17 Church Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey terrace house, possibly dating from the later 19th century, largely plain but with moulded surrounds to front openings and now with PVC window frames. The property is set within the terrace on the E side of Church Street, to the N of Portaferry town centre.

Front (W) façade faces W and is asymmetrical. To the ground floor there is a doorway to right with moulded architrave and entablature and timber panel door with fanlight and three pane sidelights. Paired windows to left of doorway separated by pier, with moulded architraves and entablature which enclosing two pane top hung PVC windows.

The first floor has paired windows as ground floor to left and single window to right. All windows same as ground floor but without entablature. Cill course. Eaves course. Entire facade painted cream with entablatures, cill course and simulated plinth in brown. Exposed gable to south is finished in pebbledash render and shows trace of gable outline of a now demolished former single storey dwelling, which stood on site of present entrance to parochial house (fro near by St Cooey's oratory).

Rear façade has a glazed timber door to the left and a modern window to the right. To first floor are two similar windows.

Pitched roof with Bangor blue slates and two yellow brick chimney stacks with decorative corbelling. Narrow cement parapets.

Historical information

A building, in possession of a Widow Grattan, is shown on this site on Patrick O’Hare’s 1799 map. In 1838 the site was occupied by an old single storey dwelling. The present house appears to date from the later 19th century, perhaps c.1870s.

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 terrace house, possibly dating from the later 19th century, largely plain but with moulded surrounds to front openings and now with PVC window frames.