26 Sunnyside St., Belfast

A two-storey red-brick terrace house built in 1904, located on Sunnyside Street approximately 3 km south of Belfast city centre. The building forms part of a long terrace of twenty-one similar dwellings constructed between 1903 and 1910, developed by Hugh Scott. Sunnyside Street itself was shown for the first time on the Ordnance Survey town plan of 1871-73 as a lane stretching from the Ormeau Road, with only six houses marked on the north side. The street was formally designated by 1879 and gradually extended westward, reaching its present extent following the opening of King's Bridge in 1912, which created a thoroughfare linking through to Ridgeway Street across the River Lagan. The house represents a good example of modest Edwardian urban terraced housing, built during a period of rapid expansion of Belfast southwards from the city centre along the main thoroughfares.

The main part of the building is rectangular on plan with a two-storey rectangular-shaped return featuring a double-pitched roof. The structure is constructed from smooth red clay brick laid in English Garden Wall bond with clay ventilation bricks at each level.

The front elevation has a painted timber four-panel door with overlight containing plain glazing positioned to the left, with a segmental head and moulded architrave. To the right is a uPVC two-by-two sliding-sash double-glazed window with a similar segmental head and moulded architrave, the original having been replaced. A smaller window of similar design is positioned almost centrally on the first floor. A blue-brick course with projecting moulded brick course at eaves level supports cast metal ogee guttering. The roof is covered in natural slate with a red-brick chimney stack on the right-hand side, featuring a projecting brick course and clay pots.

The rear elevation of the main house at ground level has a top-hung uPVC window to the left. At first floor level is a top-hung uPVC window to the left with a new concrete head. A two-storey extension has been added to the rear, constructed with rustic red-brick and a double-pitched roof with uPVC boards to eaves and verge. The extension features blank facades to the east and south elevations and two uPVC windows at first floor level to the west, with a clay ventilation brick at first floor level. The extension extends almost to the original yard wall, which is cement-rendered red-brick with concrete coping and a square-headed doorway with painted timber boarded door. uPVC rainwater goods and soil stack serve the extension, with additional uPVC rainwater goods to the rear of the house.

The side elevations abut adjoining properties: No. 24 Sunnyside Street to the east and No. 28 Sunnyside Street to the west.

The front garden is finished in concrete block paviors, set behind a replacement red-brick boundary wall and gateway with painted metal railings and small painted metal arched gate. This boundary treatment was installed around 1988 as part of an improvement scheme encompassing the whole terrace. The rear of the terrace is bounded to the south by a communal laneway shared with Whitehall Gardens.

The building retains its original stairwell internally and external character including the panelled timber front door and stucco surrounds, in addition to its natural slate roof. However, the original front windows have been replaced with uPVC examples, and a new-build two-storey extension was added to the rear circa 1995. Despite these alterations, the house maintains significant group value with the remainder of the terrace.

The first occupant of No. 26 was Hugh Byers, followed in 1906-07 by John McIlvenny, recorded in contemporary street directories as a labourer. The 1911 census records the building as a second-class dwelling containing five rooms, occupied by Robert McIlvenny (listed as a general servant), his wife Annie, and their three young children. A member of the McIlvenny family remained in residence until at least 1990. The property was listed in 1986.