15 Manse Road, BELFAST, County Antrim, BT6 9SB

A single-storey modern dwelling built in 1959 to the designs of architect Will McVeigh. The house is located north of Manse Road, west of the crossroads junction of Ballygowan Road and Upper Braniel Road, approximately three miles south-east of Belfast city centre.

The building has an oblong plan form with split-level and single-storey returns. It is finished with painted roughcast rendered walling and projected rubble masonry panels. The pitched timber shingle roof features timber ridge tiles, timber fascia and barge boards. The original gutters have been replaced with uPVC, though cast-iron downpipes remain. A rubble masonry chimney, without pots, rises from the roof.

The principal elevation faces south-west and is asymmetrically arranged. The front entrance sits right of centre, sheltered by a large wedge-shaped cantilevered canopy that encompasses full-height tripartite glazing to its left. Rubble masonry walling and projected full-height glazing occupy the right side. A large horizontal window sits to the left of the entrance, with a smaller metal-framed casement window and replacement double-width garage door adjacent. The left gable is blank with a clipped verge. Windows throughout are largely uPVC replacements, though some single-glazed metal-framed glazing remains to the rear. The front door is solid timber with timber-framed side-and-over lights.

The rear elevation is complex, comprising multiple asymmetrically arranged elements. A single-storey gable-ended return abuts the right side with matching ridge and eaves levels, featuring two small windows to the gable end and larger matching windows to the right cheek. A single-storey flat-roofed addition with a rear door and single large window abuts the left cheek. The central elevation contains a horizontal tri-partite window to the left and a squared casement window to the right, with a single steel-framed roof light to the rear pitch. A split-level gable-ended return abuts the left, with matching eaves level and a raised ridge forming a south-westerly-facing shingle-clad gablet over the principal ridge, topped with diminutive tri-partite glazing. The right cheek features various window openings and a wide flat-roofed wall-headed dormer located right of centre, along with modern roof lights. A timber-clad flat-roofed link block connects to the adjoining property. The right gable is elevated on tapered concrete stilts and features a large horizontal window with projected barge-boards and eave returns.

The joinery details draw influence from early 20th-century American domestic architecture. The house sits within well-maintained grounds screened from the main road by heavy vegetation and woodland. A large lawn to the front leads to rubble steps accessing the front entrance. An enclosed garden to the rear contains a large double garage built in the style of a boat-house. A later single-storey dwelling, originally connected internally, now functions as a separate property adjoining the rear.

William C McVeigh designed the house for his own use. He was a contemporary and friend of architect Ian Campbell and subsequently worked in partnership with Ken Brown at offices in Mount Charles, Belfast. The practice, McVeigh Brown Architectural Partnership, continued until McVeigh's death around 2005.

Later alterations have included inappropriate uPVC replacements to windows and rainwater goods, which detract from the building's architectural composition. The adjoining later dwelling also detracts from its original setting.