Belfast Telegraph Offices, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast, Co Antrim, BT1 1DN

Belfast Telegraph Offices

This attached corner office building was constructed around 1886 and stands at the junction of Library Street and Royal Avenue in Belfast. It is a four-storey structure built in red brick, with a six-storey red brick extension to the rear and a glazed extension abutting the north side. The building is square on plan.

The roof is pitched slate with several red brick chimneystacks set behind a red brick parapet wall. Cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout. The red brick is laid in English garden wall bond. A battered red sandstone ashlar plinth course and a deep moulded sandstone cornice supported on sandstone console brackets and string course form the base and upper detailing of the facades.

The southeast elevation is articulated as five vertical bays framed by rusticated soldier quoin pilasters forming a Giant Ionic order to the second and third floors, with Ionic capitals and voussoired sandstone arch surrounds to gauged brick round-headed window openings. Window openings are largely square-headed with stop-chamfered red sandstone lintels and shared red sandstone sills, though they now contain replacement metal windows. Paired window openings to the first and second floors have brick apron panels and continuous sill cornices, topped by a plain fascia at ground floor level.

A decorative wrought-iron two-faced clock is mounted over the first floor, inscribed "Estd. / 1870 / Belfast Telegraph". The chamfered corner bay features a shallow two-tier oriel window to the first and second floors, constructed in red sandstone over a former round-headed door opening. A pair of round-headed window openings to the third floor have hood mouldings and open onto the roof of the oriel, with a blind arcaded balustrade and parapet above. The paired window openings to the oriel feature continuous sill courses and blind panels to the canted sides. The oriel is corbelled out in sandstone, with applied brass lettering reading "TELEGRAPH" and a series of corbels beneath.

The round-headed door opening has a deep moulded polished black granite surround with stepped plinths, now infilled with a replacement display window and replacement sandstone plinth wall. The door opening is flanked by wall-mounted bronze cartouches, the left reading "Belfast Telegraph / Newspapers Ltd / Registered Offices" and the right reading "Belfast Telegraph / Offices".

The southwest elevation is seven bays wide, articulated in the same manner as the southeast elevation. However, sandstone used in the first three bays (right) has been replaced with red brick on the left section. This elevation extends at an angle as a six-storey red brick extension onto Little Donegall Street. The extension is six windows wide with bracketed cornice, sill courses and fascia continued from the main elevation, featuring generally gauged brick segmental-headed window openings with replacement steel windows.

A further five-storey red brick extension abuts the northwest side.

The rear and north side elevations are abutted by a large glazed and textured concrete system-built extension constructed around 1975 as part of the Belfast Telegraph development.

The building's setting is square on plan, facing southeast onto Royal Avenue with a chamfered entrance bay and a secondary elevation fronting onto Library Street.