37-43 High Street, Belfast, County Antrim, BT1 2AB

Asymmetrical three storey commercial building with attic, on the south side of High Street bordering Joy’s Entry to the west. Designed in 1881 by Thomas Jackson and Son in Italianate style. Slate roof, mansard to main section with modern rooflights, hipped to central tower. Round metal downpipes. Walls are painted render; rusticated quoins to main floors and foliate decorated, rope edged panels to dormer, bracketted moulded cornice, moulded strings and architraves. The off-centre attic dormer has four arched windows, an engaged column to central pier, moulded panels to outer, urn balusters below cill; second floor openings are arched with moulded archivolts (not 3 eastern) and exaggerated keystones, the central three are framed with foliate capital pilasters, those to the west have intermediary square lintelled windows between with anthemion decoration over; the first floor openings are square lintelled with moulded architraves, decorated keystones and roundels to feet. Ground floor has a dentilled cornice (obscured by eastern shop fascia), the shop fronts are modern, original pilasters frame the modern glazing of the two western shops and the ornate wrought iron entrance screen. The windows are timber framed (3 and 4 paned), the eastern windows are metal framed casements with over lights. The north elevation is 9 windows wide, the off-centre section of three windows rises to four storeys to form the attic dormer. The entrance doorway is offset to the west of the central section. The east elevation is abutted by a modern building. The rear south elevation is abutted by HB26/50/235. The side west elevation is abutted by a modern building over the entrance of Joy’s Entry; to the rear it is 7 windows wide, the roof stepping down 4 windows from the N. A decorated arch sits on the ground floor south bay. Setting 37-43 sits on the south side of High Street bordering Joy’s Entry to the west. It faces HB26/50/283 on the corner of Bridge Street across High Street, to the rear in Joy’s Entry is HB26/50/235. Roof: natural slate Walls: render Windows: timber and metal RWGs: metal.