4 Ardmore Terrace, Holywood, Co. Down, BT18 9BH

A symmetrical two-storey terrace house built around 1850 as one of a seven-house terrace in palace form on the west of Ardmore Road, south-east of Holywood. The house reflects the development of the town following the arrival of the railway, when professional families were attracted to settle there. Much of the original fabric remains, though the floor plan has been altered over time. The terrace is a fine example of its type and period, though the setting has been compromised by modern housing development at Ardmore Park and further construction to the rear.

The building is rectangular on plan with two two-storey returns to the rear. The principal elevation, facing north, is three bays wide with painted render and simple rustication to the ground floor, quoins, a raised and chamfered plinth, and a smooth render string course between floors. The pitched roof is natural slate with rectangular chimneystacks finished in stone plinths and terracotta pots; further chimneystacks rise from the rear gable, and a square brick chimney rises from the ridgeline. Half-round cast-iron rainwater goods run along painted masonry eaves to the principal elevation, with PVC rainwater goods to the rear returns.

The ground floor windows are 2/1 timber-framed sliding sash in canted bays. The first floor windows are 2/2 timber-framed sash with a continuous sill and moulded architrave with projecting moulded cornice; the far-right window is a replacement. The central entrance to the principal elevation is a single panelled timber door with recessed moulded surround and round-headed plain transom light, accessed by three stone steps.

A variety of timber-framed sash windows, including a round-headed multi-pane opening to the first floor, feature on the rear elevation. The east gable is abutted by the adjoining building. The rear comprises a recessed bay to the left with a small single-storey extension abutted by a two-storey return having a pent roof over the ground floor and window openings to the first floor at exposed sections. To the right is another two-storey return with window openings to exposed sections. Both returns are themselves abutted by matching returns from neighbouring properties, forming the full gable. The west elevation is abutted by the adjoining building.

The setting includes a lawned front garden with a central pebbled pathway accessed by four stone steps, enclosed on both sides by hedgerow. To the rear is a communal pathway separating the house and garden; the garden now contains a modern garage and is bounded by fence and tall hedgerow.

Ardmore Terrace was built in the late 1840s and the houses were let either as seasonal bathing villas or on permanent terms to professional classes drawn to Holywood by the railway's opening. The terrace appears on the 1858 Ordnance Survey second edition map as "Ardmore Terrace", though Griffith's Valuation fieldbooks of 1856–64 initially list the buildings as "Ormeau Terrace". A contemporary newspaper advertisement promoted the renamed villas to let, highlighting two houses with dining room, drawing room, seven bedrooms, hot and cold baths, and a never-failing water supply without pumping, served by an omnibus from the railway station at tuppence fare.

At the time of Griffith's Valuation (1856–64), number four was occupied by William Hamilton and leased from the owner John Simms with a valuation of £41. The ground floor comprised a dining room, parlour, closet, pantry and kitchen; the first floor held two large bedrooms, bathroom, closet and servants' room, with the return containing scullery, store rooms and servants' rooms. Between 1880 and 1887 valuations dropped slightly with no recorded explanation. By 1863 the occupier was James Irvine, followed by John Hunter (1887) and Mary Barnett (1890), who appears to have been the widow of Richard Barnett, a distinguished dentist who played a significant role in developing early Belfast dentistry. The house experienced periods of vacancy. By 1902 the immediate lessor became William Gilliland, an architect engaged mainly in commercial and industrial projects including the Ormeau Bakery in Belfast, and a founder member of the Ulster Society of Architects and city councillor for Victoria Ward.