The Portaferry Hotel

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Substantial and long, relatively plain two storey hotel block set on The Strand and the corner of Castle Street. This building consists of amalgamated and much altered, formerly separate properties, one of which is undoubtedly pre 1834, but a large section to the SE was the site of two smaller houses, which were demolished in 1991 and the hotel extended. To the rear there are large modern extensions.

The long south elevation to The Strand is asymmetrical. Roughly to the centre is a modern timber and glazed flat roofed porch with wheelchair access ramp to left and steps to right. All of the windows are sliding sash with horizontal and vertical astragals, though they vary in size and between single, double and tripartite. Window arrangement partly reflects fact that this building was at one stage separate properties. There are four windows to left of door on ground floor all varying in size and somewhat randomly placed. The second window is single, with the rest tripartite. Three windows to right of door with first window tripartite other two double. Plain sheeted timber door to far right. First floor has four tall single windows to the left, three slightly squat tripartite windows in the centre and six smallish single windows to the right, grouped in pairs.

West elevation is set on slope of Castle Street and is stepped with a lower section on the corner level with the south elevation (to the right) and an upper section further along Castle Street (to the left). The upper section has four single windows with two to the left at first floor level, the third to the ground floor and the fourth at an intermediate level. The lower section has six windows in total, with three unevenly spaced tripartite windows on the ground floor (very close to pavement level), and three single windows to the first floor with the first two (smaller) windows close to eaves and a third larger window slightly lower.

To the rear there is a mixture of large modern extensions, which now appear to be linked but were probably built in stages. These are mainly flat rooded and mainly two storey, though a small section is gabled. All the window frames to the rear are modern.

The façade is rendered and painted.

The roof of the main section is generally gabled but is hipped on the corner. The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates with three plain render chimney stacks to south elevation, with matching pots. Small cast iron skylight in middle of roof to south elevation. Cast iron gutters and down spouts. Lights for illumination of facade at eaves.

Unobtrusive, black letters spelling out ‘Portaferry Hotel’ to left of centre on south elevation and to right on west elevation.

Historical information

This building was built in stages and represents the amalgamation of a number of properties and the demolition of others. On Patrick O’Hare’s 1799 map a large building is shown on the corner of The Strand and Castle Street. At this stage the remainder of the property on the south or Strand side incorporated the site now covered by the present hotel as well as land to the rear and buildings where the ‘The Cornstore’ restaurant now stands.

During the early nineteenth century, however, the lease was sub divided, with the buildings to the rear becoming Maxwell’s Distillery (later a corn mill and by 1860s, falling into dereliction) and a tan yard, run by William Warnock. The rest of the section to the 'corner' formed one large property, with a separate house next to it further along the Strand. In 1835 the larger property to the corner was in possession of a Hugh Boden and included a two storey dwelling house with extensive single storey outbuildings (which, from the valuation plan, appears to have been situated right on the corner). The dwelling further along The Strand (also two storey) was the home of one Eliza Lyttle.

In 1860 one Edward Bryce had obtained a lease of the large corner property, as well as the house beyond and for most of the next two decades ran a spirit grocers on the corner (presumably on the site of Hugh Boden's former outbuildings), whilst subletting the two houses beyond.

In December 1880 Bryce sold the lease to Henry McGrath, an auctioneer who was to become a leading light in Portaferry’s social, cultural and political life. The property remained in the McGrath family until 1933 when the lease was bought by William Lyons, who in turn, three years later, sold it to leading local businessman, William McMullan. With many other business interests already, McMullan sublet the spirit grocers to a Mrs. Corbett and her daughter Miss Thompson, who decided to open a hotel on the site. Thus, during the late 1930s, the spirit grocers and the buildings to Castle Street were converted and a door opened from the hotel to the house on The Strand (undoubtedly the dwelling which belonged to Hugh Boden in 1835). In 1947 the lease was acquired by a Mrs Wilson, who had been in hotel managership for some time, and who extended the business, taking in the whole of the former house.

The ‘Portaferry Hotel’, as the premises become known, remained in this form until 1991, when the present owners acquired and demolished the adjoining houses of No.9, (proably the house occupied by Eliza Lyttle in 1835), and No.8 and extended the hotel on to this site, extensively renovating the entire building in the process.

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)
[The memoirs provide a description of John Maxwell’s Distillery, originally sited at the rear of the present hotel.]
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 UFTM WAG 609, 611, 612 W.A. Green Collection, photographs of Portaferry Quay, harbour, Shore Road etc.
20 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 J.H. Buller, ‘Banking in Portaferry’ in Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society, No. 7 (1983), p. 6
3 Dick Oram, "The Buildings of Portaferry" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.16' (1992), p. 24
4 Dick Oram, ‘A short history of the Portaferry Hotel’ in Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society, No. 17 (1993), pp. 20-24.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Substantial two storey hotel block set on The Strand and the corner of Castle Street. This building consists of amalgamated and much altered, formerly separate properties, one of which is undoubtedly pre 1834, but a large section to the south east was the site of two smaller houses, which were demolished in 1991 and the hotel extended. To the rear there are large modern extensions. With all of these changes, alterations and rebuilds there is insufficient architectural character to warrant listing these buildings.