Clarence House, 4-10 May Street Upper / Arthur Street, Belfast, BT1 4NJ

Clarence House is a corner-sited asymmetrical multi-bay two-storey building over basement with attic storey, built around 1867 as the Church of Ireland Offices to designs attributed to W.H. Lynn of the architectural practice Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon. The building is constructed in polychromatic brick in the Venetian Gothic style and is rectangular on plan, facing south onto May Street Upper and Arthur Street in Belfast. Its interior was stripped out in 2007 for conversion to modern office use.

The building is roofed in natural slate with a hipped design and features two tall polychromatic brick chimneystacks to the front pitch, finished with stone coping and string courses. The eaves are deeply corbelled in redbrick with brick cogging and a geometric apron, supporting ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering on a stone eaves course, with cast-iron downpipes throughout.

The brick walling is laid in Flemish bond with continuous sandstone sill and impost courses and a projecting uncoursed squared sandstone plinth course. The ground floor is constructed in redbrick with yellow and black brick courses, whilst the first floor features yellow brick with redbrick courses. The south-facing front elevation is six windows wide with two asymmetrically-placed door openings.

The decorative first floor window openings are pointed-headed with recessed Venetian stone arched lights and replacement timber casement windows. These openings are formed in flush gauged polychromatic brick and carved sandstone voussoirs rising from a continuous sandstone impost moulding. The Venetian arched carved stone lights comprise a pair of pointed-headed lights with bowtel surrounds and central colonettes with stiff-leaf capitals, a glazed oculus above, and three carved discs. This Venetian window type appears only at the easternmost bay on the ground floor. The first floor windows rest on a continuous sandstone sill course with a continuous red and yellow brick panel below, each window having a carved stone plaque with blind shields beneath it.

The ground floor features depressed pointed-headed window openings with replacement single-pane timber sash windows. The heads are formed in flush red and black brick with sandstone keystones and springer stones rising from a continuous stone impost course. The ground floor is surmounted by a further continuous stone string course and brick cogging course. Square-headed basement openings are set within the plinth course with timber louvres and steel grilles.

The principal entrance is positioned with a recessed stone surround containing two square-headed window openings above and a decoratively carved overpanel opening onto a decorative stone balcony featuring a Gothic arcaded balustrade resting on four decorative sandstone brackets. To the westernmost bay is a depressed pointed-headed door opening formed in chamfered red and black gauged brick with flush sandstone keystone and springer stones rising from the continuous impost course. Either side of this entrance is a pair of inset polished stone columns with stiff-leaf capitals set within a sandstone ashlar block-and-start surround rising from the plinth course. The double-leaf timber doors have decoratively chamfered flat panels and open onto a sandstone step and three limestone steps to the front pavement.

A pointed-headed door opening is positioned at the east end with voussoired buff and red sandstone head and hood moulding rising from the continuous impost course. This door opening is flanked by inset columns as described above, with a deeply recessed carved sandstone door surround comprising a square-headed opening with stop-chamfered head, curved corners, bowtel stop-chamfered jambs and double-leaf doors. A pointed-headed carved sandstone panel above the door features a bowtel surround and ribbon carving inscribed "Church of Ireland Young Men's Society Established January 1856". The door opens onto a sandstone platform and three stone steps extending onto the public pavement.

The west side elevation is abutted by the adjoining building at No. 9 May Street. The north rear elevation fronting onto Clarence Place Mews is seven windows wide, built in plain redbrick to the western five bays with the easternmost bay continuing the polychromatic facade detailing. The first floor features gauged brick pointed-headed window openings whilst the ground floor has gauged brick square-headed window openings, all containing replacement fixed-pane timber windows. The decorative easternmost bay replicates the front elevation facade detailing with two pointed-headed window openings to the first floor and two square-headed openings to the ground floor formed in gauged redbrick with replacement timber windows. The basement level is cement rendered with three vehicular openings and steel roller shutters.

The building is corner-sited to the east of Donegall Square with its principal elevation fronting onto May Street. The rear elevation fronts onto Clarence Place Mews, providing vehicular access to the basement.