60 Irish Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively plain two storey terrace office, originally built as a house in c.1800-20, but converted to its present use c.1990s with façade greatly altered in the process. The property is set on E side of Irish Street.

The front façade faces W and is asymmetrical. To the right is a recently inserted recessed shop front with large modern window, glazed door and ‘period’ surround to recess. To the left of this are two sash windows (2/2). The 2nd (from left) window is a recent insertion. To the first floor are three unevenly spaced windows, as ground floor left. The front façade is rendered and painted.

Roughly to the centre of the ground floor of the rear façade there is a sheeted door with window with modern frame to left. To the right of the door there extends a large, modern, single storey, flat roofed return. To the first floor of the rear façade of the main building there are two windows with modern frames. The rear façade and extension are finished as front.

The gabled roof has an artificial covering with a rendered chimney stack to N. Two Velux windows to rear. Metal rw goods.

Historical information

This site is shown occupied on the 1708 town plan of Downpatrick and all others thereafter. Like much of the rest of Irish Street, this property probably dates from the late 18th or early 19th century, perhaps c.1800-20 (the arrange of its façade before the 1990s changes suggested this also). The building is probably that indicated on the valuation plan of 1838, when it was in the hands of one Michael Martin.*

The property was greatly altered in the 1990s when the (almost central) house doorway and window to its right were replaced with the present shop front, with new window inserted to left. The large return dates from this time also.

References- Primary sources
1 Down County Museum ‘A plan of Downpatrick’ (c.1708)
2 PRONI D.477A ‘A survey of the town of Downpatrick in the county of Down and province of Ulster in Ireland’ by James Maguire (c.1708)
3 British Library, Addit. MS 9750, ff.71b-72 ‘A plan of the town of Downpatrick (c.1720)
4 British Library, Addit. MS 21, 131, f.90 ‘A plan of the town of Downpatrick 1729’
5 Walter Harris, ‘The ancient and present state of the County of Down’ (Dublin 1744)
6 PRONI OS/6/3/37/1 OS map, Down sh 37, 1834
7 Ordnance Survey memoirs of Co Down (IV), ed Angélique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1992), pp.38-61 [Dec. 1836]
8 PRONI VAL/1B/378 First valuation, Down, c.1838 [*Unfortunately this valuation does not supply either dimensions of buildings within Downpatrick or any indication of their age / condition; it merely gives a list of the occupants names and the rateable value of each property.]
9 PRONI VAL/1D/3/7 First valuation town plan of Downpatrick, c.1838
10 PRONI OS/8/9/1/1-24 OS town plans of Downpatrick, 1859
11 PRONI Second valuation, Down, 1863 (in print). [The map to accompany this valuation is missing.]
12 PRONI VAL/12E/120/1 Revaluation manuscript books, Downpatrick, 1864-1901
13 PRONI VAL/12E/120/1/1-24 Revaluation town plans of Downpatrick, 1864-1901 [12 sheets missing]
14 PRONI OS/8/9/2/1-3 OS town plans of Downpatrick, 1901
15 PRONI VAL/12E/120/2/1-3 Revaluation town plans of Downpatrick, 1906-35

Secondary sources
1 Lady Dunleath, P.J. Rankin, A Rowan, ‘Historic buildings…Downpatrick’ (Belfast 1970), p.15-16, 18-19
2 Anthony M. Wilson, ‘Saint Patrick’s town’ (Belfast 1995)
3 R.H. Buchanan and Anthony Wilson, ‘Irish historic towns atlas no.8: Downpatrick’ (Royal Irish Academy 1996)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Relatively plain two storey terrace office, originally built as a house in c.1800-20, but converted to its present use c.1990s with façade greatly altered in the process.