122 High Street, Holywood, Co Down, BT18 9HW

122 High Street, Holywood

A three-storey, three-bay mid-terrace townhouse in the late Georgian style, built around 1830. The building is located on the south side of High Street in Holywood town centre and is shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834. The house has not been occupied for some time and is in poor condition. The interior fittings date from the late 20th century and little historic fabric remains, though it remains a fair example of its type and one of the older properties in this part of Holywood. The terrace is significant to the development of Holywood from a small fishing village into a popular resort and commuter town.

The rectangular plan comprises a main block with a two-storey return to the rear and a projecting two-storey stairwell. The pitched roof is covered in natural slate with brick chimneystacks topped with terracotta pots. Rainwater goods are cast-iron half-round.

The external walls are rendered and ruled-and-lined, painted. The principal elevation faces north and is four openings wide. Windows are predominantly six-over-six timber-framed sliding sash with exposed sash boxes; the second floor has one-over-one sliding sash; rear windows are timber-framed replacements. At ground floor, a replacement timber glazed door is positioned left of centre, surmounted by a transom light. Above the door is a decorative canopy with console brackets and ovolo moulded cornice.

The east elevation is abutted by the adjoining building. The south (rear) elevation has a single enlarged window to all floors at the left; a projecting two-storey stairwell at the centre with a single window above; a single window to the second floor at the right; and a two-storey flat-roofed extension with a tall chimney to the gable, featuring windows to each floor at the gable. An exposed section to the left shows a single opening to the first floor and ground floor; to the right is a replacement timber door. The west elevation is abutted by the adjoining building. To the front is a narrow grass area with a tiled pathway. The rear contains a large overgrown garden.

The building was constructed during a period of significant growth in Holywood between 1820 and 1850, when the town transformed from a small fishing village into a popular bathing resort and commuter town. Documentary evidence suggests the house may have been rebuilt or remodelled between the first and second edition Ordnance Survey maps (1834 to 1858), as indicated by a substantial rise in valuation. In 1834, it was owned by Mr Stewart and valued at £4. By Griffith's Valuation (1856-64), it was rented by Eleanor Orr from James Johnston Junior, tenant of number 118, valued as a house with small garden at £17, later raised to £18. The valuer noted the annual rent of £25 plus taxes was considered too high. Subsequent tenants included James Magill (1880), Charles A Wilson (1887), Edward Polland (1892, a jeweller), Edward A Fry (1900), William Arthur (1905), William J Kane (1907), and Anne Anderson (1911). Harry Burgess took over in 1919, renting from the representatives of William Dugan in 1923 and from Robert McCrea in 1929. The valuation was reduced to £16 in 1884.