19 College Gardens, Belfast

19 College Gardens is an end-of-terrace, three-storey town house with attic and semi-basement, built in 1881 in red brick of the late Victorian period. The architect is unknown. It forms the fourth part of a largely symmetrical block of four houses (Numbers 19–22 College Gardens), positioned midway along College Gardens, a tree-lined street of similarly scaled townhouses running from Malone Road to Lisburn Road. The building sits within the Queens Conservation Area and faces south, overlooking the grounds of Methodist College.

The building has a natural slate roof with red clay crested ridge tiles and wide flat-roofed dormers to both front and rear pitches. Two roof-lights pierce the rear pitch: one modern and one conservation-style. A red brick chimney has been rebuilt in salvaged red brick with several circular clay pots.

The front elevation features projecting moulded eases on scrolled modillions, with a deep frieze comprising fluted pilasters between alternating panels showing a central roundel within a moulded rectangular frame and paired raised and fielded panels. The base of each pilaster is embellished with bestial head moulding. These eaves and frieze details are returned at the south-west corner to the gable end. The rear eaves are simpler, with alternating angular bricks, though the decorative eaves and frieze to the front are repeated at the north-west corner, forming the base to a simple rendered verge band and projecting moulded timber barge board.

The south (front) elevation is asymmetrical, with the entrance positioned to the left (west) and a projecting square bay containing two windows to the right at ground floor. Three windows appear at each of the first and second floors, aligned with the ground floor openings. A flat-roofed dormer is centred on the eaves, containing three pairs of casement windows. All openings are segmental-headed and diminish in height from ground to second floor. At second floor, original sliding sashes in timber frames with 1/1 panes appear to be retained. At first floor, timber-framed casement windows are top-hung, matching the proportions of the sliding sashes. At ground floor, the bay windows are boarded up. A painted render base plinth with moulded top and vermiculated toothed quoins marks the south-east corner.

The entrance door is square-headed, composed of two panels with raised fields and bolection moulding, featuring a plain glass over-light on a simple transom. An elaborate concentric arched stucco surround with egg-and-dart and chevron moulding, a pitched keystone, and simple pilasters, all painted, frames the entrance. The ground floor bay has a flat roof with felt membrane and a cornice and frieze matching the main roof, continued at the main façade and repeated below a continuous projecting cill at second floor windows. Deep moulded stucco surrounds to ground floor windows have corresponding moulded brackets below a continuous projecting cill. The same detail appears at second floor windows, with simple chevron moulding replacing the brackets. The first floor has plainer surrounds between cill and impost level, where a continuous stucco band enriched with classical-style mouldings runs between windows. Above this band, ornate floral detail in moulded surrounds and exaggerated pitched keystones appears.

Materials include a red brick construction in Flemish bond to the south and west elevations, and English Garden Wall bond to the north. The roof is natural slate, except for the three-storey flat-roofed return and attic dormers, which use PVC membrane. Rain-water gutters are of ogee profile cast metal with circular section rain-water pipes to the south; uPVC pipes appear to the north. Windows are timber-framed and single-glazed; however, many windows were concealed by external boarding at the time of survey.

The north (rear) elevation features a full-height projecting bay abutted by a double return at half-landing level, stepping down from four to three storeys. To the right (west) side, one opening appears at each of basement, ground, first, and second floor levels. Original openings within the main building at first and second floors have been widened to accommodate modern steel-framed 'Crittall'-type windows, though original soldier-coursed brick headers remain. At basement level, cement render has replaced the window. At ground floor, the original timber-framed sliding sash window with 2/2 panes appears to survive intact, complete with square-edged painted stone cills. Window reveals are rendered and painted. Alternating angled brick eaves to the main building are repeated at both return roofs. The full-height lean-to projection is blank except for a projecting timber eaves board.

The north face of the hipped-roof return contains two openings at second floor, offset to the right. The north face of the flat-roofed return has a deep rendered plinth (painted), three basement windows that are blocked up (salvaged brick above concrete blocks suggests the far left opening was probably originally a door, with a segmental arched soldier-coursed brick head), and at ground and first floor levels, a single wide opening offset to the right on each floor. At second floor, a three-part steel-framed casement appears, and at first floor, a similar proportion is boarded up.

The east (gable) elevation comprises the gable end of the main building, the east face of the projection, and the double return. The gable features toothed quoins returned from the main façade, and decorative eaves returned at the north and south ends as described above. Two openings at ground floor include one segmental-arched with a stucco surround matching the bay windows at the main façade (boarded up) and one near the centre of the gable, infilled with concrete block and having a precast concrete lintel and cill. At first and second floors, a single wide opening is centred on the apex (boarded up), similar in proportion to the steel-framed windows at the north elevation. A small round-arched opening near the eaves at attic level to the far left (south) is bricked up. A full-height concrete spiral stair to the far right side rises from ground to attic level, where an escape window near the eaves is boarded up. The projection has one opening at each half-landing level, all boarded up though retaining projecting stone cills and soldier-coursed brick headers, and a flush timber door at basement level. The hipped and flat-roofed returns contain three windows at basement level, all infilled with concrete blocks; two windows each at ground and first floors (the latter as wide steel-framed casements, the former similar but now boarded up); and three modern casement windows at second floor, all with a shared concrete cill. Remaining soldier-course headers above second floor windows provide evidence that original proportions have been altered.

The west elevation is abutted by Number 20 College Gardens. The west face of the return, surveyed from Elmwood Mews, is detailed as the rear of the main building and is largely blank where visible, with brick walling to the hipped-roof return painted white to first floor level.

Number 19 forms the end of the terrace to the block of similar town houses. The building is rectangular on plan, aligned east-west parallel to College Gardens. It is set back from the tree-lined street by low red brick walling with chamfered stone coping and a hedge behind. A temporary flush timber board gate, locked shut, currently provides access. The hedge returns along the east boundary with the front garden to Number 18. To the rear yard, red brick walling separates the two properties. The front door opens onto a broad step, possibly of stone, with a bull-nosed edge. The step is flanked by dwarf walls without the balustrade that remains to adjoining properties. Precast concrete paving slabs form a path from the entrance gate to the step at the front door. The remainder of the garden contains planting and a lawn. A semi-mature beech tree stands within the garden, adjacent to the hedge. The rear boundary to Elmwood Mews has been removed, with temporary fencing currently in place.