Coolbawn

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Right one of a terrace of three, three-storey late 19thC houses facing the sea on NW side of street. This building is on the corner of Seaview and Queen Street with its main entrance to Queen Street. It and the adjacent property (HB16/12/021B) are a single unit but are described separately as they were originally separate buildings.

Pitched natural slate roof hipped to N end. There is a large rendered chimney on this end, and similar chimney to rear. Moulded overhanging eaves course carries metal ogee gutters.

Front (SE) wall (to Seaview) is two bays wide. It is wet dashed and painted with smooth chamfered basecourse and stepped stucco quoins to either end. Continuous moulded cill courses on the upper floors. Left bay is narrower than the right one and has a single 1/1 sliding sash window to each floor (all with painted cills). All have moulded architraves with decorative keyblocks; that to second floor is slightly diminished in height.

The right bay has a canted bay window rising full height, with a canted natural slate roof sharing common eaves with the main roof. Over is a gable, with decorative fretted bargeboard and finial (which ties into main roof). Walls of bay are painted line render. Each face of the bay window has a 1/1 sliding sash window with horns. Those to second floor are slightly diminished in height.

Left gable forms party wall with no.7 Seaview (HB16/12/021B).

Right (NE) gable fronts Queen Street and is detailed as the facade. It is three bays wide, the right one set back slightly. The central one contains the main entrance. Door has four raised and fielded bolection moulded panels. Over is a semicircular headed fanlight. It is flanked by semicircular-headed sidelights. Both door and sidelights have panelled stucco pilasters with foliated consoles, under a moulded cornice which rises as an open-bed pediment over the fanlight The apex of this pediment ties into the first floor cill course. The remainder of the cornice sweeps back into the cill course. There is a small brass plaque on wall to left of the doorcase.

To left bay at ground floor, there is a single 1/1sash window with moulded architrave and key-block. There is a similar window to each upper floor on left and middle bays; those to second floor are diminished in height. The first floor window, directly over main entrance, has additional flanking pilasters and consoles carrying a pediment.

The right bay is stepped back from the other two bays. To ground and first floor is a pair of 1/1 sliding sash windows with moulded architraves and raised keystone. The second floor has a central similar, but wider window.

The rear (NW) elevation is gabled to left and abutted by a cat slide return at right. The gable is smooth rendered and painted. It is abutted to its right end by a lower two and a half storey return (see later). The exposed section of the gable has a 1/1 sliding sash window set roughly to centre between first and second floors. The cat-slide return at right side of rear continues left to abut the right cheek of this rear gable.

Return has a pitched natural slate roof – hipped to its gable end. Advanced eaves course supports half round rainwater goods. Walls are dashed and painted. Its NE elevation is set back slightly from the face of the main block. Its ground floor has (from left and right) two top-hung timber casement windows; a modern timber door with plainly glazed transom over; a 2/2 sliding sash window; a pair of modern timber casements. First floor (from left) has three 2/2 sliding sash windows and two modern timber casements (that to the right end is smaller).

The end gable of the return is smooth rendered and painted to ground floor. Ground floor has two modern fire-escape doors. Set to left of first floor is a 1/1 sliding sash window. The right cheek of the return is abutted by a flat roofed extension (of no interest).
The walls facing onto the inner yard are all modern and retain no features of interest. All windows are modern top-hung casements with concrete cills.

A low rendered dwarf wall and hedge enclose garden to front and right.

Historical information

First cited in the 1882 Valuation revision book (as no.11 Queen St). It was the first of the three houses in this sea-facing terrace to be built, its neighbour (HB16/12/021B) first being cited in 1883, and the house at the opposite end (HB16/12/021A) in 1884. It becomes no.27 The Promenade in 1895.

Primary sources
1. Valuation revision books (PRONI: VAL 12B/22/23D, p.209).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Right one of a terrace of three three-storey/ two-bay late 19thC houses. It has been adapted internally to facilitate nursing home, and retains little original fabric. This end of terrace house is a relatively late, Victorian building and has lost much detail and its plan form in conversion to a nursing home. Its external character contributes to both the townscape value and the uniformity of this sea-facing terrace.