1 Antrim Road, Belfast, County Antrim, BT15 2BE

Former bank building, constructed in 1893–4 to designs by architect Vincent Craig for the Ulster Bank, built by contractors H & J Martin. The building stands on a prominent corner site at the junction of Antrim Road and Carlisle Circus in Belfast, where it terminates a row of two-storey, red-brick parapetted commercial units extending northward. It is square on plan and rises three storeys, presenting a moderately grand appearance in a simple palazzo style, defined by balanced proportioning and the restrained classical use of sandstone and red brick. The building is somewhat two-dimensional in appearance and its interior has been substantially altered; it is not considered among the best examples of its type or of Craig's work.

The principal elevation faces west onto Antrim Road and is asymmetrical, containing three openings to each floor. The walling is red brick laid in English Garden wall bond, with dressings and the ground floor executed in smooth ashlar sandstone over a projecting plinth; this reflects the original construction in red Dumfries sandstone to the level of the first-floor windows, with local brick above, treated to give a uniform dark-red colour and pointed with white joints. A flat roof is concealed behind a red-brick parapet. There are brick chimneys to the side and rear elevations and a fourth on the roof; those to the sides have scrolled and profiled brackets. A projecting and moulded sandstone cornice carries rainwater goods concealed behind the parapet; a cast-iron downpipe survives. A similar cill course runs at first-floor level across the principal elevations.

Window openings are square-headed and set in plain surrounds, generally linked by a projecting continuous sandstone cill course, except at second-floor level. The windows themselves are modern one-over-one treated metal frames, symmetrically arranged across each floor except where noted otherwise. On the upper floors, windows are separated by plain brick pilasters rising from the first-floor cill course to carry a string course over the second floor. Ground-floor window openings are recessed and have curved upper corners, with externally mounted metal roller shutters fitted to them. On the principal elevation, the pair of windows to the centre of the first floor have sandstone surrounds with a swathed and foliated carved motif above. The first and second floors are separated by a deep continuous sandstone string course, with a projecting keystone to the second-floor centre opening.

The north elevation has a stepped parapet. The remaining side elevation is blank and is abutted by a two-storey brick terrace of parapetted commercial units. The east, rear elevation is plain brick with irregular plain window openings to the centre and right side of the upper floors; the ground floor is obscured by a series of abutments and a perimeter wall, all executed in brickwork matching the main building over a projecting brick plinth, with some evidence of rebuild or extension to the north. To the far right of the rear elevation is a flat-roofed two-storey abutment with two windows in its cheeks; a similar single-storey block abuts to the left with a metal door facing east and three two-over-two windows to its left cheek, similar to the main building, set in plain surrounds but with reinforced concrete cills. The south elevation is symmetrical, with one window on each floor to either side of centre and a pair of narrow windows to the centre at ground-floor level.

The building was constructed on the site of two boot shops at 1–3 Duncairn Street (now Antrim Road) and was leased from the Trustees of St Enoch's Presbyterian Church at a rateable valuation of £120 in 1900; the total construction cost was £2,100. The Carlisle Circus branch of the Ulster Bank opened for business on 4th October 1894. As originally completed, the building was entered through a spacious porch and mahogany doors leading into a banking hall with a white plasterwork panelled ceiling. The fittings were mahogany and the floor was laid with small black and white tiles described at the time as being of a chaste design. The upper floors served as the bank manager's dwelling apartments, with a kitchen and pantries at the rear fitted with a dinner-lift to carry meals to the dining room on the first floor. There were seven bedrooms on the upper floors, and the strong room could be locked from the manager's bedroom, an arrangement used in several bank premises of the period. The staircase windows were glazed with lead lights displaying the bank arms and the Belfast City arms. The first manager was David Strain, recorded in the 1901 census as resident on the premises with his wife from County Derry and a live-in domestic servant. An early account holder in 1905 was James Ramsay MacDonald, who later became the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The building was severely damaged during the Belfast Blitz on the night of 15th April 1941. The manager, J W Shannon, was in the building when it was hit and left to take the injured manager of the Belfast Savings Bank across the road to the Royal Victoria Hospital; while they were away, the Savings Bank was also struck. The upper part of the Ulster Bank building was found to be bulging and the authorities ordered its demolition. A first attempt by the Royal Engineers resulted only in the collapse of a building across the road; a second attempt brought down the upper portion completely. A tarpaulin cover was placed over the office, which then served as a temporary branch for the remainder of the war. During rebuilding a Nissen hut was erected adjoining the bank where staff worked for twelve months, and the branch re-opened in 1947 with the upper floors rebuilt. The building is first shown on the fourth edition Ordnance Survey map of 1901–2.

In terms of its setting, the original stone walls and cast-iron gates of St Enoch's Presbyterian Church abut the south-west corner of the site, with a vehicular access route through them leading to a car park to the south-east of the building. A single-storey red-brick wall encloses a small yard to the north-east corner. The historic burying ground of Clifton House lies directly to the north-east, with an old rubblestone wall bounding the rear of the site. The building remained in use as a bank for some years after rebuilding but currently stands vacant.