3 College Park East, Belfast, BT7 1PS

No. 3 College Park East is a High Victorian, two-and-a-half-storey, red brick, mid-terrace, double-fronted former house, now used as university offices. It was built in 1869 to designs by Young & MacKenzie and forms part of a mixed row of six properties at the junction of College Park East and University Avenue, immediately south of Union Theological College and east of the main buildings of Queen's University in South Belfast. The listed extent covers the offices and the rear yard walls to the north and east.

The building is one of six in a terrace whose construction was phased: No. 4 was the first to be completed in 1864, followed by Nos. 1–3 and 5–6 in 1869, and then 'Hope House' — which directly abuts the rear of No. 6 — in 1873. Nos. 1–3 appear to have been developed by William Sherrie, a brush manufacturer with premises in North Street; No. 4 by Alexander Holmes; and Nos. 5–6 and Hope House by Matthew Pattison. Young & MacKenzie advertised a tender for street-making in College Park East in August 1870 and were responsible for the design of the whole terrace. The whole terrace, including Hope House to the south-east, is now integrated internally and serves as offices for the Queen's University Belfast School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, though much of the original internal layout remains intact, with only minor alterations and a linkage with No. 2 at upper level.

College Park East — originally known simply as 'College Park' — was laid out in or shortly before 1864 on what had until then been the edge of the semi-rural 'Plains' of Malone, to the east and south of Queen's College (completed 1849) and Union Theological College (completed 1853). The establishment of Queen's in particular prompted several decades of development in the area, with regularly planned streets filled largely with High Victorian terraced housing for the professional and merchant classes moving southward from a rapidly commercialising and industrialising Belfast city centre.

The earliest recorded occupant of No. 3 appears to have been an E. C. McMaster, listed at the property in an 1870 annotation in the valuation book. James Magean (or Mageean) is listed as residing there in the 1877 street directory, though by 1880 he appears at No. 4 — which, given inconsistencies in the early street numbering, may or may not refer to the same building. It should be noted that the property at the north end of the terrace, now No. 1 College Park East, faces onto that street but is actually accessed from University Avenue. This caused confusion in the street directories and valuation records of the 1870s and early 1880s, where some sources list it as part of College Park East and others as part of University Avenue, with discrepancies in numbering throughout, making it difficult to trace the earliest occupants with certainty.

From 1884 the numbering becomes consistent. By that date William Kennedy, a factory manager, was occupying No. 3. He was followed around 1886 by Thomas McCann, a linen manufacturer, who by the 1901 census was living there with his wife Isabella, their four grown-up children, and a domestic servant. The building was recorded as a first-class dwelling with 13 rooms in family use. McCann died around 1906 and the property passed to his son John, an apron manufacturer, who shared it with his unmarried sisters; all or some of them appear to have remained there until the mid-1940s. Norman Wilson, a solicitor, was the next recorded resident, remaining until at least 1960. At some point before 1967 the building was acquired by Queen's University and became home to the university's Departments of Social Anthropology and Economic and Social History, remaining in use by the latter department until at least the later 1990s.

Exterior

The front elevation faces west onto College Park East and is in Flemish bond red brickwork with deep corbelled brick eaves detailing below a natural Welsh slate roof with black clay ridge tiles. There is a brick chimney to the right side, without concrete coping and with no pots visible, attached to the chimney of No. 4. A decorative brick and terracotta band runs between first and second floor levels, and there is a painted stone plinth with brick below.

The elevation is double-fronted, with paired window openings to the left of the front door at ground and first floor levels. Above these, at attic level, is a timber dormer with replacement six-pane timber windows, the bottom panes being top-hung. In the centre, at first floor level, is a single window aligned with the front door below. To the right is a two-storey, lead flat-roofed canted bay with a wall-head dormer above at attic level, also with replacement six-pane top-hung timber windows and a modern brick soldier header course. Both dormers have decorative timber bargeboards, pointed timber finials, and exposed rafter ends. The smaller dormer to the left is timber-clad with cheeks that appear to be painted timber on the right and possibly lead on the left. The cheeks of the wall-head dormer are partially brick and partially lead.

The centrally positioned entrance consists of a tall segmental arched opening with an entirely stone surround, including three-quarter column jambs with tall bases and Corinthian-like foliate capitals, a painted brick reveal, and a recessed panelled timber door with a plain fanlight over. All windows except the replacement dormer windows are one-over-one, single-glazed, timber sliding sash with horns and are likely to be replacements. The ground and first floor windows to the left and above the front door have bevelled brick relieving arches and chamfered brick reveals, while the canted bay windows have painted stone header bands. Rainwater goods are cast iron.

The front garden has been paved with concrete paving stones. There are replacement tiled steps and modern wheelchair ramps with metal railings leading to No. 2. A painted plinth wall to the street is fitted with replacement painted metal railings.

The north side elevation is fully abutted by No. 2 and the south side elevation is fully abutted by No. 4.

Rear

The rear elevation of the main block is abutted centrally by an original two-storey return, both roofed in natural Welsh slate. The original yards to left (south) and right (north) remain and are enclosed by rear yard walls. The whole backs onto a wide alleyway which, along with those of the neighbouring buildings, now functions as a small car park.

To the left of the rear return, on the main block's rear elevation, there is a one-over-one window at ground floor and a two-over-two window at first floor level, with a modern flat-roofed dormer at attic level containing a triple timber casement window. The south face of the rear return, facing onto the south yard, has three openings at ground floor level: from left to right, a modern timber and glass door; a two-over-two window with frosted glass and an extractor fan in the upper left pane; and a high-level wide opening with a painted rendered head containing two top-hung timber windows within a painted insert panel. The first floor has five window openings of various widths, all two-over-two with the exception of the second from right, which is one-over-one and smaller than the rest. The south yard is formed by the rear wall of the main block, the south-facing wall of the rear return, a modern red brick wall with modern double timber fire doors leading to the rear car park, and the two-storey wall of a modern building behind Nos. 4–5.

To the right of the rear return, on the main block's rear elevation at ground floor level, is a single-storey lean-to with a hip to the left side, an artificial slate roof, and large six-pane timber windows behind metal bars. Above at first floor level there is a two-over-two window, and at attic level a modern flat-roofed dormer with a triple timber casement window identical to that on the left side. The north face of the rear return, facing onto the north yard (which was not accessible and was viewed through windows), has a door on the extreme right at ground floor level (not seen directly), and two two-over-two windows to the left, both with frosted glass. At first floor level there is a wider one-over-one timber sliding sash landing window with rounded corners, and two windows to the left — the one on the extreme left being one-over-one and smaller than the other, which is two-over-two. The north yard is formed by the rear wall of the main block, the north-facing wall of the rear return, a rear yard brick wall with a modern painted panelled timber fire door leading to the car park, and the single-storey wall separating the former rear yards of Nos. 2 and 3. A modern bike shelter is attached to this wall.

The rear elevation of the rear return, facing onto the car park, is blank apart from a downpipe to the left and soil pipes from toilets, and has clipped eaves. The yard wall extends to the right, one storey tall with a profiled terracotta coping, forming the rear boundary of the yard. There is a modern painted timber panelled door on the extreme left under a splayed brick head; a bricked-up opening to the right retaining a brick splayed head; and a further, smaller bricked-up opening at the top right retaining its brick splayed head and concrete cill. All windows to the rear have splayed brick heads, painted stone cills, and are single-glazed timber sliding sash with horns, likely to be replacements. All rear brickwork is in Flemish bond. Rainwater goods are cast metal.

Interior

Interior detailing survives, including decorative plasterwork and the original staircase. The overall layout remains largely intact, with the exception of some minor alterations and a connecting link with No. 2 at upper level.