11 Mount Charles, Belfast

11 Mount Charles is a three-storey with attic, mid-terraced brick townhouse with a pitched roof, designed by Alexander MacAlister (c.1821–97), a native of Carlow who spent his entire career in Belfast, and constructed in 1859. It forms the middle house of a terrace of nine (Nos 3–19), with four similar houses on each side. The terrace faces north and lines the south side of Mount Charles, a tree-lined street running between Botanic Avenue to the east and University Road to the west, within the Queen's Conservation Area. The listing covers the house and the rear yard wall.

The land was developed by Bernard ('Barney') Hughes (1805–78), an Armagh-born baker who became Belfast's master baker and the owner of Ireland's largest milling concern, as well as a noted philanthropist. Hughes had initially offered part of his Mount Charles holding to the Redemptorist Order to serve the Catholics of the Malone area, but when this was declined he resolved to develop the site for dwelling houses in keeping with the existing terraces nearby. The properties were previewed in The Dublin Builder of 1 May 1859, whose correspondent described them as 'not large', their plots 'too confined for our notion of how towns should be built', but noted that the proprietor appeared 'to be sparing no expense to render them durable and elegant dwellings for those whose aspirations do not go beyond paying £45 or £50 per annum rent'. The writer also observed that bay windows were 'as much the rage now as hoops or crinoline', that all of Hughes's houses had their parlours enlarged and their exteriors decorated with this feature, and that each was fitted with arrangements for hot and cold baths, sunk and covered ashpits in the yards, and everything necessary for comfort and convenience. The workmanship alone was contracted for, with the proprietor supplying all materials, the whole being superintended by MacAlister. The nine houses on the south side were noted for the peculiarity of a double frontage, with the returns extending to University Street and the yard wall on that street built up to an equal height with the windows and cornice, a device which made the return bedroom 'one of the most cheerful and desirable in the house, which is far from usual'.

The broader development of Mount Charles belongs to a wider story of Victorian expansion in south Belfast. The granting of perpetual leases — and eventually outright sales — by the Donegall estate from the mid-1820s onwards opened up attractive plots along the Malone Ridge to developers, and the establishment of Queen's College in 1845 intensified this movement. By the end of the 1850s the area was characterised by large rows of graceful terraces, largely early Victorian in date but late Georgian in style. Mount Charles itself occupied a trapezoidal plot set between what was formerly the Old Malone Road (now University Road) and Albion Lane (forerunner of Botanic Avenue), on land that had belonged to a pre-1832 house — probably dating from around 1770 — recorded in the 1837 valuation as a two-storey residence. In its original form the street consisted of the present Nos 2–6, built in 1842. The old pre-1830s house was demolished around 1850, and in 1854 the lane serving it was adapted to serve No 1 to the south. The street was then extended further eastwards in 1859 with the building of Nos 3–19 and 8–16, with Nos 18–24 following in 1869 and Nos 26–50 in 1892–94, the last phase linking the street directly through to Botanic Avenue. Unlike its near neighbours University Street, University Square, and Upper and Lower Crescent, Mount Charles never became a public thoroughfare, maintaining its private, gated character throughout.

No 11 appears to have been first occupied by Samuel M. Caldwell, possibly a solicitor. In 1863 he was succeeded by William Langtry, a commission agent, followed around 1878 by Joseph Faren, an insurance agent. The 1901 census records the head of household as Emily Faren — presumably Joseph's daughter — sharing the house with three siblings and a domestic servant; the building was noted as a first-class dwelling with 11 rooms in use. The Faren family retained the house until the later 1930s. By 1943 the street directory records it in the hands of the government, and by at least 1951 it had been divided into four flats, reducing to two flats by the mid-1960s. It remained as such until at least 1986. By 1991 it had been acquired by Queen's University, which converted it and neighbouring houses into student accommodation. Originally all private dwelling houses, Nos 11–19 passed into the university's ownership by 1991 and shortly afterwards were converted to student accommodation. Alterations carried out at that time included: rebuilding and repointing of chimney stacks; replacement of pots; reslating of main roofs and returns in new Bangor Blues; replacement of cast aluminium rainwater goods; replastering externally and internally (no plaster detailing remained internally at that stage); repointing of brickwork; replacement of all windows with new timber sliding sash windows; replacement reconstituted stone steps to the front entrance; new rooflights to front and rear; and replacement of internal doors with flush doors, with skirtings and doorframes also replaced. The original staircase was retained in its original position. In more recent times the university has carried out a further refurbishment involving replacement of all kitchens and bathrooms and further changes to the joinery. The building is now used as student accommodation.

The plan is rectangular with a projecting return to the rear. The rear return and yard back onto University Street, with a tall wall featuring false windows at high level, giving the appearance of a three-storey façade.

Materials: The roof is natural Welsh slate with black clay ridge tiles, and modern rooflights to front and rear. Walls are red brick in Flemish bond with painted render, and lime pointing. Rainwater goods are cast metal and cast aluminium, with a small section of PVC at the canted bay. Windows are timber sliding sash with horns, single-glazed replacements.

North (front) elevation: The three-storey brick façade is built in Flemish bond. At ground floor level there is a single-storey canted rendered bay to the right and a deeply recessed doorway to the left. Above, there are two windows on each of the first and second floors, and two modern rooflights at attic level. All windows to the front are single-glazed timber sliding sash with horns and are replacements. Windows to the canted bay and first floor are horizontally split 2/2; the lower sash of the bay windows has a translucent film applied to the inner face. Second-floor windows are 8/8. First- and second-floor window heads are straight with splayed brick soldiers. There is a continuous painted stone cill course to the first and second floors, and a deep painted rendered plinth to the base with a similar frieze beneath the eaves. The canted bay is painted render with moulded plaster detailing; the lower section beneath the cill is formed by the deep plinth. The bay has a flat roof with a modern roof membrane over a projecting cornice. The doorway has an elliptical arched head with brick voussoirs and a moulded plaster reveal, deeply recessed with Ionic columns to each side on raised moulded plaster panelled bases. The columns support a moulded plaster entablature with a plain fanlight over. The cornice, columns and bases sit on top of two replacement concrete steps with a dwarf wall on each side. The timber four-panelled door itself appears to be original, although the two top panels have been replaced with glazing, and the ironmongery has been replaced. The pitched roof has brick chimney stacks to right and left — shared with Nos 9 and 13 respectively — centred on the ridge with corbelled detailing and seven circular clay pots; these appear to have been repointed and possibly rebuilt. Rainwater goods comprise a cast metal ogee gutter, a cast metal downpipe with hopper from the canted bay, and a small section of PVC pipe from the bay into a cast metal hopper. Both side elevations are fully abutted by the adjoining houses (No 13 to the east, No 9 to the west).

South (rear) elevation: The three-storey façade is abutted by an original three-storey return on the right side, built at half-landing height. All walls to the rear within the yard are painted render. The rear yard is enclosed by the rear wall of the house, the return on the right side, the return of No 9 on the left, and the three-storey yard wall onto University Street. The main block has a pitched natural Welsh slate roof with one modern rooflight to the left side; the return has a hipped natural Welsh slate roof with black clay ridge tiles. All windows to the rear are single-glazed timber sliding sash with horns and are replacements, with the possible exception of a ground-floor window on the rear yard wall. The rear elevation of the main block has a 2/2 window (horizontally split) on the left side at each level, with painted stone cills. A smaller single 6/6 window is located at the attic half-landing level on the right side, above the roof of the return. The elevation of the return facing into the yard has a replacement timber back door on the extreme left, a 6/6 window above on the first floor, and a smaller 6/6 window above that on the second floor. There is one 6/6 window to the right of the back door at ground-floor level. Cast metal rainwater goods serve the yard. The internal face of the yard wall onto University Street has a replacement timber sheeted door with a plain fanlight over at ground-floor level, and two multi-pane timber window frames above — one at first-floor level and one above at second-floor level — both with slim painted stone cills and no glass. A plain flat concrete coping stone runs along the top of the rear wall.

The three-storey façade onto University Street is constructed of dark brown brick in Flemish bond with a rendered plinth and eaves band. On the ground floor, the replacement yard door on the left is painted timber panelling with a plain fanlight beneath a semi-circular head with brick voussoirs. To the right is a 6/6 window, possibly original, with wrought iron bars attached to the reveals and painted stone cills, alongside a diminutive square single-pane window with frosted glass to the right-hand side. At first-floor level there is a false multi-pane window frame (with no glass) to the left and a 6/6 window to the right; the openings at this level have shallow arched heads. The second floor repeats the first-floor arrangement except that the heads are straight. A cast iron gutter sits above the painted rendered eaves band. The front of each house in the terrace is accessed directly from the tree-lined pavement of Mount Charles, while the rear is accessed directly from the pavement of University Street via the yard door.

The terrace carries strong group value as part of Nos 3–19 Mount Charles, and the dual aspect onto both Mount Charles and University Street — a strong design feature executed with much success — adds significant character to its setting within the Queen's Conservation Area.