114-116 Irish Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Grand three storey double fronted Georgian terrace townhouse of 1778 with stucco façade, classical doorcase and neighbouring two storey rubble fronted addition of c.1840 with carriage entrance. The property is set within the terrace at the S end of the E side of Irish Street.

The front elevation of the property faces W, with the formal but asymmetrical façade of the large original dwelling house (No.114- HB18/19/010a) to the right and centre of the elevation.

No.114-
Roughly to the centre of the front elevation of No.114 is a single flight of steps, with decorative railings, rising to the (almost) central main entrance on the high level ground floor. The entrance has a classical doorcase which consists of a ‘flat portico’ supported on two projecting fluted Doric columns and two respondent pilasters and a distinctive 8 panel timber door. Above is a segmental arch headed fanlight with ‘chrysanthemum’ tracery.

To the left of the entrance are two closely spaced sash windows with Georgian panes (6/6). [All windows have sash frames.] To the right are two similar but slightly more widely spaced windows. Below the windows on the right are two 6/6-basement windows. These look on to a basement well area which has a decorative guard rail (matching the stair hand rail) at pavement level. At the level of the first floor is a projecting moulded string course. The five windows to this floor are as before but are slightly shorter and have moulded dressings and a blocking course and cornice. The sills are connected one to the other by a plain projecting stringcourse. At second floor level are 5 shorter sash windows (3/3) with moulded dressings. The sills also are connected with a projecting string course. The gutter rests on an eaves course.

The basement is finished with plain render which has a bevel to create a plinth effect. The ground floor render is rusticated while the first and second floors are finished in lined render. The façade is painted.

To the right of the rear E façade is a wide, but relatively shallow, three storey hipped roof return.. To the right side of this return is a further single storey gabled return. The single storey return has a panelled door to the left and a tripartite (4/4, 4/4/, 4/4) sash window to the right. The S face of this return has a 6/6 sash window.

To the left of the single storey return is a semicircular arch headed sash window 10/6. To first floor is a 6/6 sash window. To the second floor is another 6/6 sash window to the left and a similar but shorter window to the right. To the S face of this return is a door opening, with sheeted door. To the ground floor left of the three storey return, (to rear façade of main building), is a 6/6 sash window. To the first floor is an 8/8 window to the left and a small 6/6 window to the right. At second floor level there is a small 3/3 window to the left.

The exposed N face pf the three storey return over looks the rear yard to the adjoining property. This is blank except for a 6/6 window to the first floor. The N face of this return merges with the N gable of the main building. Most of this face is obscured by its neighbour (No 112). To the left at first and second floors floor are 6/6 windows.

The S gable is mainly obscured No.116. At second floor is a small fixed light window. The lower portion of the right hand edge of this gable is bevelled.

No.116-
The front façade of no. 116 is set back slightly from no.114 and is much more informal. It is rubble finished with brick dressings to the openings. At the far right of the ground floor is a decorative classical doorway. This has ¾ Tuscan pilasters either side of the 6-panel door which support a projecting (but narrow) canopy. The semicircular fanlight has radial tracery. To the left is a large flat-headed coach arch with an elliptical headed relieving arch over. At ground floor to the left of the coach arch are two 6/6 sash windows. These windows are set at the same ground floor level as No.114, but at a higher level than the doorway to the right of the coach arch. To first floor there are four similar windows. There are two similar windows to the basement to left of the coach arch. There is a wrought iron handrail guarding the drop into the basement well.

To the left side of the rear E façade is a two storey gabled return. The E gable of this is blank while the N face has a timber door to the left on the ground floor and a small window with modern frame to the right. To the right of this (actually within the coach arch) is another timber sheeted door. To first floor of the N face of the return are two 6/6 sash windows set to the left of centre. The right side of this face splays in slightly narrowing the overall width of the return.

To the left of ground floor of the rear façade of the main building is a flat-headed coach arch. To the right of this is a small modern two-pane window. To the far right is a panelled door which is at the head of a short flight of steps. To the left of the steps is a short flight of steps which lead down to the basement level (where there is another door). The small basement yard has a wrought iron guardrail which matches that to the handrail of the stairs. To the first floor are three 6/6-sash windows. That to the left is slightly larger.

The rear elevation of the whole building (i.e. No.114 and 116) is finished in plain unpainted render. All sections of the roof of the entire block are slated. There are four large, rendered chimney stacks, two to original (No.114) section and two to addition (No.116). The rw goods appear to be mainly cast iron.

Historical information

The original (i.e. larger) portion of this building was constructed in 1778 by William Trotter, Lord de Clifford’s Downpatrick agent. Trotter appears to have lived there until 1790, when, after his second marriage, he built a new villa (‘Frankville’), overlooking Quoile Quay. In c.1806 the property was acquired by Aynsworth Pilson, a prominent Downpatrick merchant who became locally famous for his writings concerning the history of the town and whose eldest son, Conway, founded the ‘Downpatrick Recorder’ newspaper. In 1813 Pilson sold the house to John Craig for £1,100, moving to his newly built residence (‘Rathdune House’) in Bridge Street.

The building is shown on the valuation town plan of 1838 and recorded in the valuation returns as possessing the substantial rateable value of £34-14s. At some point shortly after this (perhaps c.1840) the neighbouring two storey wing was built. In 1855 the property was acquired by the RC diocese and used as a convent for The Sisters of Mercy until 1875, when a new larger convent was built on the other side next to the RC church. The building appears to have remained in church hands after this, serving as a monastery for the De la Salle brothers from 1892 to 1963. The brothers used the two storey wing as a school, St Patrick’s High, between 1934 and 1937.

In recent years the building has been in private hands and used as an office.

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 D.365/3, 365/4/5 Aynsworth Pilson diaries, 1799-1863
7 PRONI OS/6/3/37/1 OS map, Down sh 37, 1834
8 Ordnance Survey memoirs of Co Down (IV), ed Angélique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1992), pp.38-61 [Dec. 1836]
9 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.]
10 PRONI VAL/1D/3/7 First valuation town plan of Downpatrick, c.1838
11 PRONI OS/8/9/1/1-24 OS town plans of Downpatrick, 1859
12 PRONI Second valuation, Down, 1863 (in print). [The map to accompany this valuation is missing.]
13 PRONI VAL/12E/120/1 Revaluation manuscript books, Downpatrick, 1864-1901
14 PRONI VAL/12E/120/1/1-24 Revaluation town plans of Downpatrick, 1864-1901 [12 sheets missing]
15 PRONI OS/8/9/2/1-3 OS town plans of Downpatrick, 1901
16 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
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Grand three storey double fronted Georgian terrace townhouse of 1778 with stucco façade and classical doorcase, with a less formal two storey, rubble-fronted neighbouring wing, (which looks at first glance like a separate property in the terrace), of c.1840.