47 Derryvolgie Avenue, Belfast, BT9 6FP

A two-storey, four-bay detached house built in 1884–85, located on the north side of Derryvolgie Avenue within the Derryvolgie and Windsor Conservation Area. The architect is unknown. Derryvolgie Avenue runs east–west between Malone and Lisburn Roads, the main arterial routes south of the city centre.

The building is L-shaped in plan, with a square main body and an advanced two-storey bay projecting from the north-west corner. A single-storey flat-roofed entrance porch facing east projects from the front elevation. The house is constructed in red brick with a painted brick projecting plinth (incorporating ventilators to the suspended floor) and four blue and black brick string courses. The first and third string courses run between the cills of windows on the ground and first floors respectively; the second runs as a continuous horizontal line above the flat arches of the ground floor windows; and the fourth runs between the upper parts of the first floor windows. Two red brick, two-stage chimney stacks with red clay pots are present. The roof is covered in natural slate with black clay ridge tiles.

The original roof, which comprised an internal valley over the main section of the house, has been altered to form a platform ridge to address water ingress problems.

The principal and north-facing elevations are fenestrated with large 6/6 painted timber single-glazed sliding sash windows throughout, featuring slender glazing bars and horns. Some historic glass survives. The windows have projecting stone cills (painted). Those on the ground floor have flat arches, whilst those on the first floor have segmental arched heads, all formed with soldier-coursed brick headers.

North elevation (front): Eight 6/6 sash windows regularly arranged in two columns (four to ground floor, four to first floor). A small square porch lit by a window to the north has a corbelled brick parapet (concealing a flat PVC roof) and replacement decorative railings. The original four-panelled diamond-fielded double-leaf painted timber entrance door faces east towards the drive. Blue and black string courses run as described above.

East elevation (side to drive): Six 6/6 windows regularly arranged (three to ground floor, three to first floor). Two blank window recesses are present at the north-east end—one to ground floor, one to first floor. Blue and black string courses run as described above.

South elevation (rear): A modern two-storey extension in the form of a traditional return, built of slightly pinker and thinner brick than the main house, with a plain gable and clipped eaves. To the right of this, the extension continues as a canted single-storey glazed section with full-height glazed doors (opening onto a small raised terrace), a flat roof, and a balcony above. Modern fenestration is present. The original house body is visible to the south-east, with one new ground floor opening replicating the 6/6 window pattern elsewhere. One original arch-headed window to the first floor (centre of wall) retains historic glass.

West elevation (informal): Ground floor windows from left to right comprise one 6/6 sash (as elsewhere) and two smaller 3/3 timber sashes. First floor windows from left to right comprise one 6/6 sash, one 3/3 sash matching the ground floor, and a large multi-paned round-headed sash (lighting the stair) with margins and some coloured and etched glass. A new 6/3 timber sash window has been inserted at ground floor (replicating the size of adjacent originals), and a back door with a traditional rectangular overlight is present. The side elevation of the modern rear extension is blank. The lower part is built from brick salvaged from the demolition of the original lean-to and outhouses; the upper part uses the new thinner brick, with the thickness discrepancy resolved by the addition of a layer of slate to each mortar joint to allow the brickwork to tie in.

The house is set back from the street with a gravelled driveway flanked by planted beds. A red brick wall fronts the property, with modern painted metal railings above and mature hedging behind. Electric gates matching the railings flank the driveway. A further gravelled area immediately next to the rear patio is present, with the remainder of the garden laid to lawn with mature planting and a box parterre. Part of the garden to the west has been sold off and is now occupied by a modern house. Timber hit-and-miss fencing encloses the west and south boundaries of the rear garden. The east boundary retains some high basalt rubblestone walling with chamfered brick below a rounded terracotta cap.

A modern two-storey brick extension to the rear occupies the footprint of the original single-storey lean-to scullery and outhouses.