Hamill Vault, St Josephs Churchyard, 23 Hannahstown Hill, Belfast, BT17 OLT

The Hamill Vault is a double-height gabled mausoleum in Gothic Revival style, built in 1905 to designs by architect Charles MacAlister and constructed by Purdy & Millard. It stands in the eastern end of the burial ground adjoining St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church at Hannahstown, and serves as the most prominent memorial in the graveyard, facing the church.

The vault is of rectangular plan, constructed in coursed rock-faced cast stone with a stepped pitched roof of raised moulded stone verges and finials to the apex. The principal elevation faces east and is symmetrical in composition. It features corner pilasters with gablets containing carved trefoils, a lancet door opening with ashlar stone surround and moulded hood resting on head stops, a carved coat of arms, and the name Hamill in relief above the entrance. A small oval-shaped opening at higher level penetrates the gable. The doorway is accessed by two stone steps leading to a quarter-pace landing, with a short flight descending to a lower level. A decorative cast iron gate stands at the entrance, with a painted cast iron gate to the staircase surmounted by a cross finial.

Lancet window openings with ashlar stone surrounds, splayed sills and leaded glazing light the interior. The south elevation comprises two bays separated by a pilaster, corresponding with a raised stone spine terminating in a gablet at roof level, with moulded cast stone cornice to the eaves and quatrefoil vents beneath each window at plinth level. The rear elevation facing west is symmetrical and features a large trefoil window opening with ashlar stone surround, splayed sill, moulded hood resting on head stops and stained leaded glazing, together with a small oval-shaped opening at higher level to the gable. The north elevation mirrors the south in its detail.

A walled enclosure to the east side, with decorative cast iron railings and caged corner posts, acts as a retaining structure and provides access to the lower level of the vault through a segmental arched opening on the north wall. Stone steps to the east elevation and a walled enclosure to the north both feature decorative cast iron gates topped by Celtic crosses.

The Hamill family were one of the leading Catholic families in Belfast from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, reputed to have originated in the Newtownabbey area in a district known as the Trench, hence the name of their family home. John Hamill, the first to rise to prominence, was a successful businessman who owned extensive property in and around Belfast and served as a Town Councillor until his death in 1876. His son Arthur followed in his footsteps but died in 1903, leaving an estate valued at over £7,000, most of which was bequeathed to his six sisters. Several of his sisters died in quick succession—Margaret and Kate Davis in 1904, Jane in 1905 and Maria in 1906, attributed to cholera. Two other sisters, Hannah and Teresa, lived until 1918. The family maintained their own pew in St Joseph's Church and were known as generous benefactors of the Catholic Church, schools and charities. Following Teresa Hamill's death, the family home was left to the Sisters of Mercy as a convent; subsequently it became the residence of the bishop of Down and Connor and later was used as St Joseph's College for training male primary school teachers.

Charles MacAlister, who designed the vault, was active as an architect in Belfast from the beginning of the 1900s through to at least the end of the 1930s. In 1905 he maintained a business address at 26 Chichester Street, Belfast, with later offices at Whitehall Buildings in Ann Street and Sussex Place. His father, also Charles, had overseen the rebuilding of Trench House, the Hamill family home, in 1878–80.

The vault is located within the burial ground west of St Joseph's Church, accessed through a timber entrance gate to the north. The cemetery is bounded by rubble Greywacke stone walling. The church grounds include a rectangular double-storey pitched-roof hall to the southeast, a T-plan two-storey gabled hall to the south, and a large tarmaced car park to the southwest. The site lies on the east side of Hannahstown Hill.