53 Dunbarton Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Attached two-bay two-storey dwelling, mid-terrace of a group of three situated at the end of the larger street terrace, built c.1860, located to the south side of Dunbarton Street, Gilford. Rectangular-on-plan.

Roof is pitched natural slate with blue-black clay roll-top ridge tiles; ogee profile rainwater goods supported on paired. Walling is ruled-and-lined render over painted chamfered plinth. Windows are square-headed timber 6/6 sliding sashes; all have painted masonry sills, unless otherwise stated.

Principal elevation faces north-east and comprises square-headed entrance containing timber six-panelled door surmounted by plain glazed overlight at left; two windows at right; three windows at first floor (directly over).

North-west gable is abutted by adjacent building (HB17/01/013C).

South-west elevation not surveyed.

South-east elevation is abutted by adjacent building (HB17/01/013A).

Setting:

The building is accessed directly from street at north; enclosed yard to south.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Render
Windows: Timber
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

The dwelling is one of a terrace of three houses built c.1864 on land leased from John Walsh McMaster, partner in the firm of Dunbar McMaster & Co of Gilford Mill. The buildings are first shown on the third edition OS map of 1901-2. The buildings are not listed in Griffith’s Valuation of 1863, but do appear in the Annual Revisions of the following year. The mill owners began to build houses for their workforce almost immediately the mill opened, but these were largely basic two-up, two-down and back-to-back dwellings. In 1841, there were 111 houses in Gilford, by 1871, there were 559. (Cairns)

The terrace in Dunbarton Street, constituted three of the 81 houses built between 1861 and 1871, when population growth had reached its peak. The houses are larger than other mill-owned property and were often occupied by school teachers. Provision of suitable accommodation for schoolteachers working in the mill school may have been the reason for constructing the terrace, there being little housing available which fell between the grand mansions of proprietors and the humbler worker’s kitchen houses. (Logan)

The first occupant to be noted in the current dwelling, valued at £8, is Robert R McCausland in 1864, followed by Mrs McMurray (1880) and Thomas McCullough (1894). McCullough was a foreman mechanic from County Tyrone aged 61, who lived with his wife and niece who was still at school. Subsequent tenants were James Gordon (1904) and William Gore (1907) but by 1911 both this house and its neighbour at number 51 had been taken over for use as a post office, by postmistress Frances Hunter, assisted by her sister Marion. A further sister worked as a National School Teacher, perhaps in the Mill School which had been opened in 1846 as an important means of providing educated workers for the Dunbar McMaster mill. Also working at the post office was an unpaid ‘learner’ and the household had a general servant of 50 years. The Hunters remained resident until at least 1930.

Today the house is privately owned.

References:
Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/26/1 First Edition OS Map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/26/2 Second Edition OS map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/3/26/3 Third Edition OS Map 1901-2
4. PRONI OS/6/3/26/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1920-21
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/25A-H Annual Revisions (1864-1930)
6. 1901 census online
7. 1911 census online

Secondary Sources
1. Cairns, A “The Church and Community of St John the Evangelist Gilford, Sesquicentennial 1850-2000” Lurgan: Inglewood
Press, 2002
2. Logan, R A “A Window on the Past, A History of Gilford County Down” Banbridge Chronicle, (n.d.)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Attached two-bay two-storey mid-terrace dwelling, built c.1864. One of a terrace of three, it has group value with Nos 51 & 55 (HB17/01/013A&C). Three are also links with Gilford Mill*HB17/01/020A-E). Much of original fabric and detailing survives, and the terrace is a good example of the type of small town houses that are becoming more rare.

General comments

This record is part of a group. Refer to HB17/01/013A&C.