Yard to rear of 51 Downpatrick Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Cobbled yard with outbuildings to rear of 51 Downpatrick Street (HB16/08/029A) and accessed from Caddells Lane. Consists of a front outbuilding and a rear one, both aligned W-E.

Two storey outbuilding fronting Caddells lane is aligned W-E and has a pitched natural slate roof. Its front walls are line rendered and painted and continue from the N wall of the house/shop (HB16/08/029A).

At left is a pair of large t+g doors filling a flat headed vehicle entrance (leading to yard) with conical granite wheel stones to each jamb. To centre at ground floor is a t+g sheeted door. The street rises to right obscuring part of ground floor at W end. There are three t+g sheeted doors at first floor, two in line with the ground floor openings and the third at right end, with beam and pulley block over.

Left (E) gable of this block abuts the house gable, right (W) gable blank.

Rear (S) elevation is abutted at centre and left by an open lean-to canopy with cast iron posts and corrugated iron roof. The left portion (within the canopy) contains a modern rendered blockwork shed with metal window to front and modern door to right cheek.

The remainder of the rear elevation is rubble stone painted. With following openings (L-R): (1) sheeted half door; (2) fixed two paned window; (3) sheeted half door; (4) fixed two paned window; (5) vehicle entrance with timber beam carrying head. Within the coachway are two small fixed windows and wall recesses to right to accommodate the doors from the street when they are open. In the timber ceiling is a hatch for loading into the sugar loft (see later).

At first floor, over the second doorway is a sheeted loading door with cantilevered timber platform. There is a second smaller loading door over the coachway at right.

The yard is enclosed to W by a high painted and dashed rubble stone wall with infilled coachway which lead into a rear paddock (now in separate ownership). It is paved with rounded irregular cobbles which have lifted in places.

The rear boundary is enclosed by a modern lean-to stable (corrugated roof and rendered walls) to W all of no interest and the rear outbuilding to E. E end is enclosed by blank rendered rear wall of No 53 Downpatrick Street (see HB16/08/035).

The rear outbuilding to the E-end of the yard is two storey, abutting rear of No 53 and is abutted to its rear by the returns of HB16/08/035. Pitched natural slate roof hipped to abutting end (eaves level below that of No 53). Small wall head gablet to centre of yard elevation containing cantilevered pullywheel. Plastic rainwater goods.

Walls are lime rendered and painted with contrasting painted basecourse. Advanced eaves course. Ground floor is eight openings wide, the second, fourth and seventh are timber ½ doors (the fourth one is now disused). The remaining openings are a pair of side sliding six paned windows (the eighth one is missing and the left two are modern replicas). All have painted granite cills.

First floor is seven openings wide, arranged symmetrically about gablet. The second, fourth and sixth are timber sheeted loading doors, the remainder are 2 x 4 paned side-sliding windows with granite cills.

Right gable is partially abutted to ground floor by mono-pitched stable block of no interest. Wall is otherwise blank except for two-paned fixed window to first floor. Rear is completely abutted by two-storey return to No 53 (see HB16/08/035)

Historical information

The outbuilding fronting Caddells Lane dates from the mid 19thC – it is first shown on the 1860 large-scale town map, but not the 1834 Valuation map. The building on the opposite (S) side of the yard dates from 1881.

Primary sources:
1. PRONI 1834 Valuation town map (1:1760), VAL 1D/3/3.
2. OS town map, Rathfriland (1903), (PRONI OS 8/24/4)
5. PRONI Valuation revision book, VAL 12B/22/20C, p.36.
4. PRONI Valuation revision map, VAL 12E/114/1/4.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This set of stone outbuildings enclosing a cobbled yard are little altered and very attractive. With the house (HB16/08/029A) they have a high group value.