47-51 South Promenade

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A mixed two and three storey terrace of three large sea front houses dating from c.1880s-90s, with full height bays and small first floor balconies. The terrace is set on the W side of South Promenade, to the S of Newcastle town centre.

No.51 is to the S end of the terrace. It is three storey and probably not as old as its neighbours to the N. It is now divided into flats. Its (E) front façade is symmetrical with a projecting ground floor porch, with panelled door and sidelights, supporting a plain balcony. The porch and balcony are flanked by full height canted bays with sash windows to each face of each floor, cill courses, string courses and a castellated parapet. In the centre of the first floor is a set of glazed double doors with decorative moulding around opening onto the balcony. Directly above this is a second floor sash window.

The S gable has several centrally located window openings, all of which may not be original. The rear façade has been much altered in recent years with the conversion of the building into flats. To the centre is a full height, lean-to projection with a two storey extension to the N and a single storey extension to the S. Most of the window openings to the rear have been enlarged.

The façade is rendered, with the front lined and painted and with moulded quoins. The gabled roof is covered in artificial slate with four large modern rooflights to rear. Two large rendered gable chimney stacks. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

Nos.47 and 49 are two storey and slightly older, and more plainer looking than no.51. Probably built as a pair with identical front façades, hipped roofs, full height canted bays and first floor balconies. Both have modern glazed porches. No.47 has modern PVC windows while no.49 retains its original sashes to the front. Large two storey returns to the rear; that to no.47 is considerably larger and appears to have been extended in later years. Windows to the rear of both houses are generally modern.

The facades of both properties are rendered and generally painted. Gabled roofs are covered in natural slate. To the rear, both have two large gabled dormers. All of these appear to be fairly recent. Both houses have a single rendered chimney stack with another to the centre shared. No.47 has another stack to its return. Small cast iron skylight to the front of each house. The rw goods to both appear to be mainly cast iron.

Historical information

Though buildings are shown on this site on the OS maps of 1834 and 1859, the present houses probably date from the late 1800s, perhaps c.1880s-90s. Nos.47 and 49 were undoubtedly built as a pair and appear to have replaced a larger single dwelling which is recorded in the 1863 valuation (when it was the home of Rev John Moore, the brother of the then Countess Annesley and a one time trustee of the Annesley estate). No.51 was probably built slightly after its neighbours and may date from closer to 1900.

The terrace is shown as ‘Armitage Place’ on the OS map of 1901, a name which appears to have been given to this stretch of South Promenade some time prior to 1859.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.1503 Annesley Papers.
2 PRONI OS/1/3/49 OS map, first ed., Co. Down 49.
3 PRONI VAL/1D/3/10 Valuation town plan of Newcastle, 1838.
4 PRONI OS/6/3/49/2 OS map, first rev., Co. Down 49.
5 PRONI Second (‘Griffith’s) valuation, Kilcoo, 1863.
6 PRONI VAL/12E/111/1 Valuation town plan of Newcastle, 1864-1906.
7 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ]).
8 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.161-165.
9 PRONI OS/8/136/1-4 OS plans of Newcastle, 1901.

Secondary sources
1 P.J. Rankin, 'Historic Buildings, Groups of Buildings, Areas of Architectural Importance in the Mourne Area of South Down', (Belfast UAHS 1975), p.74.
2 Grenfell Morton ‘Victorian and Edwardian Newcastle’ (Belfast 1988).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A two and three storey terrace of three large sea front houses dating from c.1880s-90s, with full height bays and small first floor balconies. Nos.47-49 have largely identical front façades and appear to have been built as a pair, whilst the much larger no.51 was probably built after its neighbours and has a more ornate façade. No.51 is now subdivided into flats.