110 Irish Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large, three storey Georgian terrace town house of c.1760 with pedimented doorway, now divided into flats. The building is situated on a the E side of the S end of Irish Street.

The W front is asymmetrical. To the centre of the high level ground floor is a timber-panelled door with plain semicircular fanlight surmounted by a broken pediment which is supported on consul brackets. This door surround is now covered with a fine Tyrolean finish. The doorway is set at the head of a double flight of stone steps with plain wrought iron railings.

To the left of the door are two sash windows with Georgian panes (6/6). To the right is a single plain sash window. To the first floor are four evenly spaced sash windows, as ground floor left, but slightly shorter. The second floor has four 3/3 sash windows, as before, but much shorter. The windows to first and second floors are positioned directly one above the other but the two to the left of the ground floor are slightly out of line with those above. The front façade is finished in unpainted lined render. The left hand edge of the façade has moulded in- out quoins while the eaves course projects slightly. The basement windows to front have been blocked.

The N gable is blank and rendered as front.

The E rear façade has two, two storey returns. That to the left (S) is lean-to (leaning against the return of its neighbour). That to the centre is flat roofed. The E rear of the original building is much obscured by the returns but to the left of the flat roofed return the first and second floors are exposed, but blank. To the second floor are three small window openings all with modern timber frames. The left side of this façade originally has a full height recess to the left side. All but the top of this recess is obscured by the later returns.

The S face of the flat roofed return has one window opening, with modern timber frame, to the first floor. To the ground floor is a blocked door opening. The E face of this return has two small window openings with modern timber window openings to ground floor and one similar to the left side of the first floor. The flat roofed return merges with the lean-to return. The E face of this return has a wide window opening with modern timber frame to ground floor and a similar window to first floor.

The main roof is covered with natural slate while the flat roof appears to be covered with bituminous felt. The rear are finished with lined render.

To either side of the ridge of the main roof is a chimneystack. That to the N was rendered which has resulted in the loss of any detail and has three plain pots. That the S is brick and appears to have been reduced in height and has no pots. The rw goods appear to be mainly cast iron.

Historical information

This site is shown occupied on the town plan of 1708 and all others thereafter. Judging from the front façade of the present building (and in particular the pedimented doorcase), it is probable that the present property dates from c.1760 or slightly later. In the 1838 valuation returns the resident is recorded as one Mrs Nevin, with the house possessing a rateable value of £24*.

The building was split into three apartments in c.1970s.

References- Primary sources
1 Down County Museum ‘A plan of Downpatrick’ by Michael Wills (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

A. Style
B. Proportion
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Fine, three storey (plus basement) Georgian terrace townhouse of c.1760 with pedimented doorway.