2 Station Road, Sydenham, Belfast, BT4 1RE

General: This is a long rectangular gable ended building, with a slated roof, two brick chimneys and a single storey modern extension on south-east end. There is a gable in the centre of the south side, while the main door, with modest-lean-to canopy, is placed in the centre of the north side. Timber Framing: The building, like most other pseudo-half framed buildings of this era, is of not course a genuine timber-framed house. A dominant feature, supposedly representing a jetty, is a band of black-painted over-sailing bricks, running around the building about 1½-feet below the eaves. Above, the wall is broken around the building by evenly spaced parallel studs, set about 30cm apart. Below this brick band the side walls are without studs save on the front or south-east side where the wall is broken by a series of widely spaced vertical, horizontal and angular studs. All three of the house gables boast a horizontal collar beam, while the end gables also have a tie beam. The west end gable attractively curved wooden braces, pierced by windows, here timber pegs as in genuine timber framing can be seen though the tie beam has been broken by the enlargement of a window while the east end gable has a grid of wooden studs, also pierced by windows. Windows: The west end gable has a single storey canted bay comprising a front window of 30 panes and side windows of 12 panes each, the top level of panes being top hung casements. Like the rest of the windows in the building, some of the panes are of blue, red or yellow coloured glass. This glass (and the wndows) date from the late twentieth century. The window in the gable above takes the form of a T with a central window of 18 panes flanked by 9 pane windows. The windows along the long southern elevation have rendered narrow surrounds (painted black) and cambered heads. They vary in size, two having 18 panes, another 8 and another 24 panes, but all have top hung casements one pane deep. All also incorporate coloured glass. The front or north elevation has no window west of the door. Immediately on the east side of the door there is a cambered headed high window of four panes, while further to the east is another cambered headed window of 18 panes, the top 3 being part of a top hung casement. The window lighting the kitchen, which is later, has 36 panes, with top hung casements and mullion. Both this window and the adjacent camber headed house window have wooden shutters with card symbols cut through then – the diamond, club, heart and spade. The ‘nogging’ of the house is modern, white painted render. Doors: The entrance to the house is placed in the centre of the north front. It is access through a four panel doorway, which has a high placed four pane flanking window with camber head. Both window and door are covered by a small lean-to roof with carved wooden supports.