Historical Information on 37-43 High Street, Belfast

Nos 37-43 High Street, a three-storey late-Victorian commercial building, also known as the St. George’s Buildings, was constructed in 1881 to designs by Thomas Jackson & Son. Thomas Jackson and his son William Ridgeway Jackson operated a family practice from 1867. The Irish Builder records that St. George’s Buildings was the last work completed by the partnership; however, Patton states that the Royal Avenue Hotel (now demolished but originally located at nos 21-29 Royal Avenue) was completed by Thomas Jackson & Son in 1884. Before the erection of St. George’s Buildings, nos 37-43 High Street was the site of three former properties, including two drapery warehouses. The current building, originally consisting of shop units and office space, was constructed by H. & J. Martin, a Belfast-based building firm.

Ownership and Early Occupants

St. George’s Buildings were built for Wheeler & Whitaker, who initially operated the Belfast Apothecaries Hall from the premises. The apothecary occupied the westernmost retail unit (No. 37), while Wheeler & Whitaker retained ownership of the entire building until the 1920s. The St. George’s Buildings also includes a social hall, named St. George’s Hall, located to the rear of the building, occupying the upper two stories of No. 4 Joy’s Entry. The ground floor has been utilised as a public house throughout its history.

The Annual Revisions initially valued the St. George’s Buildings, including St. George’s Hall, at £745. Shortly after the building's completion, the remaining ground floor retail units were occupied by R. Goodson, who occupied the central unit and the upper floor office space (nos 39-41), and a Mr. W. J. Marshall, a merchant tailor, who occupied the shop at No. 43 High Street. The Belfast Street Directories noted that Marshall was a manufacturer and merchant of shirts, gloves, collars, and cuffs. By 1910, he was advertised as ‘tailor in Belfast by Royal Warrant of Appointment to His Majesty the King, patronised by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and the Governor-General of Australia, the sole maker of the Irish Frieze Ulster Coat and the Acme Rainproof Coat.’

Changes in Occupancy

Wheeler & Whitaker had vacated No. 37 High Street by the Belfast revaluation in 1900 when Ms. Ellen Boyd converted the unit into a licensed shop and restaurant. In the same year, the revaluation noted that W. J. Marshall had vacated No. 43 but had taken over the upper floors of the building for his tailoring business. The remaining unit formerly occupied by R. Goodson was acquired by Mr. Robert Beverland, who established a shoe shop at the site. Under the Belfast Revaluation of 1900, the total rateable value of St. George’s Buildings increased to £945.

After Marshall vacated No. 43 High Street around 1900, his former retail unit was occupied by Harris Rundle & Freeman, an optician. There were no further changes to the occupants of the building until 1925 when Ellen Boyd’s licensed restaurant was taken over by Mr. Samuel Hare, and in 1928, Robert Beverland’s shop was acquired by F. E. Harcourt & Co. Ltd., coal merchants. By the cancellation of the Annual Revisions in 1930, the total value of the building remained almost unaltered at £950.

Significant Events and Changes

Under the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland in 1935, the total value of the St. George’s Buildings was greatly increased to £1,430. In that year, Rundle and F. E. Harcourt & Co. Ltd. continued to occupy the building; however, the restaurant at No. 37 had been taken over by Thompsons (Belfast) Ltd., while the upper offices were occupied by the clothing merchants Weatherwear Ltd.

Nos 37-43 High Street was one of the few Victorian buildings along High Street to avoid destruction during the Belfast Blitz of 1941. Much of the area comprising Castle Place, Bridge Street, and High Street was levelled. Photographs taken in the aftermath show that the St. George’s Buildings narrowly avoided a direct hit, which almost totally destroyed the northern side of High Street. During the Second World War, the Belfast Street Directory notes that the ground floor retail units were occupied by Thompson’s Restaurant, Millett’s clothing store, and R. L. Cochrane’s outfitters in 1943, while the upper office space was occupied by various firms, including the Greenhill Bros. Ltd. (coal and coke merchants) and A. & J. Little’s estate agency.

Under the Second Revaluation (1956-72), both Millett and Cochrane continued to occupy their retail units, while the central unit was occupied by G. A. Brittain Urenta Ltd. until 1970. The upper floors remained occupied by several firms, while the Ulster Sports Club shared St. George’s Hall with the Belfast Spiritualist Alliance. By the cancellation of the revaluation in 1972, the total value of nos 37-43 High Street increased to £2,661.

St. George’s Hall and Later Years

Patton states that St. George’s Hall, located to the rear of nos 37-43 High Street, was utilised for various purposes throughout its history. Initially, it served as a restaurant and spiritualists meeting hall; however, it also operated as Belfast’s first full-time cinema, showing its first film, Bluebeard, to an audience of 1,500 in 1908. The cinema closed in 1916 due to insufficient luxury for paying customers. In the mid-20th century, the Ulster Sports Club utilised the hall as a boxing club, though it also served as a dancing hall.

Nos 37-43 High Street suffered significant damage during a bomb attack in the 1970s, leaving the building derelict. The building was extensively restored by Deramore Developments in 1981. St. George’s Buildings was listed in 1990, and Patton, writing in 1993, described it as a ‘three-storey stucco building of three asymmetrical three-bay sections, the central one rising an additional storey. The building features a dentilled fascia with panelled pilasters dividing ground floor shops, wrought iron gateway incorporating crowns on gates, and a sunburst fanlight.'

The ground floor retail units of nos 37-43 High Street continue to serve as commercial space for three individual shops, while a portion of the upper floors is occupied by a solicitors firm. However, St. George’s Hall is no longer utilised as a social hall or sporting venue and currently lies vacant and in a state of disrepair.

References

Primary Sources

PRONI OS/6/1/61/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1832-33
PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1858
PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901-02
PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931
PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938
PRONI VAL/12/B/43/C/1-42 - Annual Revisions 1897-1930
PRONI VAL/7/B/9/30 – Belfast Revaluation 1900
PRONI VAL/3/B/3/13 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935
PRONI VAL/4/B/7/40 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972
Belfast Street Directories (1852-1943)
Ordnance Survey Map – 130-13SE (1959)
First Survey Image – HB26/50/188 (1976)

Secondary Sources

‘Bombs on Belfast: The Blitz 1941’ Newtownards: Colourpoint Books, 2011.
Patton, M., ‘Central Belfast: An historical gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993.

Online Resources

Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

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