59 University Road, Belfast, Co Antrim, BT7 1NF

59 University Road, Belfast

A substantial late Georgian style terrace house with a stucco façade and decorative doorcase, built around 1983 to replace an almost identical building demolished in 1979. The property is one of a matching group of four (the rest original, dating from around 1840–43), all now divided into flats with stairwell returns to the rear. The stretch of terrace to which the group belongs, originally named 'Botanic View', is situated on the west side of University Road between Camden Street to the north and Fitzwilliam Street to the south. It comprises this property, its three identical neighbours, three similar but lower three-storey houses of around 1840–41 (also converted to flats), and a short two-storey brick grouping of 1852 at the south end (now flats and offices). Number 59 is located roughly in the middle of the terrace.

The front (east-facing) façade is asymmetrical. To the left on the ground floor is what appears to be the original entrance doorway, though it is not and never was used as such, as the flats are accessed from the rear stairwell return. The 'doorway' consists of a traditional style panelled and glazed 'door' which in fact functions as a window. It has panelled pilaster jambs and is topped with a plain rectangular fanlight, with the entire ensemble encased with plain pilasters with decorative console brackets supporting a cornice hood with a tympanum-like blocking course over. To the right of the doorway are two flat arch windows with Georgian-paned sash frames (both 6/6). On the first floor, directly in line with the ground floor windows, are two windows of the same type. Two similar but shorter windows appear on the second floor, also in line with the previous windows. The ground floor is finished in square channelled rusticated render. The first and second floor levels are in plain render with simple moulded surrounds to the window openings. In-out bevelled quoins appear on the left. The ground floor render and quoins are painted in a darker shade than the first and second floor levels. A portion of the left side and the very top of the south gable is exposed. The left side is rendered as the upper floors front, with quoins as before. The upper portion is slate clad with a plain rendered projecting chimneybreast.

To the left-hand side of the rear (west) elevation is a large, full-height stairwell return shared with number 57, which spans across part of its elevation also. To the west face of the return is a sash window (much as the front) at the first half-landing level, with another, slightly shorter, at the second half-landing level. On the ground floor of the north face of the return is a doorway with a recent security door leading to the stairwell and giving access to the ground floor flat of number 59 (and that of number 57). Immediately to the right of this doorway is a single-storey flat-roofed projection in brick, which houses the dustbins belonging to each of the three flats of number 55. The south face of the return repeats the arrangement of the north face but with a small sash window to the right at both first and second floor levels (both with Georgian panes 4/2).

To the ground floor of the rear façade of the main portion of the building (to the right of the return) are two windows to each floor, with that to the right on each floor larger, and those to the second floor shorter than the rest. The ground floor windows are now covered with security grills, with those to the upper floors having Georgian-paned sash frames (first floor: 4/2, 6/6; second floor: 4/2, 6/3). The entire rear elevation is rendered and painted as the upper floors front. Quoins appear to the right, as on the front. The main gabled roof is slate with a mono-pitched (lean-to-like) slated roof to the return. A tall rendered chimneystack to the north features a string course and decorative matching pots. A similar stack appears to the south. Bracketed verge courses appear to the front and with a plainer version to the rear, both with recent-looking moulded guttering. Modern style square downspouts are present. To the front, the small garden has low rendered walls and is filled with shrubbery. The pathway formerly leading to the front entrance has been removed.