14 May Street, Belfast, County Antrim, BT1 4NR

14 May Street is a three-storey, mid-19th century Georgian-style terraced townhouse built in red brick, forming the western end of a short terrace of four properties (numbers 14 to 20). It was constructed around 1855 and first appears on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of Belfast in 1858. The building sits directly on the north side of May Street, in what was originally known as Clarendon Place — a name retained until around 1860, when the entire length of the street was permanently designated May Street.

The street itself was named after the May family. Edward May, an influential figure in Belfast's development, pioneered the reclamation of the Blackstaff River, which opened up land to the south-east of the town centre for development. The leases on this newly created land were acquired from the Marquis of Donegall, who married May's daughter, Anna May. Numbers 14 to 20 were constructed on this reclaimed ground.

The building's architectural character reflects an intermediate phase between the Georgian and Victorian periods. Although built using early Victorian materials and construction techniques — red brick laid in Flemish bond — the overall design is conservative and closely follows the formal Georgian townhouse tradition, incorporating pillared doorcases with fanlights above and quoins at the ends of the terrace. As the architectural historian Patton described numbers 14 to 20: "Flemish bond redbrick houses with small-pane sashes and arc-headed doorcases with slender edge mouldings and plain fanlights, and recessed Ionic columns supporting plain entablatures; corbelled gutter on rendered wallhead." Few examples of this pre-Victorian housing style survive in Belfast city centre, making this terrace a notable remnant. Related surviving examples include the three-storey terraces on neighbouring Joy Street and Hamilton Street, and the early-19th century townhouses at numbers 18 to 19 Donegall Square East.

The roof is pitched and covered in natural slate, with a modern rooflight inserted. The guttering consists of a moulded metal gutter on a bracketed timber gutter tray, with uPVC downpipes. The external walls are red brick laid in Flemish bond, with rusticated stucco quoins to the west corner, a stucco plinth beneath the ground-floor cill, a stucco eaves fascia, and a string course at first-floor cill level. Window openings have painted stucco reveals and flat brick arches. The original 6-over-6 sash windows with horns survive; the ground-floor window openings have been fitted with steel roller shutters. The entrance doorway has a segmental arch with a stucco archivolt and an inset Ionic doorcase. A fascia reads "BOYS' BRIGADE HOUSE." Above the door is a plain fanlight, and the door itself is a six-panelled timber replacement. The entrance is approached by three tiled steps. On the south front elevation, the entrance is positioned to the east side with two adjacent windows; the first and second floors each have two windows. The west elevation is abutted by a modern five-storey building. The original north rear elevation cannot be seen from the lane. A modern two-storey extension with a corrugated metal pitched roof and rendered walls runs northward to Music Hall Lane. The east elevation is abutted by the adjoining terrace.

Griffith's Valuation of 1859 recorded that the building, which included a stable block to the rear, was leased by Sir Edward May and valued at £38. The first occupant recorded was Robert Gaffikin, a carver and gilder who operated a store on Arthur Square. Gaffikin continued to reside at May Street until his death in 1877, at which point his son Arthur Gaffikin took possession. By 1900, the Belfast Revaluation recorded that a local flesher and butcher named Samuel Stokesberry had taken possession. The building's value was increased to £50 at that revision, and it was noted to consist of eight rooms (including living rooms and bedrooms, excluding kitchens), fitted with gas installations and plumbing. The 1911 Census described the house as a first-class private dwelling with 13 inhabited rooms in total, and noted the rear stable as its sole outbuilding. Stokesberry resided there with his wife Elizabeth, two of their six children, and a domestic servant. He continued to live at the property until his death in 1928, when he left the house and effects of £12,610 3s. 8d. to his wife Elizabeth, who remained as occupant until her own death in 1935.

In 1934, prior to Elizabeth Stokesberry's death, number 14 was acquired by the Belfast Battalion of the Boys' Brigade — a Christian youth organisation established in Glasgow in 1883 by Sir William Alexander Smith, with the Belfast Battalion founded in 1887. The building became known as "BB House" and was converted from a private residence into offices. The ground floor included a shop called "Stedfast Supplies." The associated Girl's Brigade used the adjoining building at number 16. By the time of the second general revaluation, which commenced in 1956, the building had been fully converted to office use and was valued at £154; by the end of that revaluation in 1972 the value had more than doubled to £396. Numbers 14 to 20 May Street survived the heavy bombing of the Markets area of Belfast during the 1941 Blitz. The building was listed in 1988. In December 2012, the nationwide headquarters of the Northern Ireland Boys' Brigade moved to Antrim, but number 14 May Street has continued to be used by the Boys' Brigade as administration offices, with the ground-floor shop still operating.

The building sits on a busy central thoroughfare. To the south, directly opposite, is May Street Presbyterian Church. The rear of Belfast City Hall lies nearby. In the same terrace, adjoining to the east, is John Ross & Co. Additional listed buildings are located nearby to the west.

Although the building has been compromised by some alterations — notably the roller shutters to the ground floor, the uPVC downpipe, the modern rooflight, and the modern extension to the rear — a substantial amount of historic fabric and original detailing survives. The terrace as a whole represents a good example of the type of professional-class townhouse that characterised the growth of Belfast in the mid-19th century, and its changing use over the decades reflects the wider development of the city centre through the 19th and 20th centuries.