36-38 Donegall Place, Belfast, BT1 5BB

36-38 Donegall Place, Belfast

This four-storey terraced commercial building, constructed in 1902-03 to designs by Belfast architect Vincent Craig, stands on one of the city's principal shopping streets. Built in an Edwardian Freestyle with a pronounced Dutch gable frontage, it is a rare surviving example of this architectural approach in Belfast, and one of the first Edwardian commercial buildings to appear on Donegall Place. Although some historic fabric has been lost, the building retains considerable character and architectural interest.

Architectural Description

The building is rectangular on plan, facing west onto Donegall Place, and is constructed of painted redbrick laid in English garden wall bond with stucco detailing. The roof is a replacement steeply pitched natural slate structure to the front, abutting a decorative gabled parapet, with a further single-pitched natural slate roof to the rear. Tall painted redbrick profiled chimneystacks with terracotta pots rise from the parapets to either side elevation.

Window openings throughout are square-headed with continuous flush masonry lintels and flush splayed masonry sills, glazed with either original fixed-pane timber windows or single-pane timber sash windows unless otherwise noted.

The front elevation is dominated by a large triangular gable with moulded masonry coping, flanked by a pair of scrolled carvings that support an octagonal masonry finial at the apex. A decorative masonry plaque on the gable face reads '1803 / N / 1903', the two dates referencing the founding of the original business and its centenary (see Historical Context below). Flanking the gable is a pair of raised corner parapets with curvilinear coping and square plaques, returning to meet the chimneystacks on the side elevations.

At third-floor level is a squat Venetian window opening with a moulded surround and a pair of engaged squat columns. The second floor carries five square-headed window openings, the central three set within a shallow recess that continues down through the first floor. The entire second floor is crowned by a deep moulded cornice, which rises as a shallow segmental pediment over the central recess and is supported on corbels to either side. This pediment contains three figurative carvings — depicting Father Time with scythe and hourglass, attended by two youths holding a scroll — accompanied by a ribbon banner inscribed 'Tempus Fugit' (Time Flies). These carvings were sculpted by J. E. Winter (1875–1937), a Belfast-based stone and wood carver who also worked on the pediment of Belfast City Hall and was described as the leading architectural sculptor in Belfast of his day.

The first-floor recess features a shallow bowed masonry-framed five-light window with masonry mullions and a transom, the overlights following the same shallow segmental profile as the crowning cornice above. To either side of this recess is a bipartite window opening with a stone transom and mullion, each surmounted by a shield and decorative scrolled surround. The ground floor is occupied by a modern glazed shopfront framed by a full-span polished stone-clad surround, topped by an original full-span cornice.

The north side elevation is abutted by the adjoining building. The south side elevation is similarly abutted. The rear elevation is abutted and largely obscured by the three-storey flat-roofed rear extension added around 2000.

Historical Context

Donegall Place occupies the site of the former Belfast Castle gardens, destroyed in 1708. In the 1780s the current street was laid out, connecting the original 17th-century town centre to the White Linen Hall, erected in 1787. Originally called Linen Hall Street, the avenue was renamed Donegall Place around 1810 when the surrounding area was renamed Donegall Square in honour of the Second Marquis of Donegall, who resided at Donegall House on the corner of the square. In the early 19th century Donegall Place stood at the very edge of Belfast and was lined predominantly with private dwellings occupied by the town's leading citizens. During the 19th century, the street's central location, the expansion of the town, and the granting of city status in 1888 drove the progressive commercialisation of the street. Only one original Georgian building now survives there (No. 25 Donegall Place). Buildings such as Queens Arcade (Nos 27–33 Donegall Place) reflect the Victorian transition away from domestic use, and Nos 36–38 represent the next wave of Edwardian commercial development.

The building was constructed for Sharman D. Neill, a jeweller, optician, silversmith, and watch and clockmaker — a business holding a royal warrant of appointment. The datestone inscription '1803 / N / 1903' commemorates the centenary of the business: 1803 was the year Neill's grandfather Robert Neill established his first premises on High Street. The building was completed and finished in December 1903.

Vincent Craig (1869–1925), the architect, was a younger brother of Sir James Craig (Lord Craigavon), the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Craig trained under the Victorian architect W. H. Lynn and established an independent practice in 1891 before relocating to England in 1910. He was a keen promoter of Art Nouveau and favoured an international, innovatory aesthetic. The facade of Nos 36–38 reflects his interest in European styles, executed as a Dutch gable. Architectural historians have noted that the three upper floors present what one describes as 'a splendid collection of historic details wrapped about with typical Art Nouveau "melting" curves', while another characterises the building as 'a strange but rather charming building in a wobbly baroque style' with 'very decided character'. Notably, Craig himself occupied an office on the second floor of the building from 1904 until his departure for England in 1910.

The first appearance of Nos 36–38 in the Annual Revisions was in 1906, when the shop, warehouse, and offices occupied by Sharman Neill were valued at approximately £787. Significant alterations in 1920 raised the valuation to £1,116, though a subsequent appeal in 1926 reduced this to £836. By the First General Revaluation in 1935, Sharman D. Neill Ltd. still occupied the ground floor shop while leasing the upper floors to other businesses, and the total value had risen to £1,305. The building survived the 1941 Belfast Blitz. In 1962 Sharman D. Neill Ltd. vacated Donegall Place and relocated to Royal Avenue, after which the ground floor was taken over by a clothing store and the upper floors continued in office use. By the close of the Second General Revaluation (which commenced in 1956), the total value of the building stood at approximately £1,857.

Alterations

When originally constructed the building featured polychromatic brickwork to the facade; however, at least since the First Survey in 1976 the entire exterior has been painted over in a single colour, undermining Craig's original intended design. Around 2000, the interior was extensively renovated, resulting in the loss of most original internal features. A modern three-storey flat-roofed extension was added to the rear of the site at the same time. The shopfront to the ground floor is a modern replacement. The building was listed in 1979.

Setting

The building is street-fronted on the east side of Donegall Place, set within a terrace of 20th-century commercial buildings, and lies within a conservation area.