14 College Gardens, Belfast

End of terrace, three-storey with attic double-fronted red brick late Victorian town house, built in 1877. The architect is unknown, but the style is similar to the adjacent block by William Batt. The building forms part of a block of four properties, including numbers 11, 12 and 13 College Gardens, which is largely symmetrical to front with number 11 mirrored by number 14, both positioned at gable ends with the narrower properties numbers 12 and 13 between them. Situated 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 building faces south and overlooks the grounds of Methodist College.

The building is roofed in natural slate with black clay ridge tiles. Replacement red brick chimneys include one shared with number 13 and another centred on the gable end, both fitted with several circular clay pots. Projecting moulded eaves sit on a plain frieze band between projecting moulded string courses, returned at the gable ends to form the base to simple painted timber verge detail and projecting timber barge board. Two wide duo-pitched dormers to the front of the roof, aligned with the bays either side of the entrance door, appear contemporary with a substantial four-storey rear extension added around 1995. Modern skylights pierce the rear roof slope.

The walls are constructed of red brick walling in Flemish bond with painted dressings to the south and east elevations, and English Garden Wall bond to the north. Rainwater goods comprise ogee profile cast metal gutters and square section downpipes where visible. Windows are replacement double glazed sliding sash with 1/1 panes to the south and ground floor east, with replacement timber windows featuring top-hung casements and faux horns elsewhere.

The front elevation facing south is symmetrical, with a central entrance flanked by single storey projecting bays: that to the right is squared and contains two windows, while that to the left is canted. The painted render base plinth has a moulded and chamfered top with toothed quoins to the south-west corner. The painted stucco bays each feature a parapet roof with foliated moulded cornice and plain frieze. Above the bays, predominantly red brick walls are pierced by segmental arched openings: a single window above the entrance at each upper level, flanked by a pair of windows aligned with the ground floor bays. These openings have moulded stucco surrounds with projecting hoods at first floor and lugged at second floor. The ground floor bay windows have stop-chamfered heads and jambs with heavy bull-nosed cills set within the reveal, and the bays have a serrated lower edge to the frieze. Projecting moulded string courses mark the first and second floor cill lines.

The entrance comprises a square-headed replacement timber door with multi-paned glazed upper and moulded lower panels, plain glass fanlight over a deep moulded transom, and a moulded base on either side of the surround with roll-edged reveal, raised keystone and carved stone spandrels below the cornice, all painted. The door opens onto two stone steps set between painted dwarf walls with open balustrade and square end piers, all having painted canted caps.

The north elevation overlooks Elmwood Mews and is largely obscured by the 1995 L-shaped gabled extension, which abuts the original building between single bays at the far east and west. The detailing is simpler than the front elevation, with projecting brick eaves course, soldier-coursed brick headers and unpainted cills. Windows appear in original openings with one window each at first and second floor to the east of the extension, and one window each to the ground, first and second floor to the west, diminishing in height.

The east elevation is abutted by number 13 College Gardens, with the east face of the extension largely blank. The west elevation comprises the gable end of the original building and extension. The gable is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond with two segmental-headed windows with moulded stucco surrounds centred at ground floor, one similar square-headed window above and new openings inserted at each first and second floor, otherwise blank. Replacement timber sliding sash windows appear at ground floor with top-hung timber casements above.

Set back from the tree-lined street by painted modern metal railings on low red brick walling on the south side of College Gardens, the building forms the end of the terrace to the block of similar town houses. The building is rectangular on plan and aligned east-west parallel to the road. Painted metal gate-posts, possibly original, with a replacement gate open onto a concrete path flanked by gravelled areas, semi-mature planting and trees. Mature tree and hedging line the west boundary. The rear extension fills the width of the site along the north boundary.

The building has been subdivided into self-contained apartments. The substantial four-storey rear extension added around 1995 is of little historic interest and is not further described.