offices for the QUB School of Sociology, Social Policy & Social Work. References – Primary sources 1 PRONI VAL12B/43/A/4, 14, 27, 42, 45 (1864-1930) 2 Belfast Street Directories (various dates, 1870-1995) 3 ‘Belfast News-Letter’ (3 Sept.1869) 4 ‘Northern Whig’ (19 Aug. 1870, 8 April 1948) 5 ‘Belfast Telegraph’ (28 Oct. 1898) Secondary sources 1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’ MA Thesis (QUB, 1967) 2 Harron, Paul, ‘Architects of Ulster: Young & MacKenzie…’, (Belfast, UAHS, 2016), pp.216, 302 [Harron states that the whole terrace was developed by William Sherrie, but the valuation books and contemporary newspaper notices suggest he was only responsible for nos.1-3.]

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Late Victorian, two storey with attic, red brick, double-fronted former detached house fronting onto College Park, constructed in 1873. Now in use as university offices and integrated with Nos 1-6 College Park East (HB26/27/064A-F) on its W side with a connecting extension. A modern two storey flat-roofed building abuts the former rear wall of Hope House and extends towards the N. The building has been extensively refurbished in recent years and retains little historic detailing. The layout has been much altered by opening up the gable wall on the W side for a new reception area on ground floor level. Little of the original layout remains intact, with the installation of a lift and the removal of the original staircase. The exterior retains some original character, proportions and detailing, however there is not sufficient historic fabric or detailing remaining for it to be considered of special interest.

General Comments

Date of Survey

15 December 2016