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

A symmetrical two-storey three-bay Victorian terrace house, one of seven built in palace form, located west of Ardmore Road, south-east of Holywood. Built around 1850, it is a substantial house reflecting Holywood's development following the arrival of the railway. Most historic fabric remains intact, and the terrace is a fine example of this building type, though the setting has been compromised by modern housing development at Ardmore Park and to the rear.

The house is rectangular on plan with two two-storey returns to the rear. It has a pitched natural slate roof with rectangular chimneystacks featuring stone plinths and terracotta pots; further chimneystacks rise from the rear gable, along with a square brick chimney rising from the ridgeline. Half-round cast-iron rainwater goods sit on painted masonry eaves, with uPVC rainwater goods to the rear returns.

The principal elevation faces north and is walled in painted render with simple rustication to the ground floor, quoins, a raised and chamfered plinth, and a smooth render string course between the upper floors. The three-bay front comprises: at ground floor, two 2/1 timber-framed sliding sash windows in canted bays; at first floor, 2/2 windows with continuous sill and moulded architrave with projecting moulded cornice. The central ground-floor entrance consists of a single panelled timber door with recessed moulded surround and round-headed plain transom light, accessed by three stone steps. The rear elevation contains a variety of timber-framed sash windows, including a round-headed multi-pane opening to the first floor.

The east gable is abutted by the adjoining building. The rear elevation comprises a recessed bay to the left, which is abutted by a small single-storey extension, itself abutted by a two-storey gabled return. A two-storey gabled return also extends to the right, with window openings to both floors at the south gable, further abutted to the west by a glass-roofed conservatory. Both returns are abutted by similar returns to neighbouring properties, creating the full gable. A joining wall abuts each gable end with a simple timber latch gate into the yard. The west elevation is abutted by the adjoining building.

The front has a paved garden accessed by stone steps, enclosed by a tall hedgerow with conifer trees to the east. To the rear is a communal pathway separating the house from the garden, which contains a recently constructed rough-cast rendered garage and is bounded by a tall hedgerow.

Ardmore Terrace was built in the late 1840s as bathing villas and permanent residences for professional classes attracted to Holywood by the railway's opening. The terrace appears on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858, captioned "Ardmore Terrace", though Griffith's Valuation fieldbook initially lists them as "Ormeau Terrace". A period newspaper advertisement for "Villas in Holywood at reduced rent" promoted two houses in the terrace, each containing a dining room, drawing room, seven bedrooms, hot and cold baths, and a never-failing water supply without pumping, with an omnibus service from every train for 2d. According to Griffith's Valuation (1856–64), number 2 was occupied by Mrs Betsy Russell and then Jane Barnett, leased from John Simms with a valuation of £41. The valuer noted that each house comprised on the first storey a dining room, parlour, closet, pantry and kitchen, on the second storey two large bedrooms, bathroom, closet and servants room, and to the rear a scullery, store rooms and servants rooms. Between 1880 and 1887, valuations dropped slightly without documented reason. In 1867, the Medical Times and Gazette announced the birth of a son to J.M. Barnett, a surgeon to HM Bombay Army, at Ardmore Terrace. By 1887, the occupier was Mary E Patterson, widow of Robert Patterson, a naturalist and Fellow of the Royal Society. Successive tenants followed, including Etta Davidson (1892), Thomas Brown (1902) and William Wales (1905), with periods of vacancy. By 1902 the immediate lessor became William Gilliland, an architect engaged in commercial and industrial projects such as the Ormeau Bakery in Belfast, and a founder member of the Ulster Society of Architects and city councillor for Victoria Ward.