10-12 Church Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey public house of possible pre 1834 origin, now extensively altered and renovated with modern window frames, rear extensions, dormer, pseudo half-timbered features, shutters and illuminated projecting pub signs. The building is set within a terrace on the W side of Church Street just N of Portaferry town centre.

The front façade is asymmetrical. Roughly to the centre is a panelled door, small decorative canopy over. To either side of the door is a window with modern frame. To first floor are five evenly spaced windows with modern timber frames. To the far right is another panelled door.

The front façade is rendered and painted with mock timber framing to the upper half. Modern PVC illuminated pub signs to top left and right of façade. Further tradtional projecting pub sign and log timber signboard over door. The ground floor windows has middle-European style timber shutters.

No access to rear. The rear elevation is obscured by large modern extensions etc. some of which are attached to the main building and some of which appear to be free standing.

The gabled roof is covered with fibre cement slates. Large modern flat roofed dormer to front. Two brick chimney stacks.

Historical information

A building, in the possession of ‘Widow Cowan’, is shown on this site on Patrick O’Hare’s 1799 map. The valuation retrurns of 1838 state that this site was occupied by an old (grade 'C') dwelling house which had been split into two properties, then in the hands of a John Smith and a Michael [?]Byrne, and with the house to the south side much larger than that to the north. The valuation map of 1863 indicates a single property.

It is possible that the building of today is that referred to in 1838, for the arrangement of the doors (and the fact that there was once a window to the immediate left of the central door) suggests a once symmetrical dwelling house which had an extra door added. Moreover the dimensions of the houses recorded in 1838 match with the two dwelling arrangement suggested by the present front door and window layout.

The resident in 1863 is recorded as an Elizabeth Byrne. The property has been a public house since the late 1960s at least.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.552/B/3/3/1 Savage/Nugent Papers ‘A Plan or Map of the Town of Portaferry’ by Patrick O’Hare, 1799
2 PRONI OS/6/3/32/1 OS maps, 1st ed., 1834, Down sheet 32
3 PRONI VAL/1B/37 1st valuation, Ballyphilip, c.1835-38
4 PRONI VAL/1D/3/4 Valuation town plan of Portaferry, c.1838
5 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), p.520-23
6 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
7 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), p.592-95
8 PRONI OS/8/23/1- OS town plan of Portaferry, 1859
9 PRONI Second ('Griffith's') valuation, 1863 [in print]
10 PRONI VAL/12E/112/1- Valuation maps of Portaferry, c.1863, with revisions of 1902
11 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870), pp.341-43
12 PRONI OS/8/23/2 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1874
13 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886)
14 PRONI OS/8/23/3 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1900
15 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), p.11
2 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

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey public house of possible pre 1834 origin, now extensively altered and renovated with modern window frames, rear extensions, dormer, pseudo half-timbered features, shutters and illuminated projecting pub signs.

General comments

Previously part of HB24/01/038.