5-11 Lombard Street, Belfast, BT1 1RB

5-11 Lombard Street, Belfast

An attached three-storey building with attic, nine bays wide, built in 1874 to designs by Thomas Jackson & Son for the English and Scottish Law Life Assurance Association. The building stands on the east side of the pedestrianised Lombard Street in central Belfast and represents a good and intact example of a Victorian commercial building of a type increasingly rare in the city.

The building is rectangular on plan, constructed in stucco with stone details including Dalbeatie granite door surrounds and columns at first floor level. The pitched roof is natural slate with a central chimneystack; parapet gutters are fitted with circular cast-iron downpipes.

The principal (west) elevation faces east onto Lombard Street. The ground floor has modern shop fronts of plate glass flanked by four-panelled timber doors with segmental over-lights set within chamfered granite door surrounds. Granite panelled pilasters with chamfered base and plain capital flank each door and divide the shop units. Above, a continuous entablature cornice forms a cill course for the first floor windows. The first floor features a series of arched windows with panelled pilasters between them, ornamented with carved capitals which form the imposts to the arches. The arches themselves are moulded with projecting keystones and plain friezes above. The second floor has grouped windows arranged as 3, 2, 1, 2, 3 bays on a continuous moulded cill course. Panelled pilasters with foliate capitals flank each window group, with continuous drip moulding and projecting keystone above. Inset granite columns with foliate sandstone capitals and octagonal bases separate windows within each group. A foliate string course at capital level runs across the elevation. Stepped and moulded quoins define the corners of the building. A projecting bracketed cornice at eaves level contains panelled sections between brackets, with a raised parapet above and plain coping. The attic storey contains a large central segmental pedimented dormer with three openings, flanked by smaller dormers each with a single opening and triangular pediment; all have plain tympana and plain strap mouldings. Windows throughout are painted timber 1/1 sliding sashes on masonry cills.

The north elevation is abutted by the adjoining listed building (HB26/50/282). The rear (east) elevation is abutted at ground floor by an adjoining building; exposed sections show projecting stairwell end bays with red brick English garden wall bond walling and various window openings at each floor level.

The building's 'fireproof' construction is notable, and most of the interior survives, including the safes. The building has group value with the adjoining listed building 13-17 Lombard Street (HB26/50/282), which was constructed shortly after to designs by the same architect. The subtle contrast of detail and material between the two buildings is of interest, expressing the assured hand of a recognised architect who was involved with many significant buildings in Belfast.

The building was erected following the construction of Lombard Street in the 1870s, which was laid out to join Castle Place and Rosemary Street, removing the old entries known as Leggs Lane and Caddells Entry. The contractor was William McCammond of Antrim Road. The development was carried out jointly with Messrs Johns, Hewitt and Johns, solicitors, whose offices occupied part of the upper floors and remained in the premises until relatively recently. The architect Vincent Craig had offices at No. 5 in 1890 and 1901, and the engineer L. Macassey in 1880.

The building is currently in mixed use and is located within the Belfast City Centre Conservation Area.