70 North Road, Cyprus Avenue, Belfast, Co.Antrim, BT5 5NJ

Two-storey with attic level red-brick dwelling built around 1897 to designs by an unknown architect, formerly used as a private school for girls. The building is situated on the west side of North Road within the Cyprus Avenue Conservation Area, an area of high quality Victorian and Edwardian period townscape.

The building has an irregular plan form facing east onto North Road. It comprises a two-storey with attic gabled projecting block oriented east-west, with a two-storey projecting three-sided canted bay to its eastern end. This block is abutted by a two-storey hipped roof projection to the south, which has a single-storey three-sided canted bay to its southern end. A separate flat-roofed side entry porch is attached to the south-east of the front blocks, and a two-storey L-shaped return extends from the centre of the rear west facade, with a recent single-storey extension to the northern end of this return.

The roof is pitched and gabled in red clay tile with red clay roll-top ridge tiles throughout. Moulded red brick corbels are set on a raised and dentilated red brick course to the projecting eaves, with replacement uPVC ogee guttering discharging to circular section uPVC downpipes. A prominent rectangular section chimney on the north elevation has eight buff clay pots. A single square section chimney with two tall buff clay pots stands at the south-west end of the rear return, and a single rectangular section chimney rises from the west wall of the hipped roof block at the south. The chimneys are generally red brick with bevelled edges to the shaft, dentilated course, ball flower course and moulded projecting cornice to the caps.

The walling is generally English Garden Wall bond red brick. Windows are replacement uPVC top-opening casements in square-headed bevelled edge openings with painted stone heads to the front blocks of the east and south elevations and red brick heads to the north and west elevations, with some windows featuring stained leaded glazing in uPVC casements.

The principal east-facing front elevation has a two-storey with attic level projecting block to the north-east end and a two-storey hipped roof block at ninety degrees with a single-storey canted bay to the south end. A single-storey side entry flat-roofed porch abuts at the junction of both blocks. Steps and dwarf red brick walling, including a section of red clay balustrading to the south, lead to the south side of the two-bay entrance porch. A square-headed fanlight doorcase contains a replacement six-panel painted timber door with brass furniture. The porch has ornate cast iron pierced quatrefoil cresting to the low parapet of the flat roof and leaded and coloured glazing to replacement uPVC porch windows.

The facade generally features corbelled eases, ball flower stringcourse, continuous raised band cill course to first and ground floor windows and a continuous painted smooth plaster band at ground floor window head level. These features continue to the south facade of the projecting hipped roof block and are absent from the rear return. The hipped roof block at the south-east has a central moulded terracotta tile to the first floor flanked by single square-headed windows; the ground floor has a single window to the south of the two-bay porch.

The north-east two-storey with attic level block has a decorative panel of brickwork with projecting headers to the apex of a broken pediment gable, with moulded ball flower bricks on an egg-and-dart eaves course. A terracotta scroll decorates the gable apex, and a single side-opening uPVC casement window is set at attic level.

The south elevation has a two-bay two-storey hipped roof block with a flat-roofed porch attached to the east, which projects from the two-storey with attic level block at the north-east. The hipped roof block has a replacement mono-pitch roof to the single-storey bay window at the south. The rear return to the west forms the south-west site boundary, abutted by outbuildings of neighbouring dwellings. The rear block generally has less decoration, with plain eaves course and mostly red brick heads to the windows of the rear return.

The west elevation has two bays to the first floor, one of which is a square-headed window now blocked with red brick, and a later rectangular window to the ground floor with painted concrete head. Two tall buff clay chimney pots crown a square section chimney at the south-west corner. A recent pitched roof extension to the north-west has a square section chimney to the north gable and glazed three-section patio doors opening onto two concrete steps at the west. Timber and block garden buildings abut the south-western edge of this facade and extend to the west.

The north elevation of the main two-storey with attic level block to the east has a prominent chimney set on a narrowly projecting raised brick two-storey gable. The projecting limb of the L-shaped rear return to the west is set back from the main block and has a later central square-headed doorway with painted concrete head, square fanlight and sidelights, with a single off-centre window to the first floor. An angled wall with square-headed window openings at ground and first floor connects the return to a perpendicular block, which has a window at the first floor gable end and a three-bay single-storey extension to the north. The western facade of the east block has single windows at each level, with a large horizontal window having a painted concrete head to the first floor. The eastern facade of the west block has a single narrow window to the ground floor and three windows to the single-storey extension.

The building is screened by mature trees and timber boundary fencing with modern timber gates set between square section red brick piers to the north-east. A blocked entrance with original red brick piers and walling exists to the south-east. The area to the east and south-east of the house comprises raised areas set to lawn with gravel and hardcore drive to the east and north. A red brick wall to the south separates the front garden from the private gardens of neighbouring dwellings.