19 Mount Charles, Belfast

19 Mount Charles, Belfast

This three-storey-with-attic end-of-terrace brick townhouse with a pitched roof was designed by Alexander MacAlister and built in 1859. It forms the eastern end of a terrace of nine houses (Nos 3–19 Mount Charles), sitting alongside No 17 to its west and a 20th-century apartment block to its east. The terrace faces north along Mount Charles, a tree-lined private street running between Botanic Avenue to the east and University Road to the west, within the Queen's Conservation Area. Originally built as a private dwelling, the house is now used as university student accommodation.

Historical Background

The development of this part of Belfast followed the Donegall estate's decision, from the mid-1820s onwards, to grant perpetual leases and eventually outright sales of land, opening up attractive plots along the Malone Ridge to developers. The establishment of Queen's College in 1845 intensified building activity, and by the end of the 1850s the area was characterised by large, graceful terraces — early Victorian in date but late-Georgian in style. Mount Charles itself occupies a trapezoidal plot between the former Old Malone Road (now University Road) and Albion Lane (the forerunner of Botanic Avenue). The site previously contained a pre-1830s house, probably dating from around 1770 and recorded in the 1837 valuation as a two-storey residence, which was demolished around 1850. The street's first houses, Nos 2–6, were built in 1842, accessed by a short private lane off the main road. The terrace of Nos 3–19 was added in 1859, with Nos 18–24 following in 1869 and Nos 26–50 built in 1892–94.

The developer was Bernard ('Barney') Hughes (1805–78), the Armagh-born baker who became Belfast's master baker and the owner of Ireland's largest milling concern, and who was also a noted philanthropist. Hughes had initially offered part of his Mount Charles holding to the Redemptorist Order for the use of Catholics in the Malone area, but when this was declined he chose instead to develop the site for dwelling houses in keeping with the existing terraces nearby. The architect, Alexander MacAlister (c.1821–97), was a native of Carlow who spent his entire career in Belfast working almost exclusively on commissions in counties Antrim and Down. The houses 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 the proprietor appears 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 same writer noted: 'There is a fashion in everything. Bay windows seem as much the rage now as hoops or crinoline! All Mr. Hughes' houses have their parlours enlarged and their exteriors decorated with this appendage and fitted up with arrangements for hot and cold baths, sunk and covered ashpits in the yards, and everything necessary for comfort and convenience. The workmanship alone is contracted for, the proprietor supplying all the materials and the whole superintended by Mr. McAlister. The nine houses on the south side have the peculiarity of a double frontage, the returns extending to University Street, with the yard wall in the same street built up to an equal height with the windows and cornice above. This has the advantage of making the return bedroom one of the most cheerful and desirable in the house, which is far from usual.'

No 19 appears to have been first occupied by Henry Love, a shopkeeper with premises in Church Lane, who remained there until around 1864. He was succeeded by Major Donald Stewart, who was followed around 1873 by Mrs Julia Reynolds. By around 1882 a Rev R. Collier (described as a 'missionary') had taken on the lease, with a Mrs Reid following around 1890 and David Moore ('Under Secretary, Belfast Harbour Commissioners') around 1895. In the 1901 census, Moore is recorded as living there with his wife Annie, their three teenage children and a domestic servant; the building itself is noted as a 'first class' dwelling with 11 rooms in use. By 1907 a Mrs Davidson is named as occupant, succeeded the following year by Mrs Elizabeth Coulter, who in the 1911 census was occupying the house with her three grown-up daughters and five boarders. The Coulters remained until around 1920. John Oswald ('manager') is listed as householder in 1924 and was still there in 1932. By 1943 Hyde Lincoln had become resident, a Mrs Duke by 1951, and by 1960 the artist R. Max McCabe (Fellow of the Royal Society of Artists) and his wife Gladys, also an artist, had moved in. The McCabes appear to have remained at No 19 until the property was acquired by Queen's University in 1991.

By 1991 Nos 11–19 were in the ownership of Queen's University and were shortly afterwards converted to student accommodation. The conversion involved rebuilding the chimneystacks and replacing the pots; re-slating the roofs in new Bangor Blues; introducing cast aluminium rainwater goods in place of the original cast-iron versions; re-plastering externally and internally (no plaster detailing survived internally at that stage); re-pointing the brickwork; renewing all window frames; replacing the front entrance steps in reconstituted stone; renewing the rooflights to front and rear; and replacing all internal joinery with the exception of the staircases. A more recent refurbishment by the university has involved the replacement of all kitchens and bathrooms and further changes to the joinery. Despite these works, the original plan form survives with some subdivision, and the staircase remains in its original position.

Exterior

The plan is rectangular with a projecting return to the rear. The building is constructed in red brick in Flemish bond with painted render detailing, natural Welsh slate roofs with black clay ridge tiles, and cast aluminium rainwater goods (with a small section of PVC pipework at the canted bay). Lime mortar pointing is used throughout.

North (Front) Elevation: The three-storey brick front facade 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 — details repeated throughout the terrace. Above, there are two windows on each of the first and second floors, with two modern rooflights at attic level. All windows to the front are single-glazed timber sliding sash with horns and are replacements. The windows to the canted bay and at first floor level are horizontally split 2-over-2; the lower sash of the bay windows has a translucent film applied to the inner face. Second-floor windows are 8-over-8. First- and second-floor window heads are straight with splayed brick soldier courses. A continuous painted stone cill course runs across the first and second floors. There is a deep painted rendered plinth at the base and a similar frieze beneath the eaves. Rusticated stuccoed toothed quoins are applied to the first- and second-floor levels at the corner with the east gable. The canted bay itself 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; it is deeply recessed with Ionic columns to each side, standing on raised moulded plaster panelled bases. The columns support a moulded plaster entablature with a plain fanlight over. The cornice, columns and bases sit atop two replacement concrete steps with a dwarf wall to each side. The timber four-panelled door itself appears to be original, although the two upper panels have been replaced with glazing and the ironmongery has been replaced. The pitched natural Welsh slate roof has black clay ridge tiles and a flat concrete verge at the left side. There are brick chimney stacks — one to the right (shared with No 17) and one to the left on the gable end (rebuilt) — both centred on the ridge with corbelled detailing and seven circular clay pots each. The rainwater goods consist of 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 connecting into a cast metal hopper.

East (Side) Elevation: This elevation is partially abutted by the modern apartment block to the east, which is set back slightly from the Mount Charles facade and extends the full depth of the main block. The blank painted rendered gable wall of No 19 is visible above the roof of the modern block. A cast metal downpipe runs on the extreme right of the gable wall, discharging from the Mount Charles facade. The painted rendered side wall of the rear return is exposed onto University Street; faint remnants of where the rendered surface was previously ruled and lined are apparent in places. There is a deep rendered band beneath a cast metal ogee gutter, the latter discharging to a cast metal downpipe on the extreme right side. A 6-over-6 window appears on the extreme right at both first- and second-floor levels.

West (Side) Elevation: Fully abutted by No 17.

South (Rear) Elevation: The rear presents a three-storey facade abutted on the right side by an original three-storey return built at half-landing height. All rear walls within the yard are painted render. The rear yard is enclosed by the rear wall of the house, the return on the right, the return of No 17 on the left, and a three-storey yard wall facing University Street. The main block has a pitched natural Welsh slate roof with one modern rooflight to the left side and a flat concrete verge at the right. 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 one ground-floor window on the rear yard wall. The rear elevation of the main block has a 2-over-2 window (horizontally split) on the left side at each level, with painted stone cills; a smaller single 6-over-6 window sits at the attic half-landing level on the right side, above the roof of the return. The return elevation facing into the yard has a replacement timber back door at the extreme left, a 6-over-6 window above at first-floor level, and a smaller 6-over-6 window at second-floor level. There is one 6-over-6 window to the right of the back door at ground-floor level, which may be original. Cast metal rainwater goods are used throughout the yard.

The internal face of the yard wall onto University Street contains a replacement timber-sheeted door with plain fanlight at ground-floor level, and two multi-pane timber window frames (without glass) above — one at first-floor level and one at second-floor level — both with painted timber cills. The coping to the rear wall is plain flat concrete. The three-storey facade onto University Street is built in dark brown brick in Flemish bond, with a rendered plinth and eaves band, and a full-height painted rendered strip at the right-hand corner. The replacement yard door on the left is painted timber panelling with a plain fanlight beneath a semi-circular head with brick voussoirs, reached by one stone step and a further step up into the yard. To the right is a 6-over-6 window (possibly original) with wrought iron bars attached to the reveals and a painted stone cill, and a small square single-pane window with frosted glass. At first-floor level there is a false multi-pane window frame without glass on the left and a 6-over-6 window on the right; first-floor openings 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.

Setting and Group Value

The dual frontage — onto both Mount Charles and University Street — was a deliberate and successful design feature noted as a distinguishing characteristic of this terrace from the time of its construction. The terrace as a whole (Nos 3–19 Mount Charles) has strong group value. The building contributes significantly to the character of the Queen's Conservation Area.