78 South Parade, BELFAST, County Antrim, BT7 2GQ

78 South Parade is a semi-detached gable-fronted three-storey redbrick house, constructed in 1883. It forms one half of a pair of dwellings known as 'Daisyfield Villas' (as recorded on the wall plaque), among the first buildings erected along the newly opened South Parade, which connected the Ravenhill and Ormeau Roads. The house was first listed in 1884 as the residence of John Rea, a provision merchant, and was valued at £36, a sum reflecting its larger number of outbuildings compared to its neighbouring pair. By 1900, it had become the home of Joseph Guthrie, a naval architect from England, whose occupation and skill would influence his son Thomas H. Guthrie, who became a prolific Belfast housing architect designing several hundred dwellings in the 1920s and 30s. The house remained Joseph Guthrie's residence until his death in 1936.

The building presents an irregular plan, facing south, with an entrance porch and a three-storey gabled projection to the east side elevation, a two-storey gabled wing to the northeast corner, and a two-storey return to the rear. The pitched natural slate roof is crowned with roll-moulded black clay ridge tiles, a segmental-headed dormer, and two redbrick chimneystacks with corbelled coping. The front gable is embellished with decorative timber barge boards, timber finials, and painted corbels supporting original ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering and square cast-iron downpipes.

The redbrick walling is laid in Flemish bond with a projecting render plinth course, continuous painted flush impost courses to the upper floors, and a continuous sill course to the first floor. Square-headed window openings retain original single-pane timber sash windows with ogee horns. The front elevation, occupying the east half of the gabled elevation, is abutted by a single-storey three-sided canted bay with a natural slate roof. To the centre of the gable sits a painted masonry plaque reading 'Daisyfield / Villas / 1883'. The first-floor window openings have stop-chamfered masonry lintels set within segmental-headed brick arches, while the second floor features a single segmental-headed window opening with a stop-chamfered masonry lintel and brick arch.

The east side elevation contains a single-bay gabled projection abutted by a single-storey bowed bay window fitted with timber casement windows (circa 1940), and a lean-to entrance porch to the re-entrant angle. The entrance porch displays timber barge board matching the front gable and features a square-headed window opening facing east with fixed-pane Art Nouveau leaded glazing. The front door, facing south, has flat panels with bolection mouldings, brass door furniture, and a rectangular overlight, opening onto three nosed stone steps. The rear elevation is abutted by a lower gable-ended two-storey redbrick return fronting a small enclosed yard. The west elevation adjoins number 76.

The property occupies a modest landscaped site on the north side of South Parade, with rear access via a rear lane. The garden includes a redbrick boundary wall and a gabled redbrick outbuilding with some modern alterations to roof and fenestration. Painted timber louvres and shutters decorate openings on the southern facade. The house retains the majority of its original external detailing, including original glazing. Together with its neighbouring dwelling, it constitutes a fine example of late Victorian suburban architecture in an unspoiled setting, the pair demonstrating group value through their unified design and shared architectural heritage.