90 Church Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-bay, three-storey end terrace house built c.1870, located to the east of Church Road near Holywood town centre. Rectangular on plan with two-storey return to rear and two-storey canted bay to front.

Pitched natural slate roof with brick chimneys with moulded painted masonry plinths, multiple flues and terracotta pots; brick gable chimney on rear return. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on sandstone corbelled eaves. Walling is Flemish bond red brick, canted bay is painted stone; windows are timber-framed 1/1 sliding sash with sandstone moulded lugged surrounds, flat brick arches and painted sandstone cills; continuous cill course to upper floors. Bay windows have decorative console bracket to sills.

Principal elevation faces southwest and has triple window openings to left bay (those to ground and first floor contained in projecting canted bay with dentilled eaves); paired openings to upper floor and single openings, including entrance door, to right bay. Door has four bolection-moulded raised-and-pointed panels with brass door furniture; transom light surmounted by sandstone pediment on scrolled console brackets; sandstone architrave; accessed by single bull-nosed stone step.

Abutted to northwest by adjoining building, HB 23/20/040E.

Rear elevation is abutted by a two storey return. Exposed section of right bay has 6/6 sash window at each floor; left bay has multi-paned windows to each floor. Gable has modern uPVC window to ground floor; to right entrance to yard through simple timber door.

Southeast gable is blank; rear return having single timber-framed 2/1 sliding sash window to first floor and two diminutive glass brick openings with painted masonry lintel to ground floor.

Setting

The house is set back from the road with a small garden and paved pathway to front enclosed by hedge and cast-iron railings with gate.. Rear garden is across rear access.

Roof: Natural Slate
Walling: brick
Windows: Timber
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

The terrace dates from between 1867 and 1870.

The terrace is drawn onto a valuation town plan dating from c1860-c1866, onto a field described as ‘pasture’ and leased by William Brown from Andrew Cowan. However, it is first listed in the valuation book dating from 1867-79 when the houses are all initially vacant, indicating that they are newly built. By 1870 three of them are occupied and leased from Robert and Daniel Reade. The lessors remain the Reade family throughout the period of Annual Revisions. All the houses are initially valued at £28 each.

By 1880 the terrace is described as ‘Riverston Terrace’, apparently deriving its name from the nearby ‘Riverston House’. In 1883, the valuations are all decreased to £25, most likely as the result of an appeal.

The current house is occupied by M Stewart Burnett in 1870, Joseph Mills was in residence by 1887 and by 1890 the Rev John Connell is listed in the street directory as the occupier. He was the curate of Holywood parish from 1889 until 1896 and it appears that the women who are listed in the valuation records for this period are likely to have been his housekeepers. By 1906 Edith Eliza Payne was resident and remained so until 1930. (Clergy of Down and Dromore, Part II, p.133)
References:

Primary Sources

1.PRONI OS/6/3/1/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-02
2.PRONI OS/6/3/1/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-31
3.PRONI OS/6/3/1/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1938-41
4.PRONI VAL/12/B/17/10A-G – Annual Revisions (1867-1930)
5.PRONI VAL/12/B/17/11A-C – Annual Revisions (1888-1930)
6.PRONI VAL/12/E/123/1/1-6 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c1860-c1866)
7.PRONI VAL/12/E/123/2/1-6 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c1867-1900)
8.Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory, 1890

Secondary Sources

1.Rankin, F., Leslie, Canon, J.B., Swanzy, Dean H.B. “Clergy of Down and Dromore” Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1996

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Two-bay, three-storey end terrace house built c.1870, forms part of a terrace of five. The house retains its original character and robust detailing and the group is a good example of the type of larger terrace that formed part of the development of Holywood in the later 19th century.

General comments

Please note this record has been renumbered it was previously recorded as HB23/20/040