Stranmillis House

In 1603, Sir Arthur Chichester was granted expansive lands in Ulster, including all of the County Antrim side of the River Lagan from Carrickfergus to Dunmurry and the site of the future city of Belfast.

The date of the grant marks the date of the foundation of the town.

Sir Arthur leased his Stranmillis lands in 1606 for 61 years to his associate Sir Moyses Hill (ancestor of the Marquesses of Downshire), who built a plantation castle.

This castle was the predecessor of Stranmillis House and was probably built to control a Lagan crossing.

The ford as indicated on the Donegall estate map of 1770 was situated just below the tidal limit and provided a crossing point for carts.

The Hills moved before their lease expired, and the property reverted to the Donegall family (to become Lady Donegall's deer-park). 

Richard Dobbs, writing in 1683, described the deer-park thus:

"From Lambeg the way leads direct to Belfast, which is all along for the most part furnished with houses, little orchards and gardens and on the right hand the Countess of Donegall hath a very fine Park well stored with venison and in it a Horse Course of Two Miles, and may be called an English Road."

A Donegall family document of 1692 more precisely defines the deer park, ..."100 acres were then enclosed in a Deer Park, and called Stranmellis Park."

It is probable that this estate included all of the area now enclosed by the Stranmillis and Malone Roads and that the horse course followed its perimeter, possibly formed by the roads themselves.

On the Donegall estate map of 1770 the area is referred to as the course lands, almost exactly 100 acres enclosed by about two miles of road.

From 1770 most of the demesne was put up for lease after being divided into small parcels of land, the size and shape of the farms perhaps relating to the hilly topography of the area. 

An area of 40 acres in the southern part of the former deer-park was leased by prominent merchants, the Black family, who built a summer residence, the predecessor of the present Victorian Stranmillis House.

They later acquired the freehold and, in 1857, sold the property to Thomas Batt, a director of the Ulster Bank who, within a year, rebuilt Stranmillis House in the Gothic-Revival style. 

Batt had a town-house at 4 Donegall Place in Belfast.

He was from one of Belfast’s most prominent business families, founders of the Belfast bank and owners of Purdysburn House (later a hospital).

They also gave their name to Batt’s Mountain in the Mournes.

South Belfast, including Stranmillis, developed rapidly in the latter half of the 19th Century and especially during the 1870s.

However, building on the eastern slopes of the Malone Ridge was restricted by land ownership and hampered by stream erosion so that the Stranmillis Road itself remained little more than a country lane.

Cart traffic moving south took the Malone Road to avoid Stranmillis hill and it was not until 1882 that the city's tram line was extended to Stranmillis.

Some development of note did take place, however, with the construction in 1863 of the fine terrace at Mount Pleasant adjoining Summer Hill, itself built a few years earlier around 1854-56. 

The arrival of the tram line also saw the construction of the impressive Chilworth terrace in 1893-4 and the Kinahan Mansions followed around 1901.

The Victorian Stranmillis House was built for Thomas Batt by Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon.

Originally it had an open belfry and ogee pyramidal roof on the corner tower, but these features were removed.

The original entrance porch and low wing to the north have been replaced by a large extension in simplified Elizabethan style in 1924 after the house became part of Stranmillis (University) College.

About 46 acres of undulating grounds are walled in.

The demesne originated in the early 17th century, though the present house dates from ca 1855.

It replaced an earlier house of ca 1801 and much of the present planting is associated with these two buildings.

The site became a college in 1922 and was subsequently adapted.

The well developed and attractively planted ornamental grounds enhance the many buildings that now occupy the site, many of which are listed - the main building of 1928-30; two gate lodges of 1933 and 1940s. 

There is some interesting plant material amongst the maintained landscape.

There are fine mature shelter belt and woodland trees, including an impressive turkey oak and a sycamore avenue now hidden in woodland.

First published in January, 2011.

Malone House

THE LEGGES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ANTRIM, WITH 8,565 ACRES

This family claims descent from the noble house of LEGGE, Earls of Dartmouth. THOMAS LEGGE served the office of High Sheriff for the City of London in 1343, and was Lord Mayor in the years 1346 and 1353. His grandson, WILLIAM LEGGE, who removed to Ireland, married Anne, only daughter of John, son of Miles, Lord Bermingham. His son, EDWARD LEGGE, was Vice-President of Munster during the Lieutenancy of his kinsman, Sir Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy.  His eldest son, WILLIAM LEGGE, was brought out of Ireland by his godfather, Henry Danvers, Earl of Danby, and sent by him to serve as a volunteer under Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden.

In 1676, WILLIAM LEGGE, an officer in the army, with recommendations from JAMES II, then Duke of York, served under the Duke of Schomberg in Flanders, and accompanied him to Ireland, 1690.

His son, 

WILLIAM LEGGE, settled at Malone, near Belfast, County Antrim, and acquired lands from Arthur, 3rd Earl of Donegall, where he operated a farm and built dwellings.

Mr Legge died in 1723, leaving, with other sons,

BENJAMIN LEGGE, who leased a plot of ground from the Earl of Donegall extending along the west side of North Street, Belfast, for 108 feet and bounded on the south side by Rosemary Lane.

Specifically mentioned are house, sugarhouses, warehouses and other dwellings.

Legg's Lane ran next to the sugar-house from Rosemary Lane.

Benjamin Legge died in 1760, and his obituary stated that it was chiefly owing to his skill and activity that the refining of sugar was brought to such perfection in Belfast.

Another son,

WILLIAM LEGGE, who died in 1750, was father of

ALEXANDER LEGGE (1706-77), of Malone House, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1770, who had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir (d 1821);
Eleanor, m Hill Wallace; mother of WILLIAM;
Marcella, m Anthony Semple.

The son and heir,

WILLIAM LEGGE, of Malone House, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1780, died in 1821, and was succeeded by his nephew,

WILLIAM WALLACE JP DL (1789-1868), of Malone House, Belfast (eldest son of Captain Hill Wallace), High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1823, who adopted the surname of LEGGE.

Mr Legge wedded, in 1838, Eleanor Wilkie, third daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Forster, of Adderstone, Northumberland, and had issue,

WILLIAM WALLACE, his heir;
Florence Wallace, m 1861, 6th Viscount Harberton.

Mrs Wallace wedded secondly, in 1874, the Hon Robert Jack Needham.

Mr William Wallace Legge died in 1868, and was succeeded by his only son,

WILLIAM WALLACE LEGGE (1841-68), of Malone House; on whose decease, the property was acquired by Lord Harberton through marriage.

Harberton Avenue, Drive and Park, Belfast, are all named after the 6th Viscount Harberton, who owned the land.

The Neo-Georgian Malone House today

MALONE HOUSE, Barnett's Demesne, Belfast, was built on the site of a very extensive 17th century fort which was called Castle Cam, or Freeston Castle, but there are no remains of the ancient fort now to be seen. 

One member of the Legg family, Benjamin Legg, was a prosperous merchant and sugar refiner during the 18th century in Belfast. His premises were at Legg's Lane, now Lombard Street; and the sugar-house was located at the corner of Rosemary Street and North Street.

The Georgian mansion-house was built in the 1820s for William Wallace Legge, a prosperous Belfast merchant, who had inherited the surrounding land in 1821.

A keen landscaper, Legge designed and planted most of the demesne, which remains relatively unchanged today. Legge's daughter Florence married, in 1861, the Hon James Spencer Pomeroy (1836-1912), son of the 5th Viscount Harberton, and had issue, Ernest Arthur George, 7th Viscount Harberton.

In the 1870s the Malone estate extended to a considerable 8,565 acres, when Mrs Legge was the owner.

The Legges have a plot at Drumbeg Church where the inscription reads:-

To the memory of Alexander Legge of Malone, Esq. son of William Legge, Esq., who departed this life on the fifth day of September 1777, aged 71 years and of Mary, his wife who departed this life, on the first day of March 1783, aged 63 years. Also of their son-in-law, Hill Wallace, Esq., Captain 14th Regiment of Foot who departed this life, on the 29th day of April 1794, aged 40 years. Also of Ellen Legge, wife of the above Hill Wallace, Esq. died in London aged 90 years and their daughter, Ellen Wallace died, and was interred, at Cheltenham on the 12th of April 1879 in her 91st year.

The last private owner to reside at Malone House was William Barnett, who presented it to the city of Belfast in 1946.

Following its presentation to the city, Malone House was leased to the National Trust in the early 1970s.

It was nearly destroyed by fire in 1976, though was rebuilt by Belfast City Council and was re-opened in June, 1983.

HISTORY OF MALONE HOUSE

The building of the first Malone House has been described in the Plantation Commissioners' report of 1611. 

It tells of a strong fort built upon the plains of Malone with a sturdy palisade and a drawbridge called "Hilsborowe"; within it a fair, timber house walled with bricks and a slated tower.

Some other homes were built within it containing families of English and Irish settlers.

During the plantation of Ulster, the land now known as Barnett’s Demesne was granted to Sir Arthur Chichester who leased it to Sir Moyses Hill.

He built a fort in the area where the present house is situated.

In the rebellion of 1641 the house was burnt.

Subsequently the Hill family acquired their own land in County Down (Hillsborough became their main seat) and they left Malone. 

Hill was granted 2,000 acres in County Antrim and 40,000 acres in County Down for his services to the Crown.

The next tenants were the Legge - or Legg - family.

Alexander Legge probably built the second Malone House, which was on the site of the old stables of the present house.

The house at this point was a large farm-house.

Thereafter the family became successful merchants.

They part-owned the old sugar house in Rosemary Lane, which was Belfast’s first factory.

Legg’s Lane, which later became Lombard Street, was named after them. 

Alexander Legg (1706-77) was a successful linen merchant:-

WILL OF ALEXANDER LEGG, OF MALONE, BELFAST, GENT.

‘I Alexander Legg of Malone in the County of Antrim, Gent .... do make my last will and testament. I bequeath;’

‘To Gilbert Mathews his children my house and lands in Malone’.
‘To my nephew Robert Legg my farm in Kilwarlin, County Down’.
‘To John Rice of Malone £30 out of my personal estate’.
‘To my little cousin Alexander Legg my Bay Golding’.
‘To my natural daughter Esther Legg £10’.
‘To the poor of the parish of Belfast £3’.

Executors William Legg and Gilbert Mathews. I desire my executors to have me buried in a decent manner in the Church of Drumbo.

Witnessed by Matt McLorinan, Dan: Cunningham, Patrick McCormick, St. John Turnley.

Probate granted December 15, 1729, to Gilbert Mathews (William Legg renounced).

Alexander Legg appears to have purchased the Mulligan farm in 1725 and the lease he purchased fallen in by 1735, when his nephew, Robert Legg took out a new one in his own name. Interestingly, one of his the lives named in his lease is Patrick Mullican.

Remnants of the 18th century building can still be seen to the north-west of Malone House. 

William Legg died childless in 1821 and left the house to William Wallace (Legge), his nephew.

In the late 1820s William Wallace Legge built a new house on the site of Moses Hill’s original 17th century fort.

He married late in life and his only son was a wild young man who squandered his money and was disinherited.

The late 18th century Legg map shows a 17th century edifice with the remains of Moyses Hill's Plantation fort above, described on the map as "a moat in the orchard".

Donegall Estate records tell the progress of the Legge lands during the late 18th century: 260 acres in 1775 became 400 acres by 1810.

Malone House in the 1950s

The third Malone House was built ca 1825.

Even before inheriting his uncle's property in 1821, William Wallace Legge, builder of the third house on the site, had been fascinated with buildings and landscape.

A sketchbook survives from 1816 in which he made a series of over seventy neat pencil drawings of topographical subjects in the Malone area and the Lagan valley, and also around the home of another uncle and aunt, Anthony and Marcella Semple at Malahide. 

At Malone he took the opportunity to turn paper ideas into reality.

His predecessors found it convenient to live close to the main coach road between Belfast and Dublin.

Their house was clearly visible at the end of a short drive.

Such simplicity, or rather, lack of subtlety, held little appeal for W W Legge.

He chose to build anew on the site of the old fort.

Nevertheless the public thoroughfare still seemed too close for proper privacy, and so, with an uncomplicated efficiency which might be expected of the son of an army officer who happened to be high sheriff for the county at the right moment, he moved the road away.

Though unimpressed with the remains of the fort, Legge recognised the advantages of the site.

His new entrance front was to face a wide prospect past the old house to the north-west, while the main rooms were to enjoy views across the Lagan valley.

The house which did finally emerge from its cloak of scaffolding provided a sharp contrast to the informality of its landscape setting.

Its main façades are clear essays in classical symmetry.

The repetition of equal openings, the severely simple Tuscan portico, the dominating cornice and parapet, and the firmly regimented chimney stacks, all combine into a rather stark unity. 

Even the gentle bow on the south front, which might have provided an opportunity for a little light-hearted regency decoration, avoids any hint of frivolity.

External window shutters, though now comparatively rare, were briefly popular in late-Georgian Ulster.

Those at Malone, likely to be original for they appear in an Edwardian photograph, give the house a rather colonial flavour.

The present house has not been precisely dated, nor has the involvement of any architect been discovered, but such evidence as there is suggests that the building was erected in the late 1820s. 

As Trevor Carleton has shown (Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 1976, 62-3), there is a map of 1825 with the outline of a house - a plain rectangle with a shallow bow on one long side - superimposed on the earthworks of the old fort. 

The outline is similar to, though significantly smaller than, the house as built.

Malone House thereby passed to William’s daughter, who had married Lord Harberton in 1861.

He was a renowned academic and she was an early feminist supporting votes for women, wearing bloomers (a kind of trouser suit for women)!

However, the Legge family did not live in the house after the death of William Wallace Legge in 1868. 

There followed a series of tenants, including Thomas Montgomery, of Ballydrain; Edmund Kertland, manager of John Shaw Brown & Co in Edenderry; and William Higgin who was proprietor of the Avoniel distillery.

In 1921 William Barnett, a very rich man with a keen interest in horse-racing (his horse Trigo won the Derby and the St Leger in 1929), bought Malone House.

He died in 1943 and left the house and grounds to the city of Belfast.

In 1940 the house had been taken over by the Ministry of Aircraft Production (Short Brothers and Harland had their drawing office there).

There were concrete air raid shelters built alongside the house, one of which still remains with its front removed.

After the war, the grounds were open to the public and the Barnett Demesne officially opened in 1951.

In 1970 the National Trust leased it for their headquarters and the Ulster Museum housed their costume collection there.

In 1976 a bomb destroyed the house and its contents.

The present house was built in 1982 and is a replica of the 1825 building. 

William Barnett, the last private owner, bequeathed Malone House and approximately 103 acres to the city of Belfast to be preserved as a public park for the recreation of the public.

The earlier house of ca 1665 was near the existing stable block.

The layout retains an early 19th century ‘landscape’ style, which was developed round the site of the present house.

The position of the house affords excellent views to and over the River Lagan valley.

The view back across to the house is depicted by Molloy in Proctor’s Belfast Scenery in Thirty Views, of 1832. 

There are good stands of mature trees set in parkland, which is maintained and replanted as an informal landscape.

The gate lodge was rebuilt in 1921 to the designs of Blackwood and Jury.

First published in January, 2011.

Bank Buildings, Belfast

The Bank Buildings in 1901 (Image: Robert Welch/NMNI)

THE BANK BUILDINGS, ONE OF BELFAST'S MOST ICONIC BUILDINGS, WAS ENGULFED BY A CATASTROPHIC FIRE ON THE 28TH AUGUST, 2018.

The Bank Buildings, Castle Place, Belfast, stand between Castle Street to the south, and Bank Street to the north.

The first building on the site (originally part of the 16-acre grounds and gardens of old Belfast Castle) was designed by Robert Taylor and erected by Waddell Cunningham in 1785.

Cunningham, one of Belfast's most prominent business men, opened the premises as a bank in 1787.

Castle Place, Belfast, 1843

Following the bank's collapse in 1789, the building became the episcopal residence of the Lord Bishop of Down and Connor, the Rt Rev Dr William Dickson.

In 1804, it was converted into a shop and, in 1816, the last public execution was carried on its doorstep.

The Northern Banking Company purchased the Bank Buildings in 1825 for use as their head office.

In 1853, William Robertson and Henry Hawkins from Waterford, J C Ledlie from Cork, and Robert Ferguson, of Belfast, established a wholesale drapery firm, which soon became a commercial department store in the city.

The old Georgian edifice was demolished and a four-storey, seven-bay Italianate building of 1855 was erected in its place by Hawkins, Robertson and Co.

The History Hub Ulster has written an article about the history of The Bank Buildings, including a rare image of the second building built in 1855.

W H Lynn designed the new bank buildings in 1900.

He intended it as a bridge to the 20th century, with a compromise between the classical style of the upper part of the building and the great expanse of plate glass below.

Old photographs show a statue directly above the clock, and a coat-of-arms at third floor level.

I contacted the pre-eminent Ulster architectural historian Marcus Patton, OBE, about this, and he remarked:-

"I have a photo of Bank Buildings which I took around 1980 and there is no sign of the statue then, whereas there is a Hogg one perhaps of 1930 which does show it (a couple of winged cherubs holding a torch)." 

"It could have gone with the bomb damage in 1975 or the subsequent renovations." 

"The coat of arms doesn’t show in the Hogg photo so it must have gone early on..."

Photo Credit: Kyle Leyden

Robertson, Leslie, Ferguson and Co were royal warrant holders to Queen Victoria.

Until 1961, only the ground and first floors were used as a retail store, with the remainder of the building taken up by the company’s wholesale warehouse.

In that year, however, the Bank Buildings underwent total renovation.

The new arcade shop front was lighted at night, and a modernised main entrance was added at Castle Place (or Junction, as it was known when trams operated).

The old pillars and showcases on the ground floor were removed.

The Belfast Telegraph announced the ’bold policy of renovation, repair and the moving and improving of entire departments, has brought it into line with the latest Bond Street ideas.’

In 1969, the shares of Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson and Company were sold to the House of Fraser group, whose chairman was Sir Hugh Fraser Bt.

It was hoped at the time that the Bank Buildings would benefit from the knowledge and resources of a large national firm, expanding throughout the United Kingdom.

Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson and Co, however, continued to operate the store as a subsidiary company, and only four years later, Boots acquired the Bank Buildings when it took over House of Fraser.

On the 9th April, 1975, three bombs exploded in the Bank Buildings.

A huge fire broke out shortly afterwards and damaged parts of the building.

In 1979, the Bank Buildings were taken over by the Dublin-based fashion retailer Primark.

Within 18 months, the store was totally refurbished and the exterior restored to its 1903 glory.

A catastrophic fire engulfed the Edwardian building at about 11am of the 28th August, 2018.

The blaze lasted for a number of hours, leaving it a roofless, gutless shell.

The interior was cleared of rubble in 2020, and site works are currently being progressed.

The Bank Buildings reopened in the first week of November, 2022.

First published in August, 2018.

Old Market House, Belfast

BELFAST'S old Market House stood at 1, High Street, at the corner of Cornmarket (which itself runs from 1, High Street to Arthur Square).

In his indispensable Central Belfast: A Historical Gazetteer, Marcus Patton, OBE, remarks,

"The 17th century Market House was built in 1639 of "small red bricks" with sandstone dressings, and extended to provide a proper courthouse on the first floor after 1663. This was the first public hall in the town. It had an arcaded ground floor and three-stage tower with ogival-roofed turret and weathercock, and a hanging clock."

An observer, John Smyth, once recalled that

"The front of the Market House was seldom without a skeleton in chains; the corner of it never without a ghastly head rotting in the open air."

The tower had a peal of bells which were probably rung at the beginning and end of market days; and for the funerals of prominent citizens.

High Street and Market-house, Belfast, 1786, by J M Carey (Image: Ulster Hall)

The Market House, a building of considerable importance to the civic and political development of Belfast between the 17th and 19th centuries, was leased by Adam McClean in 1802.

The late historian Sir Charles Brett remarked that McClean, a local landowner who possessed many plots and leases in the centre of Belfast, accumulated his holdings from the Donegall family in the 1820s; and "it appears he was one of those who sought to benefit from the second Marquess’s financial difficulty by acquiring good, long leases at low rents which he then built up."

McClean demolished the Market House in 1812 and constructed two houses in its place.

The site was acquired in the 1860s by the tea merchant, Forster Green, of Derryvolgie House, Malone Road, Belfast, who built a new emporium (above left) with granite plinth, arcaded ground floor and stucco upper floors.

Robust chimneys and urns adorned the balustraded parapet.

This block was demolished in 1929-30, to be replaced by a purpose-built store for F W Woolworth & Co, which operated from the building 1915-2003.

The building was sold for £17.9m and subsequently underwent significant internal refurbishment.

The retail chain Dunnes Stores have occupied the present building since late 2003.

First published in July, 2014.

Albion Place, Belfast

Albion Place ca 1900 (Image: A R Hogg/NMNI)

Numbers 16-42 Bradbury Place, Belfast, formerly Albion Place, a terrace of three-storey, early Victorian houses, were built between 1832-48.

The first houses to be constructed had triangular pediments above the first-floor windows; with moulded surrounds at second-floor level.

One of which boasted a balustraded parapet and fluted urns.

The front gardens were all built over with single-storey shops about 1900.

The balustraded building to the left has been absorbed into Lavery's bar.

A section of the terrace was demolished in 1866 to make way for the railway line, leaving the site vacant. 

The original developer of the site, Martin Wallace, was living in Albion Place in 1880.

Marcus Patton, OBE, in his Central Belfast: A Historical Gazetteer, remarks that

"the southern end and the mid-terrace house at nos. 24-26 were demolished in 1990, which has effectively terminated the life of the terrace as a whole." 

"It is a great shame that the terrace was not developed from the rear, as separate access existed to the two-storey mews houses behind from Albion Lane."

30-44 Bradbury Place, 2022 (Timothy Ferres)

Incidentally, I visited Albion Lane in June, 2022, and it was in a sad state, with large council wheeled bins proliferating along the alley, and various obstructions along the entire length of the Lane.

Numbers 30-44 in the terrace were all demolished in 2021, in preparation for a block of student accommodation.

First published in June, 2022.

Lower Crescent, Belfast

Lower Crescent in 2014:  looking towards Botanic Avenue and Cameron Street

Lower Crescent and Upper Crescent, both in the University quarter of south Belfast, have always inspired me, even since childhood.

Lower Crescent, which runs from 4, University Road to Botanic Avenue, is to the north of Upper Crescent.

Upper Crescent runs from 28, University Road to Crescent Gardens.

Number 5 for sale in 2014

The sale of much of Lord Donegall's Belfast estate in the early to mid-19th century freed large areas of land around the town for development.

Timothy Ferres, 2026

The lands to the south, along the Malone Ridge, were particularly attractive to developers and fostered the construction of many fine late Georgian-style terraces from the mid 1830s onwards, a trend accelerated by the establishment of Queen's College (now Queen's University) in the area, in the later 1840s.

These grand, new terraces were occupied by the city's professional and business classes, vacating their former residences in the town centre, which, in turn, were gradually turned into shops and offices.

Upper Crescent was perhaps regarded as the grandest terrace development undertaken to the south of Belfast, an elegantly curving row of three-storey town-houses in a late Regency style, built in 1846 by the timber merchant Robert Corry.

Dr Paul Larmour has suggested that Sir Charles Lanyon may have been consulted about the design.

Corry himself undertook the building work and took up residence at 16 Upper Crescent.

For the first few years of its existence, this row was known as Corry's Crescent.

To the immediate north of Upper Crescent, where Crescent Church now stands, there was a large lawn which Corry used as a garden.

Shortly after this garden was laid out, however, Corry had it ploughed up and used for the cultivation of vegetables for relief of local workers suffering as a result of the famine.

To the north of this garden ran an old water course; to the east, some smaller gardens (belonging to other occupants of Upper Crescent); and further to the east and to the north-east ran Albion Lane.

In 1852, Robert Corry built another terrace to the north of his garden and just south of the old water course.

This new development, Lower Crescent, was much in the same vein as that to the south, and was occupied by the same mix of professionals and businessmen; though, by as early as 1860, the ground floors of some of the properties were used as offices.

In the late 1860s, a railway line was laid to the immediate north of Lower Crescent (along the line of the old water course).

In 1873, the large sandstone building, (originally Ladies Collegiate, later Victoria College), was added to the west end of the terrace, with two houses added to the east end by the end of the decade, the most easterly of which, Rivoli House, originally contained a dance academy run by a Frederick Brouneau.

The new railway line cut across Albion Lane and presaged the laying out of a new, broader thoroughfare, to be named Botanic Avenue.

Upper Crescent also witnessed further building in the 1860s and 70s, with two large William Hastings-designed properties erected to the west end in 1869, one of which, Crescent House (latterly a bank) also fronted on to University Road.

In 1878-79, two further houses were added to this end, on the ground between those of 1869.

In 1885-7, the large Presbyterian church (the present Crescent Church) was erected to plans by the Glasgow architect, John Bennie Wilson, on the west side of Robert Corry's former garden, with a two-storey terrace, the present Crescent Gardens, built on the site of smaller garden plots to the east end, in 1898.

During the first half of the 20th century, most of the properties of Upper and Lower Crescent, as well as Crescent Gardens, remained private dwellings.

However, by 1960 many were given over to business use; others divided into flats, with the former Rivoli House, (later called Dreenagh House), becoming a hotel.

This trend continued, and by the beginning of the 21st century none were occupied as private dwellings.

In the mid 1990s, three of the 1860-70 houses at the west end of Upper Crescent were demolished and a modern office block built in their place; whilst in 2000 the railway cutting to the south of Lower Crescent was built over, in preparation for a new development.

1 LOWER CRESCENT:

occupied by Frederick Gee, commission merchant. Gee appears to have remained there until at least 1882, though a Charles McDowell is listed by 1877. By 1899, it was in the hands of neighbouring Victoria College. When the Victoria College building changed hands to become the Crescent Arts Centre in 1978, this property remained associated with it, becoming The Octagon Gallery. It is largely used as a store by the Arts Centre.

2 LOWER CRESCENT:

One of the eleven houses which made up the original 1852 section of Lower Crescent. In 1858, it was occupied by John Savage, flax merchant. John Corry (a relative of the abovementioned Robert Corry) is listed as resident in 1862; Mrs Cuppage in 1877; and Mrs McDowell in the 1890-1900. The property came into possession of Victoria College at some time between 1910-20 and remained as such until that institution left Lower Crescent in the 1970s; however, for much of this period, it appears to have been leased to various businesses and private tenants. In the 1980s, it became a health centre (which appears to have been integrated with its neighbour, number 3); then a stationery shop; and later, offices.

3 LOWER CRESCENT:

In 1858, was listed as vacant, but was occupied by Henry Smith in 1860; the Rev John Moore in 1861; and William Moffat, 1877. In the 1890s and early 1900s, it was occupied by Mrs Margaret Byers, ounder of Victoria College. It was still in possession of Victoria College for some years after Mrs Byers' decease in 1912, but was either sold or leased out by the school by 1930, for by this date it had become a private dwelling once again. The property remained a dwelling house until the 1970s.

4 LOWER CRESCENT:

Thomas Hanlon, of Messrs George McTear & Company, Steam Packet Agents, Donegall Quay; Miss Jane Vance, by 1860. Miss Vance was followed a few years later by Dr Peter Redfern, who remained there until ca 1915. The property appears to remained a private dwelling until the 1950s, when it was divided into flats. It remained as such until the early 1980s, when the flats were converted to offices. The return is recorded as two storey in the valuation of 1860. The decoration to the second floor landing (which matches that to the first floor) suggests that it may have been raised a storey not long after this date.

5-6 LOWER CRESCENT:

Number 5 was occupied by Mrs Andrews; Henry Dickson resided at number 6. By 1860, number 5 was occupied by Aylward Connor, with its ground floor used as offices. Connor appears to have remained there until the late 1870s, when the property became home to Colonel Audain. Number 6 passed to Mrs Charnock in 1870, with both she and the Audain family occupying both houses until 1910 at least. Both buildings appear to have remained private dwellings until the 1970s, but by 1980 number 6 was an office. In the late 1980s, number 5 was coverted to a bar and night club, The Fly. In the late 1990s, this bar was greatly expanded, when its owners acquired number 6 and added a large extension to the rear of the newly-created single property.

7 LOWER CRESCENT:

Robert Cassidy, a solicitor, who, (by 1860 at least) used the ground floor as an office. In 1870,  James Campbell is listed as resident; Henry F Thomas in 1877; Samuel Alexander in 1882; and Mrs Orr in 1910. The property appears to have been divided into flats in the 1960s, but had become an office (once again) by 1980.

8 LOWER CRESCENT:

Tobias Porter, Belfast Flour Mills Manager, who appears to have remained there until at least 1882. In 1899, Mrs Lyons is recorded as resident; with Miss Lyons in occupation from about 1910-40s. From the mid 1950s until the late 1970s, this property and number 9 served as the canteen for Victoria College. No doubt much of the internal changes to both buildings date from this period. The building has housed various offices from the late 1970s onwards.

9 LOWER CRESCENT:

Samuel Delacherois, gentleman. In 1860, it was occupied by a John K McCausland, who appears to have remained there until at least 1882. The next occupant was Miss Vance, who was followed by Mrs Jackson about 1915. In the 1940s, the property came into the possession of Victoria College; and in the following decade became, (along with neighbouring number 8), the college's canteen. After the departure of Victoria College from Lower Crescent in the late 1970s, the property was converted to offices.

10 LOWER CRESCENT:

And its neighbour to the east (11) were used as offices for the Ordnance Survey, but by 1860, number 10 was a private dwelling once again, occupied by Robert W Corry. Corry was followed in 1862 by John Arnold, who remained there until the mid 1880s at least. In 1899, Mrs McKnight is listed as resident; Miss Warner in 1910; Mr T Kernaghan, linen merchant, in 1920. By 1940, the property appears to have been divided into two flats. In 1960, three flats are recorded, with four in 1970. These fluctuating divisions of the property appear to have changed again in the later 1970s, when the first floor became amalgamated with the first floors of numbers 8 and 9 to form a large office suite.

11 LOWER CRESCENT:

Was, by 1860, occupied by Charles Gaussen, who was followed in 1861 by Henry Cuppage, who remained there until at least 1882. In 1899, William Pedlow, District Inspector, National Schools, Belfast South, is listed as resident; then David Wright, bottle merchant and representative of the Chilean Nitrate Committee; T  Kernaghan in 1920; and Mr S E Fitchie, wholesale stationer, in 1930. By 1940, the property became a nursing home; then a guest house in 1951; but reverted to a private residence from the late 1950s to the 1970s. By 1980, the property was converted to offices.

12 LOWER CRESCENT:

Built in 1877-78 to designs by architect William Hastings, who had also worked on the larger property to the east (13) two years earlier. The building was originally occupied by William J Morrison, with William Campbell in residence in 1899. Campbell remained there until some time between 1910-20. Miss Gardener occupyed the house in 1921. In 1930, a journalist named Alex Riddle and Professor Ivor Arnold are recorded as residents; with three occupants listed in 1940, two in 1951 and three in the 1960s and 1970s. Clearly the property must have been split into flats ca 1930. In the late 1980s, the building was converted to a restaurant, linked with the neighbouring hotel (13), with hotel rooms to the upper floors. In the late 1990s, the restaurant was converted to a public bar. 

Sources: Henderson's Belfast Directory; Belfast & Province of Ulster Directory; ST Carleton, The Growth of South Belfast (QUB MA thesis, 1967); John Caughey, Seize Then The Hour: A history of James P Corry & Compnay (Belfast, 1974), pp.28-29; David Evans, Historic buildings of Queen's University (revised edition, 1980); Alison Jordan: Margaret Byers, Pioneer of Women's Education (QUB Institute of Irish Studies).

First published in March, 2014.

Upper Crescent, Belfast

Upper Crescent in 2014

Lower Crescent and Upper Crescent, both in the University Quarter of south Belfast, have inspired me since childhood.

Lower Crescent, which runs from 4 University Road to Botanic Avenue, is to the north of the Upper Crescent; whereas Upper Crescent runs from 28 University Road to Crescent Gardens.

Timothy Ferres, 2026

Most of the 2nd Marquess of Donegall's Belfast estate was sold in the early to mid-19th century, thereby freeing large areas of land around the town for development.

The lands to the south, along the Malone Ridge, were particularly attractive to developers, and fostered the construction of many fine late Georgian-style terraces from the mid 1830s onwards, a trend accelerated by the establishment of the prestigious Queen's College (Queen's University) in the area, in the later 1840s.

13-15 Upper Crescent in 2014

These new, grand terraces were occupied by the city's professional and business classes, who vacated their older residences in the centre of the town (like College Square North); which, in turn, eventually became shops and offices.

Timothy Ferres, 2026

Upper Crescent was perhaps the grandest terrace development undertaken in south Belfast.

This was an elegantly curving row of three-storey dwellings in a late Regency style, built in 1846 by the timber merchant Robert Corry.

It has been suggested that the celebrated Belfast architect Sir Charles Lanyon may have been involved in the design of the crescents.

Corry himself undertook the building work and took up residence at 16 Upper Crescent.

For the first few years of its existence it was known as Corry's Crescent.

To the immediate north of Upper Crescent, where Crescent Church now stands, there was a large, grassed area which formed part of Mr Corry's gardens.

Shortly after this plot was laid out, however, Corry had it ploughed up and used for the cultivation of vegetables (for the relief of local workers suffering as a result of the famine).

To the north of this garden ran an old water course; to the east, some smaller gardens (belonging to other residents of Upper Crescent); and further to the east and to the north-east, Albion Lane.

In 1852, Robert Corry built another terrace to the north of his garden and just south of the old water course.

This new development, called Lower Crescent, was much in the same vein as that to the south and was occupied by the same mix of professional and business men; though, by as early as 1860, the ground floors of some of the properties were utilized as offices.

In the late 1860s, a railway line was laid to the immediate north of Lower Crescent (along the line of the old water course).

In 1873, the large sandstone building, (originally Ladies Collegiate, later Victoria College), was added to the west end of the terrace, with two houses added to the east end by the end of the decade, the most easterly of which, Rivoli House, originally contained a dance academy run by a Frederick Brouneau.

The railway line cut across Albion Lane and presaged the laying out of a new, broader thoroughfare, to be named Botanic Avenue.

Upper Crescent was further extended in the 1860s and 70s, with two large William Hastings-designed properties erected to the west end in 1869, one of which, Crescent House (latterly a bank) also fronted on to University Road.

In 1878-79, two further houses were added at this end.

In 1885-7, a large Presbyterian church (the present Crescent Church) was erected to plans by the Glasgow architect, John Bennie Wilson, on the west side of Robert Corry's former garden, with a two-storey terrace, the present Crescent Gardens, built on the site of smaller garden plots to the east end in 1898.

During the first half of the 20th century, most of the properties of Upper and Lower Crescent, as well as Crescent Gardens, remained private residences.

By 1960, however, many had become businesses; while others were divided into flats, and Rivoli House (later Dreenagh House) became a hotel.

This trend continued and by the beginning of the 21st century none of the properties were occupied as private dwellings.

In the mid 1990s, three of the 1860-70 houses at the west end of Upper Crescent were demolished and a modern office block was built in their place.

In 2000, the railway cutting to the south of Lower Crescent was built over in preparation for a new development.

1 UPPER CRESCENT:

Originally named Crescent House, was built in 1869 to designs by William Hastings. Its original resident was Dr Wilberforce Arnold, whose family remained there until the early 1900s. The next occupant was Dr John Campbell, who was followed by a Dr William Campbell (presumably his son). Both Campbells (and possibly Dr Arnold before them) appear have used the University Road section of the property as a surgery. In the 1970s, the building was acquired by Queen's University and served as the University's Institute of Professional Legal Studies. In 2001-02 the property was converted to a branch of the Bank of Ireland (and practically rebuilt in the process), with half of the first floor and all of the second floor converted to offices, linked to the large modern office block to the east.

7 UPPER CRESCENT:

Built in 1849, occupied by Robert Workman, who remained there until the mid-1850s, when he was followed by John Coates, secretary of the County Antrim Grand Jury. By 1860, the building was in the hands of a John P Corry, a relative of the builder of the Crescent, Robert Corry. At this stage (according to valuation records), the ground floor was used as offices. James P Corry remained in residence until 1877, when he was succeeded by MrWilliam Dobbin. John Morrow, of the Ayr Steamship Company, is listed as the householder in 1899 and 1910; with P T Crymble in 1920. In the later 1920s, the property was acquired by a Miss Wallace, who remained there until the 1970s; and for part of this time used the premises as a nursing home. Thereafter the property was converted to offices. The current occupant acquired the building in 1983.

8 UPPER CRESCENT:

Occupied, in 1849, by a merchant named Edward Tucker, who was followed by the Rev William Patterson (Professor of Mathematics, Queen's College) in the early 1850s; Peter Keegan, wine merchant, in the later 1850s; James Glass from ca 1860-77; and then Mrs Shillington. In the 1899 directory, Robert Workman, Junior, is listed as the occupant; William Harper in 1910; Joseph Walsh, 1915-40s; then H M Hamilton; and Herbert Kearney. In the 1970s the property was converted to offices.

9 UPPER CRESCENT:

Mrs Grueber; followed in the mid 1850s by Professor Charles McDowell, who remained there until the early 1880s. In the 1899 and 1910 directories, a W H Ward (of the Ulster Damask & Linen Company) is listed as the occupant; with a Robert Robinson in 1920-30. By 1951, the property had become converted to offices, occupied firstly by the Forestry Division of the NI Department of Agriculture, and then by a firm of quantity surveyors.

10 UPPER CRESCENT:

Mrs Murdock in 1849; followed in the 1850s by James Green and then James P Corry (a relative of the above mentioned Robert). Corry was succeeded by Jane Vance, who remained there until the later 1870s. The next resident was Alexander Taylor; with a solicitor, J S Mahon, listed in the 1899 and 1910 directories. About 1918, the property was acquired by a family named Matthews, who remained there until the 1950s, when the building was converted into offices (financiers, then a travel agent).

11 UPPER CRESCENT:

James Greene, (1st clerk, Custom House); followed by Mrs Herdman; and, by 1860, William McNeill; and, by the late 1870s, James Festu. By 1899, the building was home to William Yates; then, pre-1920, the Rev William Beatty; and then T Bell, who remained there from the mid 1920s to the 1960s. By 1970 the property had been converted to an office.

12 UPPER CRESCENT:

Between 1849-1910/20, the house was occupied by Robert Boag, of Albion Clothing Company, possibly the same person, though likely a father and son. By 1920, it had become The Crescent Private Nursing Home, but had reverted to an conventional dwelling again by 1930, with Miss Mabel Simms in residence. Miss Simms remained there until at least 1960, but by 1970 the building had been converted to an office.

13 UPPER CRESCENT:

William Brown, of Day, Bottomley & Company, who, in the 1850s, leased the house to Mrs Esther Orr, who remained there until about 1880. The next occupant was James Hyndman; followed in the early 1900s by Mrs Cron. Mr E Matthews and his family remained there from the 1920s until the 1960s. By 1970, the house was being used by a group of elocution teachers, but appears to have reverted to a private dwelling in the late 1970s. The property appears to have become offices from the mid 1980s.

14 UPPER CRESCENT:

Mrs Dickey; Henry Smith, linen manufacturer, by 1852; and Jane Millford by 1860. The Rev W S Darley became resident in the later 1870s; with Mrs Thompson listed in the 1899 directory; William Galloway (damask designer) in 1920; and the Rev R H White in 1930. In the 1950s, this building and its two neighbours to the east (nos.15 & 16) served as the Ulster Nature Cure Clinic. In the 1960s all three were acquired by Queen's University and converted to student residences. It was probably at this point that the major internal changes to the buildings were carried out; however, it's not improbable that the earlier presence of the Ulster Nature Cure Clinic probably entailed some alterations, perhaps the creation of doorways between the formerly separate properties.

15 UPPER CRESCENT:

Robert Cassidy, solicitor, who remained here until about 1853, when he moved to the newly-built Lower Crescent; followed by the Rev Robert Wilson, whose family in turn were followed by Mr John Downing. By 1899, Mrs Manley was in residence; and by 1920 a "druggist" named John Clarke; Mrs Rankin, by 1930. A decade later the property served as a nursing home. In the 1950s, this building and its two neighbours to each side (nos.14 and 16) were the Ulster Nature Cure Clinic.

Sources: Henderson's Belfast Directory; Belfast & Province of Ulster Directory; ST Carleton, The Growth of South Belfast (QUB MA thesis, 1967); John Caughey, Seize Then The Hour: A history of James P Corry & Compnay (Belfast, 1974), pp.28-29; David Evans, Historic buildings of Queen's University (revised edition, 1980); Alison Jordan: Margaret Byers, Pioneer of Women's Education (QUB Institute of Irish Studies).

First published in March, 2014.

The Ulster Club

The Ulster Club, 23 Castle Place, Belfast, was established in 1856 by a group of gentlemen landowners.

It was frequented by aristocracy and gentry, including the Marquess of Downshire, the Earl of Antrim, the Earl of Enniskillen, the Viscount Bangor, the Lord O'Neill, and landed families like the Perceval-Maxwells of Finnebrogue.

The three-storey building, designed by SIR CHARLES LANYON, occupied a commanding position across the junction from the Bank Buildings.

It was built in the Regency style, stuccoed, with a cast-iron balcony attached to a bow-fronted central bay.

Which building stood at this site before the premises of the Ulster Club, I wonder?

This elegant Victorian building of ca 1863 was demolished in 1981 to make way for for Calvert House (1983-4), a four-storey glass structure.

Calvert house itself was effectively demolished in late 2019, and is now (2022) another glass-fronted structure.

I recall the Ulster Club, sadly derelict and ruinous at the height of "the Troubles", before it was razed to the ground.

The 5th Earl of Enniskillen was staying in the club when he received the calamitous news that his ancestral seat in County Fermanagh, Florence Court, was on fire.

Lady Enniskillen telephoned him at the club and he was said to have exclaimed, "what the hell do you expect me to do?", or words to that effect.

The Club sold its premises at Castle Place in the late 1960s and removed to one floor of River House in High Street.

It merged with the Ulster Reform Club in 1982.

First published in July, 2014.

Commercial Buildings, Belfast

Commercial Buildings: Engraved for Smyth's Belfast Directory (Hogg Collection/ NMNI)

"WHERE the Commercial Buildings now stand, there were, in the year 1800, a row of low cottages, thatched with straw. This has been affirmed by respectable persons who saw them. They have been mentioned the names of those who lived, or had their places of business, in them; these were Thomas McCabe, Valentine Joyce, Russell, and others."

Thus wrote George Benn, the Belfast historian, in 1880.

The United Irishman Samuel Neilson (1761-1803) is said to have occupied one of the cottages.

Commercial Buildings are located at the corner of Waring Street and Bridge Street in Belfast.

Construction of the Buildings began on St Patrick's Day, 1819, when the foundation stone was laid by GEORGE, 2ND MARQUESS OF DONEGALL KP.

Commercial Buildings from Donegall Street painted by W A Maguire ca 1830-30 (NMNI)

The designer was John McCutcheon, the architect who oversaw the erection of Royal Belfast Academical Institution five years previously, in 1814.

The building is said to have cost £20,000 to build, equivalent to about £2 million in 2021.

Commercial Buildings remain in splendid condition to this day, doubtless due to its construction with Dublin granite.

The ground-floor stonework is rusticated, with arched window apertures.

Decorative feature (Timothy Ferres. 2022)

There is a pair of Doric porches in the Waring Street elevation, which clearly terminates the vista from Donegall Street.

The most prominent features of this elevation are eight large Ionic columns, paired at each end.

Directly above these columns is a date stone inscribed with the Roman numerals "MDCCCXX."

(Timothy Ferres, 2022)

The Historic Buildings database of the Northern Ireland Department of Communities has already written a comprehensive document about Commercial Buildings, including the fact that the Northern Whig newspaper acquired the property and operated there from 1919 until 1963.

Marcus Patton, OBE, in his Historical Gazetteer of Belfast (1993), also includes the Commercial Buildings on pages 326-7.

Bridge Street façade in 1942 (Belfast Telegraph/NMNI

High Street and Bridge Street suffered catastrophic damage caused by bombing during the Blitz in 1941; and as a consequence of this the Bridge Street elevation of Commercial Buildings was virtually destroyed.

The Waring Street frontage, however, remained largely unscathed.

Prospect from Donegall Street in 2022 (Timothy Ferres)

The historic buildings database remarks:

"With the closure of the news-press in 1963, the former Northern Whig headquarters was reconverted into commercial office space; the structure was listed in 1975. Utilised as office space for over three decades the Northern Whig was purchased by the Botanic Inns in 1997 who converted the majority of the building into a licensed restaurant and bar called ‘The Northern Whig;’ a portion of the upper floor continues to be utilised as office space."