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

A substantial three-storey Victorian red-brick end-terrace house built around 1860, located north of Victoria Road near Holywood town centre. It forms part of a group that represents the expansion of Holywood following the arrival of the railway in 1848, which attracted merchants and professional people seeking healthier surroundings and easier access to Belfast.

The house is rectangular on plan with a substantial three-storey rear return and canted bays to the front. The pitched roof is covered in natural slate with rectangular brick chimneystacks featuring masonry plinths and terracotta pots. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods are fitted throughout. The main elevation employs Flemish-bonded red-brick walling with a rendered extension to the second floor. The gable and rear return are finished in ruled-and-lined painted render. The canted bays and entrance bay to the first floor are painted stone.

The principal elevation faces west and is symmetrically arranged. Windows are predominantly 2/2 timber-framed sliding sashes with horizontal glazing bars, flat brick lintels and continuous sills to the first floor; the rear return features 6/6 sliding sashes. The first floor contains four window openings; the second-storey extension has three modern uPVC windows that detract from the overall character.

The ground floor features canted bays with triple window openings, dog-tooth frieze and dentilled eaves. The central entrance comprises a portico two Doric columns deep, surmounted by an entablature with dog-tooth detail to the frieze, dentilled moulded cornice and pediment. Above this, the first floor has a round-headed window with Doric pilasters, decorative console brackets and keyblock under a moulded cornice. The entrance is accessed by two bull-nosed stone steps and features a four-panelled bolection-moulded raised-and-pointed door with brass furniture, side lights and a stained glass transom light framed by simple Doric pilasters.

The north elevation has two modern windows to the second floor and a single opening to the right of the first floor. The east (rear) elevation is largely abutted by the three-storey rear return, though the exposed section shows three openings to the upper floors. At ground level the rear is abutted by three small returns; the western return is double-height with a cat-slide roof and timber entrance door, whilst two single-storey returns project to the east. The gable contains a single window opening to all floors, with a modern replacement timber window at ground level. The exposed south section shows two openings to the upper floors on the left; the right side is blank. A single-storey extension at ground level contains a modern timber door and window. The south elevation is abutted by an adjoining building.

The house is set in mature secluded grounds north of Victoria Road on the outskirts of Holywood. Access is via a double tarmacadam entrance with painted masonry gate piers. A large mature garden to the front contains mature trees and hedgerow. To the rear, the grounds include the Martello Tower, a mature garden with garages and timber fencing.

The building was first shown on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1900–02. The terrace was built beside a disused windmill, sometimes referred to as a "Martello Tower", possibly from its use during the Napoleonic Wars. The windmill remained in use until the 1840s. The terrace was listed in Griffith's Valuation fieldbook as "Martello Crescent". Number 1 Martello Terrace was occupied by John Hunter as a house with yard and small garden, valued at £45 for buildings (later raised to £48), at £60 yearly rent plus taxes, and leased from William Linden. This and its neighbour were built by 1860, whilst numbers three and four were still under construction. The house changed occupants several times: William Ward (by 1874), and thereafter William K McCord (1915) and Elizabeth Suffern (1919), who became lessor in 1923. By 1929, Charlotte King was in residence. The group was renamed "Martello Terrace" in 1887.

Despite conversion into apartments affecting the original floor plan and resulting in some interior modernisation, the building retains definite quality and character. The most significant historic elements are of good quality and largely intact. The second-storey extension detracts from the overall character, and the conversion has modernised parts of the interior, yet the building remains an important representative example of Victorian mercantile housing and contributes significantly to its conservation area setting.