26 Scotch Quarter

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three-storey house with a canted single storey bay to the ground floor. Main entrance faces south.

South elevation three-storey, two windows wide to upper floors. Roof of Bangor blue sates in regular courses, continuous with roof of no. 24 to the left; gabled, with flush verges to the right; two rooflights.

Wall smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, painted cream, with raised quoins to right hand extremity; quoins painted brown.
Entrance is set in a recessed segmental arched opening with continuous roll moulding around.

Door rectangular timber, 4-panel, original, set between panelled pilasters, with radial fanlight over; modern letterbox.
Canted bay to left is a later addition: moulded cornice and frieze; walls smooth cement rendered; one window in each face; rectangular openings with moulded and stop chamfered reveals to sides and head; projecting cill continuous right round; windows rectangular PVC fixed light and top-hung vent, replacements.

Windows to two upper floors are rectangular PVC fixed lights with top-hung vents, replacements for original timber sashes; all set in raised moulded surrounds with projecting cills.

Across front of building is a railed enclosure, concreted over; iron railings and gate of 20th century date, mounted on plinth wall.

Rear elevation three-storey, smooth cement rendered and partly painted white. PVC rainwater goods. All windows appear to be modern replacements, comprising timber fixed lights with top-hung vents. There is a large metal fire-escape stairway attached to the rear elevation with modern glazed and panelled wooden doors leading on to it. Small enclosed yard to rear, concreted over, with rubble and brick walls of poor quality.

To the rear of the small enclosed yard is a small single-storey block formerly part of this property, but now in the ownership of the adjoining property at no. 28, accessible only from no. 28 but with a glazed modern door overlooking the yard of this property.

SETTING: The building stands facing the main road, within an urban area. It forms part of a terrace development, and overlooks a public park to the front with an open view to the sea beyond. Its front path and small front enclosure is now recessed behind the later front projection of a hotel to the east.

The two-storey outbuildings of no. 22 extend behind this house to meet later taller extensions to the rear of the hotel at no. 28 so that the rear of this property is encircled by other buildings, none of which are of any apparent architectural quality and spoil the rear
setting.

Historical information

The precise date of the building is not recorded but it appears for the first time on the OS map of 1857, and probably dates from the mid to late 1830s. A smaller building appears on the site on the first OS map, of 1832. Before being acquired by the present owner, it was used recently as hotel accommodation by the adjoining hotel to the east, with an opening to link the two buildings at first floor level. The hotel still retains a small single storey block projecting into the plot of this house, immediately to the rear of this house.

References - Primary Sources

1. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 52.

Secondary Sources

1. UAHS, Carrickfergus (Belfast, 1978; revised 1980), p 33.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a building of early 19th century date which has been subsantially altered and has now little architectural or historic interest.