52 Downpatrick Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey / three bay urban vernacular house set at end of terrace which steps steeply down the hill on east side of Downpatrick Street.

Pitched natural slate roof with tiled skew to right. Two cement rendered chimneys with corbelled heads - one between left and central bays and the other to right gable. Advanced eaves course supports half-round plastic gutter draining to a cast-iron downpipe at right on façade.

Walls are painted lined cement render. Central bay is narrower than the others. Main entrance is to centre and consists of a sheeted painted timber (mid-20thC) door with six coloured glass panes to the top and plain transom over. Each remaining bay at ground floor has a 2/2 vertically divided sliding sash window with horns and exposed boxes with painted rendered cills. The three first floor bays each have similar windows, in line with ground floor openings but slightly diminished in height.

A taller building abuts left gable (uphill).

Rear elevation is abutted at ground floor right by a single storey return. There is a pair of 1/1 exposed box sashes to centre of remaining ground floor wall and a slightly smaller one to join with return. At first floor, over the pair of ground floor windows, is a similar pair. There is an additional 1/1 sash window over the extension roof.

Extension is flat roofed (concrete) with walls as main block. Its right cheek abuts the yard wall. Its rear incorporates a coal shed and its left cheek has a timber casement window to left and a sheeted door to right.

Right gable is cement rendered and blank. Passage to rear.

Rear yard is enclosed to rear by a much altered two storey outbuilding of no interest.

Historical information

Although buildings are shown here on the 1834 Valuation map, the accompanying Valuation book indicates that they were one storey and thatched (exempted from valuation). Two storey houses are noted here on the c.1862 valuation, and there is no change in valuation thereafter. This suggests that the present building dates from the mid 19thC, but a later refurbishment is probable.

Primary Sources:
1. Meade Estate: A Map of the Town of Rathfriland (1776) Now in Norfolk and Norwich Record Office.
2. PRONI 1834 Valuation town map (1:1760), VAL 1D/3/3.
3. PRONI 1835 First Valuation book, VAL 1B/ 357A, p.43. .
4. OS 1:500 scale town map, Rathfriland (1860), (PRONI OS 8/24/1/4)
5. PRONI c.1862 Second Valuation book, VAL 2B/3/60C, p.5.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A typical example of 19thC urban vernacular housing in many Ulster towns, many of which are susceptible to unsympathetic change.