84 Church Road, Holywood, Co Down, BT18 9BX

84 Church Road, Holywood is a two-bay, three-storey mid-terrace house built around 1870. It forms part of a five-house terrace and represents a good example of the larger terraced housing that developed in Holywood during the later 19th century.

The house is rectangular on plan with a two-storey return to the rear and a two-storey box bay to the front. The pitched roof is covered in natural slate and features brick chimneys with moulded painted masonry plinths, multiple flues and terracotta pots; a brick gable chimney rises from the rear return. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods are supported on sandstone corbelled eaves. The walls are constructed in Flemish bond red brick, whilst the box bay is painted stone.

Windows throughout are timber-framed 1/1 sliding sashes with sandstone moulded lugged surrounds, flat brick arches and painted sandstone cills. A continuous cill course runs across the upper floors. The double bay windows have moulded surrounds divided by a central Doric pilaster, with decorative console brackets beneath the sill arranged in a 1-2-1 formation.

The principal southwest-facing elevation contains paired window openings to the left bay (those on the ground and first floors set within the projecting rectangular box bay with dentilled eaves) and single openings to the right bay, including the entrance door. The door comprises four bolection-moulded raised-and-pointed panels with brass furniture, surmounted by a transom light and sandstone pediment on scrolled console brackets. The sandstone architrave frames the entrance, which is accessed by five bull-nosed stone steps.

The rear elevation includes a two-storey return. The exposed section of the right bay displays a 6/6 sash window at each floor, while the left bay contains multi-paned sash windows. A gable return with a modern glass brick window serves the ground floor, with a simple timber door providing access to the yard beyond. The house retains its original character and robust detailing throughout.

The house is set back from the road with a small front garden and paved pathway enclosed by cast-iron railings. Rear access leads to a rear garden.

Historically, the terrace was drawn on a valuation town plan dating from around 1860-1866, when the land was described as pasture and leased by William Brown from Andrew Cowan. The houses first appear in the valuation book of 1867-1879, initially listed as newly built and vacant. By 1870, three were occupied and leased from Robert and Daniel Reade, with each property valued at £28. By 1880 the terrace became known as "Riverston Terrace", taking its name from the nearby Riverston House. In 1883, valuations decreased to £25, likely following an appeal. The current property was occupied by Hannah Kane in 1870, followed by Charlotte Hunter and Sophia Mulligan in 1887, Anne Dobbin in 1900, Elizabeth Greer in 1915, and Thomas Bogues in 1927.