7 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 north elevation.

West elevation is two-bay, comprising a gabled breakfront to the right, with the main wall set back slightly to the left, 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 right-hand extremity of main ridge, and one to left-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; plain blocking course to canted bay, now missing its original scrolling and ornamented pedimental cresting. Two windows to first floor, semi-circular arched with raised moulded surrounds surmounted by small scrolling and ornamented crestings. 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 as previous.

South 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, except for first floor window at right-hand extremity, which is glazed with decorative leaded lights sashed 1 over 1. 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 right-hand extremity which has surrounds similar to first floor.
Ground floor of central breakfront has a projecting canted bay as previous to west front, to right of a window; three windows to first floor. West face of central breakfront contains main entrance with one window above.
Main entrance approached by terrazzo steps, later addition, with a terrazzo terrace in front bounded by terrazzo balustrading; entrance comprises an original rectangular timber panelled door 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 face of central breakfront has a blank wall to the ground floor with one window above, sashed 1 over 1.

East elevation comprises a main rear wall to the right, one window wide, with a deep projecting gabled return to the left. Roofs slated as previous. Oversailing eaves as previous but brackets plain. Moulded gutters with cast iron and PVC downpipe.
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 sashed 1 over 1.
Gabled return, east elevation: ground floor has a projecting lean-to with slated roof containing three modern rooflights; PVC gutter and downpipe, and three windows, rectangular timber sliding sash, 1 over 1 with horns. First floor has two windows sashed 1 over 1 with decorative leaded lights, with horns, set in plain reveals. Attic story has one window, sashed as previous to west elevation, in plain reveals.
North elevation of return has three windows: one to ground floor, sashed 2 over 2 with horns, set in plain reveals; first floor has one small rectangular window sashed 1 over 1 with horns, with decorative leaded lights, in plain reveals; one semi-circular headed stair window sashed 1 over 1 with margins. Two doorways, rectangular timber, one glazed and panelled, and one flush.

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; driveway up to south side. Front boundary of hedges with open driveway; no gateway. Party hedge to adjoining property at no. 5.
Low brick wall with sandstone coping forms boundary to south.
Private road to front approached by a recessed entrance comprising plain rendered curving screen walls and chamfered piers without gates. Private road lined with mature trees along its west verge.
Rear yard of house surfaced in large quarry tiles from main rear wall to end of gabled return; from there concrete and sandstone steps lead up to an area of yard surfaced in concrete bricks. Projecting from main rear wall is a party boundary wall, smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with single storey outhouses extending from party wall towards east, then continued by a further run of similar party boundary wall. Outhouses are of similar rendered walling, with lean-to slated roof, PVC gutters and downpipes. Two windows, rectangular timber fixed lights; four doors, rectangular timber sheeted. Plain rendered boundary wall to south of yard.
Rear boundary wall of yard smooth rendered, lined and blocked to inner face; rear boundary wall is of rubble stone to exterior face, with lime mortar, surmounted at the south end by rendered brick courses in poor condition, and by a raised rendered coping at the north end. Contains one blocked up doorway with old brick block dressings and flat arch, one doorway with raised rendered surround which contains a rectangular timber sheeted door.

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

Not listed

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.