9-11 Ferry Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Plain, two storey terrace dwelling, with integral public house, probably dating from c.1850. The property is set in the terrace on the W side of Ferry Street, to the S of Portaferry town square.

The front façade faces E and is asymmetrical. To the centre is a panelled timber door with fanlight. Sash window to left of door. To the right of the doorway is another doorway, with double doors, each with glazed upper panel and plain fanlight. This doorway leads into the pub. Two pane fixed light window, with acid etched design on glass, to far right. Timber framed and painted pub sign above second door and window to right.

To the first floor there are three sash windows as to left on ground floor. Projecting, internally illuminated, pub sign to far right. Traditional timber sign above pub door and window.

The front façade is finished in lined render with moulded quoins.

Exposed portion of S gable blank and rendered.

The gabled roof is covered with fibre cement slates and has two potless red brick chimney stacks, with taller rendered chimney stack to gable of No.7 (to N). Small cast iron skylight to left on roof at front and cement render parapet to S gable. Clay ridge tiles

Rear façade: two-storey; roof of asbestos slates; metal guttering with pvc downpipes; wall smooth cement rendered; three windows to first floor, rectangular timber, two of them modern fixed lights with top-hung vents, one of them of side-hung casements with top-hung vent. Two windows to ground floor: timber fixed lights with top-hung vents. Central doorway containing a pair of tongued and grooved sheeted timber doors in unmoulded timber frame.

Rear return: single storey with corrugated asbestos sheets to roof; metal gutter; wall smooth cement rendered; windows are timber fixed lights and side-hung casement; tongued and grooved sheeted door, and timber slatted door.

Rear yard is of cement screed.

Historical information

The valuation returns of c.1835 record that much of the the west side of Ferry Street was made up of modest single storey dwellings. Moreover, the accompanying valuation map shows that this site and much of the ground to the immediate north was taken up with a single, long property, which, we are told belonged to a Henry Smith and consisted of a single storey house and 'office' (i.e. an outbuilding). On the valuation map of c.1861 the plan of the site is shown much as today, suggesting that the present house is mid 19th century. At this point the property was in the hands of a Robert Crangle. According to the present owners, part of the ground floor was converted to a public house in the early 1900s.

References- Primary sources
1 Walter Harris, 'The Ancient and Present State of the County of Down' (Dublin 1744), p. 44. [ Harris describes Portaferry as ‘a market town, but irregularly built, and few other than thatched houses in it’.]
2 'Taylor's and Skinner's Maps of the roads of Ireland' (Dublin 1777)
3 PRONI D.552/B/3/3/1 Savage/Nugent Papers: ‘A Plan or Map of the Town of Portaferry’ by Patrick O’Hare, 1799 [The
Savage/Nugent Papers contain many documents relating to Portaferry and the surrounding area]
4 Linen Hall Library ‘Pigot & Co.’s Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory’ (Manchester 1824)
5 'Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II', ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991)
6 PRONI OS/6/3/32/1 OS maps, 1st ed., 1834, Down sheet 32
7 PRONI VAL/1B/37 1st valuation, Ballyphilip, c.1835-38
8 PRONI VAL/1D/3/4 Valuation town plan of Portaferry, c.1838
9 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), p.520-23
10 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
11 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), p.592-95
12 PRONI OS/8/23/1- OS town plan of Portaferry, 1859
13 PRONI Second ('Griffith's') valuation, 1863 [In print.]
14 PRONI VAL/12E/112/1- Valuation maps of Portaferry, c.1863, with revisions of 1902
15 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870), pp.341-43
16 PRONI OS/8/23/2 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1874
17 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886)
18 PRONI OS/8/23/3 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1900
19 PRONI VAL/12E/112/2- Valuation maps of Portaferry, 1902, with revisions of 1935

Secondary sources
1 G. Philip Bell, C.E.B. Brett, Sir Robert Matthew, 'Ulster Architectural Heritage Survey: Portaferry & Strangford'
(Belfast UAHS 1969)
2 PRONI Portaferry: Sources for Local History (PRONI ?1970s)
3 Sr. Mary Mercy (nee Isobel Cummings), "Memories of Portaferry in the early years of this century" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society, No.10' (1986), pp. 21-24
4 Jack Orr, "The Postal Service in Portaferry" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No. 11' (1987), pp. 2-4
5 R. Oram, "The Buildings of Portaferry" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.16' (1992)
6 Harry Murray, "Ferry Street in the 1990s" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.18' (1994), p. 10

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Little changed two storey terrace dwelling, with integral public house, probably dating from c.1850. It retains its simple Victorian character.