7 Waverley Drive, Bangor, Co Down, BT20 5LD

7 Waverley Drive is a 1½-storey two-bay semi-detached Victorian dwelling built around 1890. It forms one of a matching pair, among the earliest houses built in this area of Bangor. The pair was originally constructed as steward's houses for the Dufferin Estate, giving them local and historic interest. They are typical in style and proportions for the period and represent a good example of Victorian suburban development. The associated farmhouse (a three-storey building) and former stables remain as part of the original complex, though these are significantly altered and of lesser interest.

The house is located in the suburban Ballyholme Ward, east of Bangor town centre and south of the Esplanade. It has a square plan with a return to the rear. The natural slate pitched roof is finished with clay ridge tile and skews. Decorative barge boards with finials adorn the dormers. A smooth rendered chimney with tall hexagonal clay pots rises from the roofline. Replacement uPVC rainwater goods are fitted.

The walls are rendered with ruled-and-lined finish, incorporating a projected plinth and corbel course. Timber sliding sash windows with deep stone cills are a principal feature; those on the first floor have round arches and 2/2 sliding sash glazing. The front door is a four-panel timber design with bolection moulding, painted brass ironmongery, and a round-arched fixed light above. Plain surrounds frame the doorway, with stucco moulded plinth blocks and cornice course, and a central chamfered key-block. A boot scraper sits adjacent to the door.

The principal west-facing elevation is asymmetrical, with the front door positioned on the right-hand side and a plain single-storey canted bay on the left, which features a single continuous cill course. Paired matching wall-headed dormers occupy the first floor level; a finial crowns the right-hand dormer only. The left gable is abutted by the adjoining semi-detached house.

The rear elevation contains a single ground floor window and a wall-head dormer (without barge-boards) in the right-hand bay. The left bay is abutted by a two-storey gabled return. This return features various sized window openings, some of which have been replaced with uPVC double-glazed casements. The return gable contains a single wide ground floor opening with an adjacent rear stable door, and a single window to the left side at first floor level. The right gable is abutted by the neighbouring house at 9 Waverley Drive.

Internally, much of the historic character and value survives.

The site is bounded at the front by a rendered wall with timber gated access flanked by concrete piers. The rear is overlooked by a two-storey dwelling built around 1930, beyond which stands the former associated stables, now converted for domestic use. Both front and rear grounds are well maintained. The rear yard is accessed via a narrow passage. The general setting comprises two and three-storey detached, semi-detached, and apartment dwellings of various ages and styles.

The pair first appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1901. Around the turn of the twentieth century, Bangor expanded eastwards into Ballyholme with numerous villas and small terraces. The current owners report that the houses were originally built as steward's houses for the Dufferin Estate, with the adjoining three-storey farmhouse erected at the same time. The former stables at the rear are now in separate ownership and have been converted for domestic use.