28 Derryvolgie Ave, Belfast, BT9 6FP

Semi-detached two-storey late-Victorian villa, built around 1870 by Michael Woods, located on the north side of Derryvolgie Avenue in Belfast. The architect is unknown. Derryvolgie Avenue runs east to west between Malone and Lisburn Roads, two main arterial routes due south of the city centre.

No.28 forms one of a pair with No.30, but the pair is unusually arranged with No.28 reading as a detached single dwelling facing onto Derryvolgie Avenue, while No.30 is tucked behind and accessed by a long driveway. The house is screened behind mature trees and hedging, with cast iron gates featuring the nameplate "DUNSONA" centred on the entrance portico. Large stone flags set in gravel lead to modern quarry tiled steps, painted. Extensive mature gardens to the east and north significantly enhance the pair of dwellings within the Derryvolgie and Windsor Conservation Area.

The building is roughly L-shaped on plan, with each house having a gabled main section abutted by a two-storey return to the east; the returns attach to form a U-shaped plan overall. No.28 retains original outbuildings, connected in part via a flat-roofed extension from around 1970 to the main house.

Roof and External Materials

The roof is natural slate (Bangor Blue) with black clay ridge tiles. Projecting eaves feature exposed carved timber rafter ends, with similar carved detail to timbers at the overhanging gable, arranged in threes. Three red brick chimneys are present: one centred on the main roof ridge, offset to the left, with canted and soldier-coursed bricks rising to a corbelled cap with two octagonal yellow clay pots; another centred on the return ridge with the same cap detail and three octagonal yellow clay pots; and a third set along the dividing wall between the two properties, plainly detailed with six circular clay pots and partly replaced.

The walls are constructed of red brick in Flemish bond to the south and east elevations, and English Garden Wall bond to the north and west. Rainwater goods comprise cast iron, including hoppers; replacement uPVC hopper and rainwater pipes are present on the east and west elevations. Windows are single-glazed double-hung sliding sashes with 2/2 panes (horizontally split), unless otherwise described.

South Elevation

Facing south, the front elevation is largely symmetrical with formal fenestration comprising five equally spaced windows at first floor and a central entrance portico with two windows to the left aligned with first-floor openings. A single-storey canted bay to the right features a mono-pitched roof cantilevered on painted decorative timber brackets with a corner pendant. The canted bay is thought to be later, possibly from the 1930s, although it is detailed similarly to the original bay on the east elevation, with fish-scale slates and exposed rafter ends carved to match the main roof.

A continuous brick plinth with chamfered brick cap runs across the elevation. Soldier-coursed brick forms the heads of windows, with projecting stone cills, painted. Lattice leaded panes appear in the first-floor window to the far left, in both top and bottom sashes, and in the top sash of the window directly below. Solid panels behind parts of these two windows, coupled with attic windows in the west gable end, indicate an internal arrangement slightly at odds with the exterior.

The portico appears on earlier Ordnance Survey maps from 1873 to 1959 but not on the 1970 map, suggesting it may have been replaced. It features Doric columns (lightweight, hollow construction) with corresponding pilasters supporting an entablature comprised of a plain frieze and projecting moulded cornice. The flat roof is lead-lined with sheeted timber soffit, painted. The timber-framed front door has two moulded panels below the mid-rail and multi-paned glazing above with some bulls-eye glass; two further panes below the top rail feature stop-chamfered edge detail, the same detail applied to the plain glass over-light. Multi-paned side-lights and diagonal sheeted base panels are present. The soffit above the door opening is rendered and painted with panelled detail. A lion-head brass door handle is fitted.

East Elevation

The east elevation comprises a gable end to the main building and the east face of the return. The gable features a canted bay at ground floor with two windows above. A stone roundel centred on the ridge displays a blind shield to the centre, a hood mould and foliated label stops, all painted white. The mono-pitched roof at the canted bay, with fish-scale slates, is cantilevered on decorative carved timber brackets with an elliptical corner pendant and similar detail to the base of the brackets. Exposed deep eaves beam, carved rafter ends and verge timbers all feature stop-chamfered edges.

The return comprises two windows each at ground and first floor, formally arranged with openings aligned and diminishing in height. The base plinth, window heads and cills match those of the front elevation.

West Elevation

The west elevation comprises a projecting gable end to the main building and the west face of the return. The gable features informal fenestration with a projecting timber bargeboard and carved timber supports arranged in pairs. Two small timber sliding-sash windows with 1/1 panes are centred on the apex at attic level; the left window has a broken pane. Two windows at first floor are offset to the right (south) with a single window at ground floor. The ground and first-floor windows are replacements that match the original 2/2 sliding sashes, fitted with double-glazed units. Lighter-coloured brick between the first-floor windows is laid in stretcher bond; the current owner removed a wide steel-framed casement window and inserted the present windows. The ground-floor walling is painted white and faces onto a small yard.

Above the extension, a full-height bay abutting the gable features a cat-slide roof with clipped eaves. A modern timber-framed window with twin side-hung multi-paned casements is positioned at first floor, with a diminutive fixed pane at attic level. Near the valley with the return, a fixed triangular-shaped glazed light sits between the cat-slide and main roof, with a modern skylight adjacent. The return has ground floor largely enveloped by the later extension, with a single window at each floor; the lower sash at ground floor has obscured glass. A small fixed light is positioned above the flat roof.

North Elevation

No.30 abuts the north side of the return. The north elevation of the main building is exposed at first-floor level only and contains a single window at half-landing level with 1/1 leaded glass panes. A red brick wall abuts the west side of the front elevation, containing a segmental carriage arch and a flat-arched pedestrian entrance. Modern painted metal gates are fitted to both, with the top section of the carriage arch retaining original timber-framed gates, including metal strap hinges and diagonally sheeted boarding. The current owner advises this carriage arch originally served both No.28 and No.30.

Behind the wall lies a small paved yard enclosed by a flat-roofed modern extension to the north (containing a timber-framed glazed screen and door), the gable end to the west, and original outbuildings to the east.

Outbuildings and Garden

The outbuildings are two-storey with a gabled form, natural slates, black clay ridge tile and conservation roof-light; painted brick walling is present. Three openings at first floor are positioned with one offset to the far right (north) and two to the left. A single casement window without glass sits nearest to the south gable, with sheeted timber half-doors to the others. The ground floor is largely concealed by a flat-roofed extension to the right side, with a single wide opening to the left featuring horizontal timber boarding and a vertical sheeted timber door, all painted.

A small freestanding greenhouse stands near the south-west corner of the house. The remainder of the garden is lawned and planted.