Elmwood, 7 University Terrace, off University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NP

Elmwood is a large, three-storey manse house built around 1872 in the Venetian style by architect John Corry. The building has a hipped roof and is located at the west end of University Terrace, a cul-de-sac off University Road in Belfast. It stands immediately north of a modern shop and office block (containing the Queen's University Belfast bookshop, an Ulster Bank branch, and the Queen's University Belfast Common Room), and immediately south of Corry's Lombardo-Venetian style Elmwood Presbyterian Church, now known as Elmwood Hall. A large garden lies to the rear (west). The original house was substantially enlarged around 1925 with a large, two-storey gabled extension to the south, and retains an original single-storey outbuilding to the rear.

Layout and Form

In plan, the building resembles a tuning fork with its prongs pointing south. The original manse to the north is roughly square, with the circa 1925 extension projecting from the southeast corner and the long outbuilding projecting from the southwest corner. A single-storey lean-to section stretches across the north façade of the original building, housing the main entrance in its short east face. A two-storey canted bay projects from the east façade of the original section. The large extension to the southeast is overwhelmingly plain in appearance, with no attempt made to continue the Venetian styling of the original section.

East Elevation

The east elevation comprises the east façade of the original building with the east façade of the circa 1925 extension to the left. The main entrance is located to the far right within the short east face of the single-storey section running along the north façade. The entrance consists of a tall semicircular arched opening containing a recessed timber panelled door and tall semicircular arched fanlight. The opening is framed by three-quarter column jambs with Corinthian-like capitals and a moulded archivolt with decorative motifs repeating the decoration used on the openings of neighbouring Elmwood Hall. Three stone steps with a recent-looking metal handrail lead to the doorway. Above the doorway, this short east face is topped with a cornice and parapet featuring a balustrade pierced with quatrefoils, and square end piers with semicircular caps bearing incised floral decoration. A thin edge pilaster with floral capital stands at the north (right-hand) edge of this face. The short east face is set slightly back from the main original east façade.

To the left of the entrance, the main original east façade features a two-storey canted bay whose roof is hidden behind a plain parapet that may once have had decoration similar to that above the entrance. The ground floor of the bay has a semicircular headed sash window on each of its three sides with moulded archivolts matching the doorway. The central window has column piers as jambs matching the doorway, and the outer windows each have a single square outer pilaster with similar capitals. The windows rest on a single cill. The first floor of the bay has three similar windows but without the decorative motifs on the archivolts.

To the right of the bay at ground floor level are a pair of windows similar to those on the ground floor of the bay. These windows share a cill, and below the cill the façade projects slightly. Directly above at first floor level is a similar pair with decorative motifs on the archivolts. This pair rests on a cill course that stretches from the first floor of the bay. At second floor level, directly above the bay, is a pair of sash windows similar to the previous pairs but smaller and with plain surrounds. To the right of these is a single window similar to those to the left, with a cill supported on decorative brackets. The second floor windows cut somewhat untidily into the eaves course.

At the north (right-hand) edge of the original east façade is a narrow edge pilaster matching that on the edge of the short east face at ground floor level, with another stretching over first and second floor levels. At the south edge, the east façade is abutted by the circa 1925 gabled extension. The east façade of this extension projects slightly beyond the line of the original façade. The ground floor has seven unevenly spaced flat arch windows. The third and sixth windows from the left are much smaller than the rest and have sash frames. The others have modern-style three-light casement frames. All are now covered with security grills. The first floor has four sash windows, the first two of which are smaller. The entire east elevation is finished in lined render and painted. The east façade of the original section has a chamfered base.

North Façade

The north façade of the original section is in brick. At ground floor level is the single-storey lean-to section whose short east face includes the main entrance. The north face of this section has a sash window to the far right with what appears to be circa 1925 geometric stained glass panes. To the right of this single-storey section is attached a much smaller single-storey section with a mono-pitched roof facing east (that is, it is not lean-to). The north face of this smaller section has a small window with a segmental head and sash frame. Both windows in these single-storey sections have security bars.

Above these sections on the main north façade is a window with a segmental head and sash frame, set at an intermediate level between ground and first floor, to the right. At the centre of the façade is a window on the first floor and one directly above on the second floor. Both have sash frames with vertical glazing bars (two panes over two). The first floor window has security bars. The second floor window is set quite close to the eaves.

South Elevation

To the right (east) of the south elevation is the gable of the circa 1925 extension. This has a doorway to the left on the ground floor with a roller shutter over. The first floor has two sash windows. The gable is finished in lined render and painted. Stretching from the right-hand (west) edge of this gable is a high brick wall that merges with the short south face of the single-storey outbuilding further to the west. Originally this wall had a doorway leading to the enclosed yard situated between the original house, the gabled extension, and the outbuilding, but this has been blocked.

The exposed section of the south façade of the main original section, which looks into the enclosed yard, is mainly in brick. To the right the gabled extension projects, and to the left the outbuilding projects. At the centre, a two-storey bay was added when the extension was built, designed to allow internal access to the extension. This bay is finished in painted lined render. The south face has a doorway to the right on the ground floor with a glazed panel featuring stained geometric leaded panes. To the left is a small sash window with similar glazing. The first floor has another sash window, larger than the previous one and with plain glazing. The rear (west) façade of the two-storey extension looks into the enclosed yard.

West Elevation

The west elevation consists of the west façade of the main building, the long outbuilding to the right, and, to the far left, the short west face of the north single-storey section. The west façade of the main building is in brick. To the left of centre projects a stairwell bay. The ground floor of this bay has a set of timber double doors with glazed semicircular panels, reached via a broad set of steps with modern-style railings. At first half-landing level, directly above the doors, is a pair of tall semicircular headed windows with sash frames with margin panes. At second half-landing level is a larger single window similar to those below but without margins.

To the left of this bay are four windows, one directly above the other. The ground floor window has what appears to be a modern frame, but the rest have sash frames with vertical glazing bars (two panes over two). The ground floor window is quite small, that at the next level much larger, with the upper two decreasing in size as one goes higher. The windows to this side of the stairwell bay reflect the fact that at the northwest corner, the original building has four levels, as opposed to three for the rest of this section.

The windows to the right of the stairwell bay reflect the three levels. At ground floor level is a pair of narrow windows, a larger single window at first floor, and a smaller one at second floor. All of these windows have sash frames and all are two panes over two, but the ground floor windows have horizontal glazing bars instead of vertical.

The short west face of the north single-storey section has a single narrow, segmental headed window with a sash frame. The west face of the single-storey outbuilding is also in brick and has four sash windows of slightly varying size. That to the far right is much larger than the rest and has vertical glazing bars (two panes over two). At its south end, this outbuilding used to merge with the west face of the yard wall, but this section of the wall, along with a south-facing section of the wall, now acts as the exterior walls of a mono-pitched roofed extension to the outbuilding itself.

The east face of the outbuilding faces into the yard. It appears to be rendered and has a doorway with a large sash window with vertical glazing bars (two over two) to its left. The west face of the circa 1925 extension is finished in lined render and painted. The ground floor has three sash windows with stained glass leaded lights. The first floor has seven plain sash windows.

Roofs

The roof of the original section is hipped and covered in Bangor blue slate with a tall, roughly central, rendered chimney stack with tall octagonal pots. This roof has a slight overhang with bracketed eaves. The roof of the two-storey extension is gabled and also covered in Bangor blue slate. It has two tall rendered chimney stacks on the ridge, as well as a few ventilators. The outbuilding has a gabled roof with a mono-pitched roof on its small extension to the south. Both sections are also covered in Bangor blue slates. Cast iron rainwater goods are present throughout. To the rear (west) of the building is a large garden, roughly square in plan.