3 Martello Terrace, Victoria Road, Holywood, County Down, BT18 9BE

3 Martello Terrace, Victoria Road, Holywood

A substantial mid-terrace house built around 1860, forming part of Martello Terrace on Victoria Road near Holywood town centre. The building is a fine example of Victorian residential architecture and holds group value as part of the terrace that represents the expansion of Holywood following the opening of the railway in 1848.

The house is two storeys with an attic, arranged over three bays with a substantial three-storey rear return. It is rectangular on plan. The roof is pitched with natural slate and features rectangular brick chimneystacks with masonry plinths and terracotta pots. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods are fitted throughout.

The principal elevation faces west and is symmetrically arranged with four openings to the first floor and a slightly projecting entrance bay. Walling is Flemish-bonded red brick. Ground-floor canted bays feature triple window openings with a dog-tooth frieze and dentilled eaves. The canted bays and entrance bay to the first floor are painted stone.

Windows are 2/2 timber-framed sliding sash with horizontal glazing bars throughout the main elevation, with flat brick lintels and continuous sills to first floor. Pointed-head dormer windows light the attic. The rear return has 6/6 sliding sash windows unless otherwise stated.

The central entrance is accessed by three stone steps and comprises a portico with two Doric columns deep, surmounted by an entablature with dog-tooth detail to the frieze, dentilled moulded cornice and pediment. Above, at first-floor level, is a round-headed window with Doric pilasters, decorative console brackets and a keyblock under a moulded cornice. The entrance door has four bolection-moulded raised-and-pointed panels and brass door furniture, with sidelights and a transom light framed by simple Doric pilasters.

The rear elevation includes a three-storey return with single openings to ground and first floors (one replaced window to the south). The exposed section of return to the north comprises three window openings to upper floors and one replacement timber window and simple timber doors to the ground floor. The gable of the rear return has ruled-and-lined painted render.

The north elevation is abutted by the adjoining building (HB23/20/058B), and the south elevation is abutted by the adjoining building (HB23/20/058D).

Architectural detailing is largely intact and the fabric is of good quality. The building has quality and character throughout.

The house stands in mature grounds to the north of Victoria Road on the outskirts of Holywood. A double tarmacadamed entrance with painted masonry gate piers provides access. A large mature garden to the front features mature trees and hedgerow. To the rear is the Martello Tower (HB23/20/059) and a mature garden with garages and timber fence.

Historical Context

The terrace was built beside a disused windmill that has sometimes been referred to as a Martello Tower, possibly having served that function during the Napoleonic Wars. The windmill was in use until the 1840s.

The terrace dates from around 1860 and appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1900-02. Victoria Road began to be developed during this period to provide homes for merchants and professional people attracted by the opening of the railway in 1848, which afforded easy access to Belfast. This mercantile and professional class, experiencing increasing prosperity, sought healthier and more attractive surroundings than were available in the city centre.

The terrace is listed in Griffith's Valuation fieldbook as "Martello Crescent." Numbers one and two were already built and let, while the current house and its neighbour were initially noted as "in progress" with "foundation sunk only." By December 1861, the valuer noted the pair were "said to be letting now for £50 and that there are ten rooms in them," both valued at £49. The current house was occupied by James McIntyre in 1863, valued at £49. In 1874 it was taken over by Robert Lloyd Patterson, with valuation reduced to £40 in 1883. The group was renamed "Martello Terrace" in 1887.

A succession of occupants followed: Alexander Wilson (1880), John Hodge (1907) and Mary Robinson (1920). William Robinson was the immediate lessor in 1923.

Sir Robert Lloyd Patterson (1836-1906) was an amateur naturalist, art collector and linen manufacturer, and the son of Robert Patterson, a naturalist and mill furnisher. He was uncle to Robert Lloyd Praeger, another eminent naturalist. After a thirty-year career in the linen industry, Patterson retired in 1886 a wealthy man and subsequently took an active part in the Belfast Chamber of Commerce. He was knighted for civic service in 1902. As a naturalist, he published numerous papers about seabirds and fishes, and eventually the book "The Birds, Fishes and Cetacea of Belfast Lough" (1880). In 1888 he retired to Croft House, Holywood, where he died in 1906. His valuable collection of Victorian paintings and artefacts is now held by the Ulster Museum.