Numbers 54 and 56 and Attached Piers and Balustrade

A pair of houses at numbers 54 and 56, built around 1830 to 1860, with an attached balustrade and piers. The houses are stucco-faced over brickwork, with a concealed roof and an iron balcony. The houses are three storeys high with a basement, featuring six first-floor windows, and two-storey, single-entrance bays set back on either side. Stucco detailing includes horizontal rustication on the ground floor, a band above the first floor, quoins at the angles, a frieze, cornice and blocking course to the main range, and a cornice with a low parapet and panels to the side ranges. The windows are mostly 1/1 and 2/2 sashes, with 6/6 sashes in the basement. The entrances have flights of roll-edged steps leading to four-panel doors with fanlights, each set within an architrave featuring tooled arches with keystones on imposts, and low panelled stucco walls alongside the steps. The returns have full-height canted bays and a 6/6 round-arched sash window to the staircase, with radial glazing at the head. The interior has not been inspected. The balustrade between the piers features ornate balusters. The design is similar to that of numbers 50 and 52. These houses contribute to the group value of numbers 3-19 (odd) and 2-18 (even) Sydenham Villas Road.