73 University Street, Belfast BT7 1HB

73 University Street is a three-storey, High Victorian, mid-terraced red brick and painted stone townhouse built in 1878–79, now in use as offices. It forms part of a terrace of five properties known historically as Princess Gardens, of which this was originally No. 2. Within the terrace, No. 73 sits second from the left, flanked to the right by No. 71 University Street and to the left by No. 75 (now the Ibis Hotel). The terrace is rectangular on plan, faces north, and lines 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.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The terrace was developed by timber merchant Robert Corry, with the lease held by builder and contractor William Gabbey, who ran the Hope Street Steam Saw Mills and Joinery Works and sublet the properties individually. When the building first appears in the valuation records in 1878, it was occupied by William Cameron, a solicitor who practised at the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Buildings, and was valued at £85, reduced to £80 by 1880. Cameron lived here until 1887. A further resident listed in the Street Directories in the mid-1880s was John Rogers, a local councillor whose trade was described as "Wireworker, Patent Felt and Grease Manufacturer" at 79 Victoria Street. After a period of vacancy from 1887, Gabbey himself is recorded as occupier from around 1890 to 1906. The Belfast Revaluation records the house as having eleven sitting rooms or bedrooms excluding the kitchen, valued at £75, with an original construction cost of approximately £1,475. The property was vacant in 1907 before being occupied by Clyde Kirkwood, possibly a manufacturer of cast-iron drain covers, from 1907 to 1915, followed by linen merchant James Brady from around 1918 to 1932.

Since 1933 the building has served as the headquarters of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, making it the Society's first permanent home since its founding in 1925. In that year architect Thomas Houston carried out substantial alterations. When opened by the Minister of Home Affairs, the refurbished building provided a council room and secretary's office on the ground floor, an assembly room, library and lounge on the first floor, and a museum and committee rooms on the second floor. A lecture hall was added in 1963.

University Street is shown on the second edition Ordnance Survey of 1857 only as far east as Botanic Avenue, with its plots undeveloped. The fully developed street, including this terrace, first appears on the third edition of 1901. The terrace forms part of the late 19th-century suburban expansion around Queen's College, lying between Botanic Avenue and Fitzroy Presbyterian Church.

EXTERIOR

The roof is finished in natural Welsh slate with black clay ridge tiles to the front pitch, artificial slate to the rear return, and roofing felt to the rear hall and a flat-roof extension at the rear. Walls are red brick laid in Flemish bond with painted stone and painted stucco dressings; the rear hall is built in red brick in stretcher bond. Rainwater goods to the front (north) elevation consist of painted metal downpipes and cast-iron guttering; PVC rainwater goods and some cast iron are found to the rear.

Front Elevation (North): The three-storey façade is built in Flemish bond brick with a centrally placed front entrance. To the left of the entrance is a three-storey bowed bay topped with a conical slate roof; to the right is a three-storey shallow square bay topped with a truncated chateau roof. The overall pitched roof is in natural Welsh slate with black clay ridge tiles. Brick chimney stacks are shared with the neighbouring properties to both left and right.

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

Each storey of the bowed bay on the left has a painted stone surround to three large square-headed window openings, with plain engaged painted sandstone capitals at shoulder height and rounded-edge mouldings above the capitals. A continuous painted stone cill course runs across all levels. Each storey is separated by brick laid in header coursing. Below the brickwork, a rough coursed sandstone plinth has a chamfered sandstone coping. The bow terminates in a natural Welsh slate conical roof with a decorative lead apron and cast-iron finial, set above a decorative stuccoed eaves band carrying a fleur-de-lis motif.

The central doorway has a segmental-headed painted sandstone arch with carved edges, set above corner colonettes with capitals depicting carved heads to each side, raised on tall chamfered stone bases. The original door is a raised and fielded panelled timber door retaining its original door handle, bell and letterbox. At first floor level, aligned with the doorway below, are two narrow window openings within a painted stone surround with stylised Composite decorative plaster capitals, circular colonettes and chamfered stone bases. Above on the second floor is a centrally placed diminutive window opening with a carved stone surround. Decorative eaves occupy the middle section between the bowed bay and the square bay, consisting of carved stone brackets above a stone string course.

The shallow square bay on the right has two large window openings on each level within a painted stone surround with painted stone corner colonettes. At ground floor level these have foliated fern-leaf and foliated capitals with chamfered stone bases; at first and second floor levels the capitals are stylised Composite with chamfered stone bases. Below the brickwork is a rough coursed sandstone plinth with chamfered sandstone coping. The square bay is crowned by a truncated chateau roof with fish-scale bands in natural Welsh slate and a decorative lead apron to the flat top section, below which is a decorative stuccoed eaves band with a curving leaf motif. Continuous painted stone cill courses run across all floors.

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

Nos. 69 to 73 sit behind an original low, heavy coursed rough sandstone wall with a painted cut stone coping, running between original painted sandstone piers with square bases, diminutive engaged corner colonettes with Corinthian-like capitals and square chamfered copings. The frontage has replacement painted metal railings and a replacement metal gate. Modern paving slabs form the path leading to five replacement reconstituted steps set 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 to either side of the path are now flagged with paving stones.

Side Elevations: The west side elevation is fully abutted by No. 71 University Street. The east side elevation is fully abutted by No. 75 University Street.

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

The rear roof pitch is in natural Welsh slate with black clay ridge tiles. Catslide and wall-head dormer roofs are also in natural Welsh slate. The dormers have painted timber bargeboards with decorative brackets featuring 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.

All rear openings have splayed brick heads, with the exception of the metal windows on the second floor and a ground floor window onto the yard. Brick eaves are corbelled and bevelled. Stone cills serve all windows except the metal windows on the second floor and the ground floor yard window.

On the main rear elevation, the ground floor has a window opening to the left side within the yard, now fitted with a replacement PVC frame. Above this on the first floor is a single window opening with a two-over-two timber sliding sash, and on the second floor are two metal casement windows. These second-floor windows sit under a catslide roof that appears to have been altered during the 1950s or 1960s. Two tall first-floor landing windows are located to the right side of the rear return, fitted with timber fixed frames and stained glass.

A three-storey advanced shallow square bay with a pitched roof stands to the right side. It has a high-level ground floor window opening (in timber, set above the flat roof of the single-storey extension), two two-over-two timber sliding sash windows on the first floor, and two PVC windows on the second floor, the latter extending as a wall-head dormer. A small light well at the south-west corner of the flat-roof infill extension, on the east side of the rear return, has metal windows serving toilets and cast-iron downpipes.

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

The south gable elevation of the original rear return is exposed only to first floor level and is blank with a clipped verge. The east elevation of the rear return is also exposed to first floor level only; it has two window openings to the left fitted with timber one-over-one sliding sash windows with stone cills and splayed brick heads, and a single opening to the right at first floor half-landing level fitted with a fixed-pane timber stained glass window. A metal gutter and cast-iron downpipe serve this elevation; the windows look onto the flat felt roof over the ground floor toilets, which is fitted with raised plastic skylights.

On the west elevation of the hall, facing the yard, there are sheeted timber fire escape doors at the far right, timber clerestory windows running the full length of the hall with a concrete cill and painted timber fascia, PVC guttering, a metal downpipe to the right-hand side, and surface-mounted pipes. Sheeted metal double doors with a concrete head are set in the south wall of the yard, opening onto College Green Mews. The east elevation of the hall is abutted by an extension to the rear of No. 75, and is exposed only at clerestory window level, with PVC guttering. The north elevation of the hall is exposed only to the east side at first floor level and is blank with a painted timber fascia. The blank brick south wall of the hall 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 by the rear boundary walls and extensions of the houses along College Green to the south.

The listing covers the offices, the front walls and piers, and the rear yard wall. Both the interior and exterior retain much of their original character, proportions and detailing, and the building makes a significant contribution to the character of the Botanic Avenue Area of Townscape Character within the wider Queen's University area.