‘Barholm’, 11 The Strand, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1PF

Barholm is a large, formal two-storey house built around 1825, with its front façade substantially remodelled around the 1880s. The property is located on the north side of The Strand, west of Portaferry town centre, and has been converted to a hotel in recent years.

The symmetrical south-facing front façade is the most refined elevation. A central doorway features a six-panel door set within a timber and glazed porch with a Bangor blue slated roof supported on decorative brackets. The fanlight and sidelights are plain, with 'Barholm 11' painted on the fanlight, and lights flank the porch sides. The doorway is flanked by three-sided single-storey bays topped with parapets, each containing a sash window with simple surrounds and a moulded course approximately 300mm above. The first floor displays three sets of paired sash windows with surrounds matching the ground floor treatment on the outer pairs. The central pair of windows have semi-circular arch heads and are encased with plain pilasters. A cill course connects to the top of the bays. The façade rises to form a parapet above the eaves course, decorated with ball finials at the edges and a central pediment with ball finial. A moulded shield sits at the centre of the pediment. Both rendered gables feature a single sliding sash window set high at eaves level.

The rear of the building is dominated by a large three-storey hipped-roof return, appearing to be original to the circa 1825 construction. To the left of this return are sash windows on the ground and first floors, with a large galvanised metal extract duct to the left of these. The rear wall of a conservatory lies further left. To the right of the return is a single-storey flat-roofed extension with a first-floor sash window. The east face of the return has a door and tripartite sash window at ground floor level. The first floor contains a 2-over-2 sash window to the left, a 6-over-3 sash in the centre, and a 2-over-2 sash to the right. The second floor has a small paired sash window to the left and a tripartite sash window centrally. The west face of the main return has two modern windows to the second floor, a centred sash window to the first floor, and a modern window on the left side of the ground floor. The main return merges with a two-storey outhouse along the north side of the rear yard and a single-storey mono-pitched outhouse along the east boundary. The resulting courtyard is finished in modern brick paviors.

The east gable is occupied by a large Edwardian-style gabled conservatory. The flat-roofed extension has a modern window to the north face and two similar windows to the west face.

The façade is finished in lined render and painted. All roof sections are gabled and covered with Bangor blue slates. The main roof features stone parapets and two yellow brick chimneys with matching pots, with cast iron downspouts throughout.

The building is set back approximately 1.5 metres above ground level from The Strand terrace. It is surrounded by a rendered wall with predominantly privet hedging. Recent timber gates are framed by rusticated rendered square gate pillars, with a short flight of steps rising to a small forecourt in front of the front door.