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

80 Church Road, Holywood

Two-bay, three-storey end terrace house built circa 1870, forming part of a terrace of five. The house retains its original character and robust detailing, exemplifying the type of larger terrace that developed Holywood in the later 19th century.

The building is rectangular on plan with a two-storey return to the rear and a two-storey box bay to the front. It is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with the projecting bay finished in painted stone. The pitched roof is natural slate with brick chimneys featuring moulded painted masonry plinths, multiple flues and terracotta pots; a brick gable chimney sits on the rear return. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods are supported on sandstone corbelled eaves.

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

The principal elevation faces southwest. The left bay contains paired window openings at ground and first-floor levels within the projecting rectangular bay, which has dentilled eaves. The right bay has single window openings and the entrance door. The door comprises four bolection-moulded raised-and-pointed panels with brass furniture, a transom light surmounted by a sandstone pediment on scrolled console brackets, a sandstone architrave, and is accessed by five bull-nosed stone steps. The northwest gable is blank.

The rear elevation is largely abutted by a two-storey return and single-storey extension. The exposed section of the right bay contains a 6/6 sash window at each floor. The left bay has multi-paned sash windows at each floor. The return and extension both have UPVC double doors opening into the rear garden.

The house is set back from the road with a small front garden and paved pathway, enclosed by a small hedge. The rear garden is enclosed with brick piers and a large iron gate.

Historically, the terrace was built between 1867 and 1870 on land previously shown as pasture on a valuation town plan dating from circa 1860 to 1866, which had been leased by William Brown from Andrew Cowan. The houses first appear in the valuation book for 1867–79, initially listed as vacant, indicating they were newly constructed. By 1870, three were occupied and leased from Robert and Daniel Reade, with valuations of £28 each. By 1880, the terrace had acquired the name 'Riverston Terrace', apparently derived from the nearby Riverston House. In 1883, valuations decreased to £25, likely following an appeal. The current house was occupied by Emily Wilson in 1870 and Mary Bates in 1887, remaining with the Bates family until 1913, when it passed to Ann Campbell, and subsequently to Harold Rea in 1925. Edward Bates, a member of the family, is recorded as a solicitor in the Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory for 1890.