73 University Street, Belfast BT7 1HB

This is a three-storey High Victorian mid-terraced former townhouse built in 1878-79, now serving as offices for the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. It forms the second house from the left in a terrace of five, flanked by No. 71 University Street on the right and No. 75 (Ibis Hotel) on the left. The terrace faces north along the south side of University Street, a long thoroughfare running between University Road to the west and Ormeau Road to the east, within the Botanic Avenue Area of Townscape Character.

Overall Form and Materials

The building is rectangular on plan with an original two-storey rear return. It has a pitched roof of natural Welsh slate with black clay ridge tiles, whilst the rear return has artificial slate and the rear hall and flat roof extension have roofing felt. The front elevation is built of red brick in Flemish bond with painted stone and painted stucco details. The rear return is also red brick. Rainwater goods include painted metal downpipes and cast iron guttering to the front, with PVC and some cast iron to the rear.

The front windows are timber sliding sash with horns, single-glazed and possibly original. Metal casement windows appear in some rear positions.

Front Elevation

The three-storey brick façade features a centrally located entrance flanked by two distinctive bays. On the left is a three-storey bowed bay topped with a conical slate roof, and on the right is a three-storey shallow square bay with a truncated chateau roof. The roof is pitched with natural Welsh slate and black clay ridge tiles. Brick chimneys on both left and right sides are shared with neighbours.

All front windows are single-glazed one-over-one timber sliding sash with horns and are possibly original, except those in the ground floor curved bay which have been recently replaced with uPVC top-hung windows.

The left bowed bay has three large square-headed window openings on each storey, set within painted stone surrounds with plain engaged painted sandstone capitals at shoulder height and rounded-edge mouldings above the capitals. Each floor has a continuous painted stone cill course, and the storeys are separated by brick laid in header coursing. The plinth below the brickwork is rough coursed sandstone with chamfered sandstone coping. The bow is crowned by a natural Welsh slate conical roof with a decorative lead apron and cast iron finial above a decorative stuccoed eaves band featuring a fleur-de-lis motif.

The central doorway has a segmental headed painted sandstone arch with carved edges above corner colonettes with capitals depicting heads on each side, set on tall raised chamfered stone bases. The original raised and fielded panelled timber door retains its original door handle, bell and letterbox.

On the first floor above the doorway are two narrow window openings within a painted stone surround with stylised Composite decorative plaster capitals, circular colonettes and chamfered stone bases. The second floor has a centrally located diminutive window opening with a carved stone surround.

Decorative eaves in the middle section between the bowed bay and square bay feature carved stone brackets above a stone string course.

The shallow square right bay has two large window openings within painted stone surrounds with painted stone corner colonettes on each level. The ground floor level has foliated fern-leaf and foliated capitals with chamfered stone bases. The first and second floors have stylised Composite capitals and chamfered stone bases. The plinth is rough coursed sandstone with chamfered sandstone coping. The square bay is topped with a truncated chateau roof featuring fish scale bands in natural Welsh slate and a decorative lead apron to the top flat section. A decorative stuccoed eaves band displays a curving leaf motif. Continuous painted stone cill courses run across all floors.

The pitched natural slate roof has black clay ridge tiles. The chimney stack on the right has been rebuilt and is centred on the ridge with corbel detailing and multiple yellow clay pots with triangular tops, built in stretcher bond. The left side chimney is original and is built in three stages with decorative yellow brick inset panels and brick corbelling to the top two stages, with multiple yellow clay pots. Ogee cast iron guttering runs along the front, discharging from the conical and chateau roofs to the gutter in the central section and then to square section painted metal downpipes.

Front Boundary and Access

Numbers 69-73 sit behind an original low heavy coursed rough sandstone wall with painted cut stone coping running between original painted sandstone piers. These piers have square bases, diminutive engaged corner colonettes with Corinthian-like capitals and square chamfered coping. Replacement painted metal railings run along the frontage with a replacement metal gate. Modern paving slabs form the path leading to five replacement reconstituted steps between replacement painted rendered plinth walls with modern metal handrails. The left side of the steps now incorporates a disabled platform lift. The former front gardens either side of the path are now flagged in paving stones.

Side Elevations

The west elevation is fully abutted by No. 71 University Street. The east elevation is fully abutted by No. 75 University Street (Ibis Hotel).

Rear Elevation

The rear presents a two-and-a-half storey brick façade in Flemish bond. It is abutted to the left of centre by an original two-storey brick return with a pitched roof that hips towards the main rear elevation, built at half landing height. This return is further abutted on its south side by a large red brick hall built in stretcher bond with a shallow pitched roof in roofing felt, extending to the rear boundary with College Green Mews. A long thin yard runs to the left (west) side with a boundary to No. 71. The former yard to the right side of the rear return is now infilled with a single-storey flat roof extension with raised plastic skylights.

The rear slope of the pitched roof has natural Welsh slate with black clay ridge tiles. The catslide and wall-head dormer roofs also have natural Welsh slate. The dormers have painted timber barge boards with decorative brackets with knopps and cross-tie members, and exposed rafter ends to the sides. The original rear return has a replacement artificial slate roof. PVC gutters serve the rear elevation, with generally painted cast iron downpipes. Splayed brick heads top all rear openings except the metal windows at second floor level and the ground floor window onto the yard. The eaves are corbelled and bevelled brick. Stone cills are fitted to all windows except the metal windows on the second floor and the ground floor window in the yard.

The main rear elevation has a ground floor window opening to the left side within the yard (replacement PVC), a single window opening above on the first floor (two-over-two timber sliding sash) and two window openings above on the second floor (metal casement). The latter windows sit under a catslide roof which appears to have been altered during the circa 1950s-60s.

To the right side of the rear return are two tall first floor landing windows (timber fixed pane with stained glass), and a three-storey advanced shallow square bay with pitched roof. This bay has a high level window opening on the ground floor (timber, above the flat roof of the single-storey extension), and two window openings above on both the first (two-over-two timber sliding sash) and second floors (PVC). The second floor window openings extend as a wall-head dormer.

A small light well located to the southwest corner of the flat roof infill extension (on the east side of the rear return) has metal windows to toilets and cast iron downpipes.

The west elevation of the rear return onto the yard has, on the ground floor from left to right: a metal casement window, a timber sheeted door with metal grilles, a further sheeted timber door, and a PVC window to the kitchen. All openings have exposed concrete lintels and concrete cills to the window openings. On the first floor from left to right are a one-over-one timber sliding sash window with stone cill and splayed brick heads, and a smaller metal window with pivot top pane and obscure glass within a plain concrete surround and concrete cill. PVC guttering and downpipe are fitted.

The rear gable (south) elevation of the original rear return is exposed to first floor level only and is blank with a clipped verge. The east elevation of the original rear return is exposed to first floor level only and has two window openings on the left side with timber one-over-one sliding sash windows with stone cills and splayed brick heads, and a single opening to the right side at first floor half landing level with a fixed pane timber stained glass window. Metal guttering and a cast iron downpipe are present. These windows look onto the flat roof over the ground floor toilets, which has roofing felt with raised plastic skylights.

The west elevation of the hall onto the yard has an opening to the extreme right side with sheeted timber fire escape doors. Timber clerestory windows run the full length of the hall with a concrete cill and painted timber fascia. PVC guttering and a metal downpipe are fitted to the right hand side, with surface mounted pipes. Sheeted metal double doors with a concrete head in the south wall of the yard lead out into College Green Mews.

The east elevation of the hall is abutted by an extension to the rear of No. 75 University Street and is only exposed at clerestory window level, with PVC guttering. The north elevation of the hall is exposed to the east side only at first floor level and is blank with a painted timber fascia.

The blank brick rear wall of the hall (south) backs onto College Green Mews, which runs between Botanic Avenue to the west and Rugby Road to the east. The south side of College Green Mews is backed onto by the rear boundary walls and extensions of the houses along College Green to the south.