5 Demesne Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey mid-19th century semi-detached house in Italianate style with gabled and hipped roofs and canted single-storey projecting bays to the front and side. Main elevation of the pair of houses faces west. Main entrance is located in the south elevation.

West elevation is two-bay, comprising a gabled breakfront to the left, with the main wall set back slightly to the right, two windows wide.
Roofs of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; dark ridge tiles. Oversailing eaves on paired shaped brackets. Moulded gutter with PVC downpipes. Walls smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with projecting moulded plinth, moulded cill courses to each floor, and moulded frieze. Stop chamfering with torus moulding to corners. Two chimneys, one on left-hand extremity of main ridge, and one to right-hand extremity, common with adjoining house, both smooth rendered and moulded, with plain modern pots. Windows are timber sliding sashes, vertically hung, 2 over 2 with horns, with horizontal pane divisions: rectangular headed except for round heads to two first floor windows of gabled breakfront.
Gabled breakfront has a single storey projecting canted bay to ground floor, with one window in each face in moulded reveals; moulded gutter on moulded cornice of bay, with PVC downpipe; scrolling and ornamented pedimental cresting to blocking course on each face of canted bay. Two windows to first floor, semi-circular arched with raised moulded surrounds surmounted by small crestings similar to previous. Blind oculus to centre of gable above with inset shield and label moulding.
Main wall of west elevation has two windows to each floor, those on first floor set in raised moulded and heeled surrounds; those on ground floor coupled with chamfered reveals framed by panelled pilasters with ornamented brackets and moulded cornice surmounted by a pair of triangular pedimental features topped by ornamented plasterwork cresting.

North elevation is three-bay, comprising a central hipped roofed breakfront, three windows wide to the first floor, flanked each side by recessed walls each one window wide. Roofs, walling, rainwater goods, and windows similar to west elevation; one chimney in line with east end of windows. All windows rectangular, those to first floor with raised moulded and heeled surrounds; those to ground floor are set in pilastered and pedimented aedicules as previous, except the one to the recessed main wall to left which is similar to those on the first floor and is now contained within a modern lean-to glazed conservatory or porch which has plinth walls smooth cement rendered and lined; concrete cills surmounted by painted timber framed glazing; central modern rectangular timber panelled and glazed door; lean-to glazed roof with timber frames; PVC gutter and downpipe.
Ground floor of central breakfront has a projecting canted bay as previous to west front, to left of a window; three windows to first floor. West face of central breakfront contains main entrance with one window above.
Main entrance approached by sandstone steps with modern paved terrace; entrance comprises a semi-circular arched doorway set in pilastered and pedimented aedicule as previous to windows.
East face of central breakfront contains a window to the first floor, as previous, and a rectangular doorway to the ground floor opening into porch conservatory; door glazed and panelled.

East elevation comprises a main rear wall to the left, one window wide, with a deep projecting gabled return to the right. Roofs slated as previous, with two modern flush rooflights to main block. Oversailing eaves as previous but brackets plain. Moulded gutters with PVC downpipes.
Walls smooth rendered lined and blocked.

Main rear wall: first floor has one window, sashed as previous, set in plain reveals; ground floor has two similar windows but enclosed by later modern glazed lean-to porch with painted brick plinth wall.
Gabled return, east elevation: ground floor has a projecting lean-to with slated roof, PVC gutter and downpipe, and three windows, rectangular timber sliding sash, 1 over 1 with horns. First floor has two windows sashed as to west elevation, set in plain reveals. Attic story has one window, replacement PVC two-pane, in plain reveals.
South elevation of return has sashed windows as previous, including a semi-circular arched stair window with margin lights. Two doorways, one enclosed within modern porch, old, glazed and panelled; one in lean-to projection, modern glazed.

SETTING: The building stands within its own grounds, with its rear elevation facing the main road and the front elevation approached from a private road. Grass lawn to front; gravel driveway up to north side, flanked by flowerbeds. Front boundary of hedges with open driveway; no gateway. Party hedge to adjoining property at no. 7.
Former coach house with its small yard stands beyond end of driveway, marked by an arched gatescreen, smooth rendered, containing a large blocked up central archway, flanked by two former arched doorways, containing boarded doors, both now closed off.
Rear yard of house surfaced in large quarry tiles; single storey outhouses project from rear wall, partly painted brick, partly rendered; PVC rainwater goods; slated roofs. Modern open lean-to shelters against boundary wall to east. Plain rendered boundary wall to north with part of former coach house in corner: lean-to roof of concrete tiles. Main coach house has slated roof, smooth rendered walls, and modern timber top-hung and fixed light windows.
Rear boundary wall is of rubble stone to exterior with lime mortar, to south end, surmounted by a raised rendered coping: contains a doorway with raised rendered surround and a rectangular timber sheeted door. Wall ramps up to north, smooth rendered and lined, and includes a modern rectangular preformed metal garage door and a segmental arched doorway with plain reveals containing a modern panelled door set in a glazed doorscreen.
To the north of that in the same plane is the rubble stone wall of the former coach house, two-storey, with slated roof, in regular courses, one chimney to left-hand end rendered and moulded with two stub pots; moulded gutter; modern rectangular timber fixed light windows; rectangular timber sheeted door with glazed panel set in raised rendered surround. North gable of coach house smooth rendered, lined and blocked.
Private road to front approached by a recessed entrance comprising plain rendered curved screen walls and chamfered piers without gates. Private road lined with mature trees along its west verge.

Historical information

Built in 1867 as one of a pair of semi-detached villas.
Reference – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1932, Co Down 5.
Secondary Sources
1. T. Merrick, Buildings of Holywood (Holywood, 1986), p 51.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a mid-19th century house, one of a pair of semi-detached villas. It is a good and well preserved example of the genre. There has been some minor loss of detail and some small unsympathetic additions to the rear.