Office / warehouse ('United Paper Merchants Ltd.'), Unit 15, Linfield Industrial Estate, Belfast, Co Antrim, BT12 5LA

Unit 15, Linfield Industrial Estate, Belfast

A large single-storey brick-built former store building, dating from around 1910, with a distinctive double curved Belfast Truss roof structure. The building is roughly square in plan, measuring approximately 28.7 metres by 23.5 metres, and is situated within the Linfield Industrial Estate off the west side of Sandy Row.

The east-facing front elevation features a double gabled façade, recently rebuilt in glossy red brick, rising to a double stepped parapet with rendered coping. A large vehicle entrance with roller shutter dominates the right side, whilst to the far left are two small windows with hopper opener frames. The right edge of the façade has a large bevel.

The south elevation displays large uneven areas in recent concrete brick interspersed with original red brick, punctuated by seven evenly spaced red brick piers running along its full length. The presence of these piers and the patchy brickwork suggests this elevation may once have abutted another structure, now demolished. The north elevation shows evidence of having formerly possessed a row of large windows, all of which have since been bricked up. A relatively large window-like opening without a frame (possibly of later insertion) is located to the far left, alongside a recently inserted pedestrian doorway with modern timber and glazed door. Modern laminated signs are mounted above and below this opening.

The double-gable west elevation is partly constructed in original red brick and partly in more recent brickwork, with a pedestrian doorway to the right fitted with a metal sheeted door.

The double curved roof structure remains largely intact internally, likely covered in felt. Each of the two roof sections contains a full-length central roof light fitted with corrugated Perspex.

The building was undoubtedly related to the surrounding former mill buildings of the industrial area and originally served as a store. The Belfast Truss represents a significant innovation in roof engineering, developed in the mid-nineteenth century to provide efficient, lightweight structures capable of long spans, meeting the demands of industrial expansion. The design employs bowstring girders with internal bracing members meeting on the top curved member rather than the bottom, as was conventional practice. The building remains of industrial archaeological interest as a surviving example of this distinctive roof construction method.

The building has been considerably altered in recent years, with the front double-gabled façade substantially rebuilt, windows blocked up, and various modern interventions to the elevations.