First Ballymacarrett Presbyterian Lecture Hall, Paulett Avenue, Belfast, BT5 4HD

First Ballymacarrett Presbyterian Lecture Hall

An attached double-height seven-bay Presbyterian lecture hall built in 1928, located at the end of Paulett Avenue to the south of the First Ballymacarrett Church. The building is rectangular on plan.

The roofing consists of pitched natural slate with angle red roll top clay ridge tiles and lead roll to the hips; the south bay has a flat roof. Cast iron gutters sit on precast concrete chamfered corbelled eaves with replacement brown uPVC rainwater pipes. The walls are of buttressed red facing brick with precast concrete chamfered plinth and precast concrete details throughout.

The principal elevation faces west and is symmetrical about the central bay. The central five bays form the main block and are flanked by entrance bays. The main block features raised gables and copings with corbelled kneelers. All five bays of the main block are separated by buttresses with plat bands and angled roll top finials; the buttress at the left corner of the main block is diagonal. Each bay of the main block has a single window at both floor levels. Ground floor windows have brick relieving arches over. Windows to the central three bays are four lights wide with square headed precast concrete mullion and transom frames; windows in the two flanking bays are three lights wide with multi-pane leaded lights.

The first bay to the far left has a hipped roof lower than that of the main block and features a canted external corner. It contains a single central gothic door opening with square headed stained timber sheeted doors and sheeted tympanum, all set within a chamfered surround within a square headed recess. The spandrels contain quatrefoil cusped ocular detail with hood mould and stop ends. A rectangular granite datestone inscribed 'AD 1928' is positioned above the entrance, with a three-light-wide window directly above. The seventh bay to the far right has a flat roof with raised parapet walls and copings, featuring octagonal corner piers which extend above the parapet with plat bands and chamfered octagonal copings.

The north elevation has a bipartite window with flush chamfered cills on each floor at the far right. At the far left is a steel framed casement window with lintel and flush chamfered cill at ground and first floor. A Tudor door opening contains a stained timber sheeted door within a chamfered surround with recessed triangular spandrels and hood mould. The door is flanked to the right by two small windows with lintels and flush chamfered cills; that to the left has a timber hopper window and that to the right has a steel window. Single small windows are positioned above both of these, each with lintels and flush chamfered cills; that to the left has a steel frame and that to the right has a multi-pane leaded light.

The east elevation's first bay at the far right has a single small opening at ground level separated from a steel casement window by a lintel. Two windows above (one on each floor) have lintels, flush chamfered cills and three-light-wide steel windows. The five first floor windows of the main block match those to the front in shape and position, except the mullions and transoms are plain in detail and the glazing is Georgian wired glass. A central Tudor door opening contains a stained timber sheeted door and chamfered surround flanked by single small square headed window openings (that to the left with steel frame, that to the right with timber frame). A tripartite window above features hood mould. To the right are two bipartite windows detailed as before. The ground floor to the left of the door is obscured by a snooker hall.

The south elevation of the main block is abutted to the rear by a neighbouring building. The exposed gable above the entrance bay is blank. The elevation of the south bay has octagonal piers at both corners and is cement roughcast to string course level. A large signboard with blue lettering reading '1st Presbyterian Church Ballymacarrett' and a strip light is mounted to the top left of the elevation. There are no openings.

The lecture hall is located at the east of the Paulett Avenue carriageway, directly south of the First Ballymacarrett Church, and forms part of a complex of buildings on a site partially bounded by a tall red brick wall and partially by adjacent buildings. It sits immediately adjacent to the carriageway to the front and encloses a garden to the rear, which is bounded by the hall, church, snooker room and former Sexton's house.