11 College Gardens, Belfast

11 College Gardens is an end-of-terrace three-storey-over-basement double-fronted red brick late Victorian town house, built in 1877. The architect is unknown, but the building is similar in style to the adjacent block by William Batt. It forms part of a block of four houses, including numbers 12, 13, and 14 College Gardens, the block being symmetrical at the front elevation with number 11 mirrored by number 14, both at gable ends with narrower properties numbers 12 and 13 between. Various returns and extensions make the rear less symmetrical.

The house stands near the east end of College Gardens, a tree-lined street of similarly scaled townhouses running from Malone Road to Lisburn Road and within the Queens Conservation Area. The buildings face south and overlook the grounds of Methodist College.

A three-storey gabled return built at half-landing level extends to the rear (north), abutted by modest single-storey lean-to outhouses. A substantial two-storey-over-basement later addition, typically Edwardian in character dating from around 1901, stands to the left (east) of the return. This annex is red brick with tall segmental arched windows, a natural slate roof hipped at the north and south ends, and a full-height projection to the west with a gable near the return above the eaves. Fire exits from the north face of the projection and the gable end of the main building lead onto an external metal stair at the side elevation. The building is currently used as a crèche on the ground and first floors, with student accommodation above connected to number 12.

The roof is natural slate with black clay ridge tiles. A replacement red brick chimney is centred and inset slightly from the gable end of the main roof with a simple corbelled cap and six circular buff clay pots. A similar chimney at the opposite side has multiple pots shared with number 12. Projecting moulded eaves sit on a plain frieze band between projecting moulded string courses, with similar projecting moulded timber verge detail.

The roof is natural slate. Rainwater goods are cast iron to the south and uPVC to the north, return, and annex. Walls are red brick in Flemish bond to the south and east, and English Garden Wall bond to the north, return, and annex. Windows are single-glazed double-hung sliding sash with one-over-one panes unless otherwise described.

The front elevation faces south and is symmetrical with a central entrance porch flanked by single-storey projecting bays: that to the left (west) is squared with two windows, and that to the right (east) is canted. A painted render base plinth has a moulded and chamfered top and toothed quoins to the southeast corner. Painted stucco bays and porch comprise the remainder of the ground floor, each with a parapet roof with lead flashing above a foliated moulded cornice and plain frieze. Predominantly red brick walls above have projecting moulded string courses as first- and second-floor cills.

Segmental arched openings include a single window above the entrance at each upper level, flanked by a pair of windows aligned with the ground-floor bays. These have moulded stucco surrounds, with projecting hoods at the first floor and lugged surrounds at the second floor. Stop-chamfered heads and jambs feature at ground-floor bay windows, with heavy bull-nosed cills set within the reveal. The bays have a serrated lower edge to the frieze. Clasping pilasters to the porch have the same bull-nosed cill detail to leaded and stained glass fixed lights at the side cheeks.

The square-headed entrance screen comprises timber-framed double doors with glazed upper and moulded lower panels, and plain glass over-light and side lights. The doors open onto two steps, with modern red quarry tiles between painted and rendered dwarf walls, curved on plan and matching square end piers, all having painted moulded caps (possibly terracotta).

The south elevation to the annex is two-storey with the ground floor largely enclosed by a flat-roofed link. A single segmental arched window to the far right is timber-framed, split in two with stained and leaded glass over-light covered by a Perspex sheet. Three tall openings to the first floor are all segmental arched with over-lights as described above: a flush door to the right exits onto the fire escape stair, and timber-framed casements to the wider middle and left openings are both probably replaced, with painted timber base panels below the central transom. Projecting eaves are formed in moulded brick specials (corbels and dentils), and segmental arched openings are formed in brick headers. Concrete cills are present.

The rear elevation overlooks Elmwood Mews and is asymmetrical and plainly detailed compared to the main building, with shallower stone cills, red brick soldier coursing above windows, and a projecting painted timber eaves board. A three-storey gabled return is off-centred to the right (west), with one window at each level to the right of the return: a six-paned top-hung casement to the basement and six-over-six panes to a timber sliding sash at the ground, and two-over-two panes at the first and second floors. Stone steps are located left of the basement window.

The gable end of the return has a timber verge board to match the eaves, with a single window centred on the ridge at the second floor (two-over-two panes), translucent glass to a sliding sash offset to the left and a centre-pivoted timber casement at the first floor, and two modest lean-to structures with slate roofs at the ground floor, each with a single window: that to the left a sliding sash with two-over-two panes and that to the right a fixed light with Georgian wired lower pane.

Left (east) of the return, the annex extends the full length of the yard and the Elmwood Mews facade is somewhat formal compared to the back of the house: a metal roller shutter spans almost the full width of the basement with a steel lintel over and blue brick jambs, and three tall windows each to the ground and first floor—segmental arched, with timber-framed windows and intricate leaded glass over-lights. Wider middle windows are split in two. Painted metal horizontal rails cover the lower half of the openings. Concrete cills are present. A uPVC half-round gutter on rise-and-fall brackets and a timber verge board to the west projection are visible.

The east elevation comprises four parts: the gable end to the main building, a flat-roofed link, the side elevation to the return, and the annex. The gable has less formal fenestration than the front elevation, but is similarly detailed, with deep projecting eaves returned from the front and back elevations at the far left and right where the verge begins. Two segmental arched windows with moulded surrounds are present at each ground and first floor (centrally placed), and two square-headed openings with concrete lintels at the second floor: a casement window to the left and a flush metal-plated door to the right that opens onto the external escape stair. The flat-roofed link contains a segmental arched timber-framed door and screen. The east face of the return has one opening each at the first and second floor, otherwise blank. The east face of the annex is blank.

The west elevation sees number 12 abutting the west elevation of the main building. The west face of the return is detailed plainly, as at the rear, with informally arranged openings: a door and two windows at the ground, a single window at the first (two-over-two panes), and two windows at the second-floor half-landing level. A metal-framed three-part casement window is to the left at the second floor, with four-over-one panes to the upper sash at the ground-floor window nearest to the gable, and a central pivoting timber casement nearest the door. The door opens onto stone steps, with simple metal uprights and handrail terminating in a volute on the curtail step. The west face of the annex has a sliding sash window to the far left at the first and second floors (two-over-two panes each), and three round-arched stained glass fixed lights: one at the first and two at the second floor. A painted timber eaves board with uPVC gutter and downpipe, and a gabled 'dormer' above, offset to the right and blank, complete the elevation.

Set back from the tree-lined street by timber hit-and-miss fencing and a low brick wall with hedge behind on the south side of College Gardens, the building forms the end of the terrace to a block of similar town houses, rectangular on plan and aligned east-west parallel to the road. Three semi-mature trees stand in the front garden, otherwise surfaced in resin-bonded coloured safety matting. The front is accessed by a path from number 12. Tarmac surfacing covers the east side of the house, with steps to the flat-roofed link and the external fire escape stair. The north boundary is mainly comprised of the annex. The yard is paved mainly with concrete flags. A sheeted painted timber gate with precast concrete lintel opens onto an alley within a red brick wall. The same brick walling forms the boundary to the yard at number 12, with some terracotta rounded coping stones remaining.