Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/28/018 B

Address :
12 COLLEGE GARDENS BELFAST BT9 6BQ

Townland:
Malone lower

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
27/09/1979 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House - Terrace

Former Use
House - Terrace

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
147/1SE

IG Ref:
J3332 7258

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Mid terrace three-storey over basement red brick late Victorian town house, built 1877. Architect unknown. Part of block of four, including No.11, 13 and 14 College Gardens (HB26.28.018A, C & D), the block is largely symmetrical with No.12 mirrored by No.13, and wider properties No.11 & 14 at gable ends. Near east end of College Gardens, a tree-lined street of similarly scaled townhouses running from Malone Road to Lisburn Road and within Queens Conservation Area; the buildings face south and overlook the grounds of Methodist College. Three-storey over basement gabled return built at half-landing level to rear (N), abutted by flat-roofed enclosure. Building currently used as student accommodation and overlaps with adjoining crèche at No.11. Natural slate roof and black clay ridge tiles. Replacement red brick chimney centred on ridge of main roof with simple concrete cap and multiple circular buff clay pots (shared with No.11). Projecting moulded eaves on plain frieze band between projecting moulded string courses. Flat roofed dormer, centred at front of roof above cornice, clad in dark grey PVC membrane and containing four-part casement window. Materials ROOF: Natural slate RWG: Cast iron (S); cast metal (N & return); some uPVC as noted below. WALLS: Red brick walling in Flemish bond with painted moulded stucco and stone dressings (S); and English Garden Wall bond to N & return. WINDOWS: Single glazed double hung single glazed sliding sash with 1/1 panes (S) and 2/2 panes (N & return), unless otherwise described. Front Elevation (S): Facing south and asymmetrical at ground floor level with entrance to left (W) and single storey canted bay to right (E). Dark painted render base plinth with moulded and chamfered top; smooth stucco bay and door surround, each having projecting moulded cornice depicting foliage; all painted. Stop-chamfered head and jamb to ground floor bay windows, with heavy bull-nosed cills set within reveal; serrated edge to plain frieze below cornice; shallow parapet above to flat roof (not seen). Square headed timber framed entrance door comprising twin round-arched moulded panels; plain fanlight over deep moulded transom; moulded base either side of surround, with roll-edged reveal, raised keystone and carved stone spandrels below cornice; all painted. Predominantly red brick walls above, with projecting moulded stucco string courses as first and second floor cills. Segmental arched openings: two windows at each upper level equally spaced; moulded stucco surrounds, with projecting hoods at first and lugged at second floor. Front door opens onto two stone steps with bull-nosed edge; cast iron boot-scraper to right side of top step. Rear Elevation (N): North elevation overlooks Elmwood Mews; asymmetrical and plainly detailed compared to main building: shallower stone cills; red brick soldier coursed above windows, and projecting painted timber eaves board. Three-storey mono-pitched return, off-centred to right (W) with one window at each first and second floor level to left of return; and uPVC framed canted oriel window at ground floor, on roughcast rendered wall, all supported on substantial brackets fixed to basement wall either side of sheeted timber half-door. Oriel window has flat roof, lead-clad and uPVC gutter and downpipe. Brick walling painted up to head height of ground floor openings; including return, outbuilding and boundary walls. Return: red brick, detailed as main building rear elevation, with single window offset to left (E) at each first and second floor half-landings; flat-roofed enclosure conceals ground floor. Numerous vent extracts. Timber barge board, painted white to match eaves. East Elevation: No.11 abuts east elevation of main building; east face of return detailed plainly, as rear. Informally arranged openings: door and two windows at ground, two window at first and single window at second floor half landing level, generally offset to left (S). Flush modern door opens on to concrete steps at ground floor, with square hollow section metal uprights and handrail; single window to left of door with metal security bars fixed to outer reveal; paired windows to right of door; all ground floor windows have 1/1 panes. First and second floor windows as described under ‘Materials’. Projecting timber eaves board, painted white and supporting half-round gutter. West elevation: No.13 abuts west elevation, including return. Set back from tree-lined street by timber hit-n-miss fencing and low brick wall with hedge behind on south side of College Gardens, building part of terrace of four similar town houses, rectangular on plan and aligned E-W parallel to road. Semi-mature deciduous tree to front garden, otherwise surfaced in resin-bonded coloured safety matting; concrete surfaced path to entrance with hit-n-miss fencing both sides; stone steps retained by modern buff brick low walling. Yard paved mainly with concrete flags; mono-pitched outbuilding set at 90 degrees abuts rear (N) wall to alley; brick walling with curved terracotta cap forms E boundary to yard at No11. North boundary comprised of two parts; left: variegated reddish-brown brick walling with curved terracotta cap forms asymmetrical gable (shared with No.11) with remnants of former chimney and timber window frame (glass missing); and right: modern cement rendered walling to flat-roofed basement structure, with concrete coping and sheeted timber door to outer ends.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Background - College Gardens (originally ‘College Gardens Avenue’) is located on land which prior to the early 19th century had been one of the series of strip farms running from what is now the Malone and University Roads to the Bog Meadows. Probably laid out in early 1600s, the integrity of these was broken up by the cutting of the Lisburn Road in 1816-19 and the construction of the Ulster Railway in 1837-39. Around the same time, greater security of tenure from the Donegall estate lead to the gentrification of what remained of these farms with the building (or upgrading of existing structures) to create small country villas and the laying out of small demesnes within the plots formerly farmed. The land to the immediate north and south of College Gardens belonged to such a villa, ‘Vermont’, a pre-1770 house, possibly rebuilt or enlarged c.1815 and enlarged again c.1840s – on this occasion by John Riddell, a Belfast ironmonger. The building of Queen’s College a short distance to the north-east in 1845 sparked the suburbanisation of the area, and in 1865 Vermont itself was sold for the building of another educational establishment, Methodist College. The latter was completed in 1868 and a new private avenue laid out the lower ground to the immediate north, with building plots on the northern side of this. Beginning at the eastern end, present nos.1-6 were constructed in 1871, nos.7-18 in 1877, no.33 and 34 in 1879, 19-22 in 1881, 23-26 in 1882 and 27-32 in 1883. No.12 This former dwelling house belongs to a block of four (two double-fronted end properties with two single-fronted ones in between) built in 1877. The identity of the architect is not known, but the developer of both this block and those westwards as far as no.32 appears to have been Rev. George Cron, the then minister of the Evangelical Union Church in Wellington Place (his monogram appears to be on the entrance keystone of all properties in this particular block). A Mrs Russell is noted as the occupant of no.12 in the street directory of 1880, Rev. Francis Graham in that of 1884, and Miss. Elizabeth Andrews in 1887. In the 1901 census Miss Andrews is noted as living there with three siblings and two domestic servants with the house itself noted as a first class dwelling with 13 rooms in use. One sister and two servants were still there with her in 1911 and this appears to have remained the case up until c.1920. Mrs Eva Rolston is named as the householder in 1924, with a surgeon, G.D.F. McFadden in residence by 1932. At some point in the 1950s both this property and no.11 were acquired by nearby Methodist College to house their preparatory school, Fullerton House. It remained in the College’s ownership (as ‘Ker House’ from c.1962) until the later 1970s when it was taken over by QUB for student accomodation. No.12 College Gardens was listed in Sept 1979. H.E.D. Files record that a major scheme of works to nos 11 & 12 was undertaken by Queen's University 2012. Main chimney reconstructed and works to roofs undertaken 1989. Permission also granted in 2006 for replacement roof coverings & windows and repointing. References – Primary sources 1 PRONI VAL12B/43D/7 annual valuation revision book, 1862-82 2 ‘Belfast News-Letter’, 3, January 1877, 23 March 1878 3 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory’, (Belfast News-Letter, Belfast), various dates from 1880 to 1996 4 PRONI VAL12B/43D/14 annual valuation revision book, 1882-96 5 PRONI OS8/30/3/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1883-84 6 PRONI OS8/30/4/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1896 7 PRONI VAL12B/43A/36 annual valuation revision book, 1897-1905 8 PRONI VAL7B/14/15 valuation of Belfast, c.1900-01 9 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/] 10 PRONI OS8/30/5/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1903 11 PRONI VAL12B/43P/3 valuation book, 1906-15 12 PRONI VAL12B/43P/7 valuation book, 1916-30 13 OS maps, 1958, 1970 (online - http://www.centremapslive.co.uk/) Secondary sources 1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’, (unpublished QUB MA thesis), 1967 2 Rowan, A.J. And Brett, C.E.B., Historic Buildings…Queens University of Belfast, (Belfast, UAHS, revised ed. 1980)

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 K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Mid terrace three-storey over basement red brick late Victorian town house, built 1877, with two-storey gabled return. Architect unknown. Part of block of four, including No.11, 13 and 14 College Gardens (HB26.28.018A, C & D), the block is largely symmetrical from the front. Set on a tree-lined street of similarly scaled townhouses running from Malone Road to Lisburn Road and within Queens Conservation Area; the buildings face south and overlook the grounds of Methodist College. Well proportioned with stucco dressings and ground floor bay to main façade; rear plainly detailed. Used mainly as student accommodation, subdivision of the upper floors results in some loss of plan form but some historic detailing remains intact. It is a very good example of late Victorian domestic architecture, significantly enhanced by broad stone entrance steps and a cast iron boot-scraper at the entrance. Formerly used as Fullerton House, preparatory school of Methodist College from 1950s - 1970s, together with adjoining No.11 College Gardens, which gives the building social and cultural importance as well as local interest.

General Comments

Date of Survey

23 September 2017