Former Coach House for No.12

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey gabled random rubble former coach house, now part of the QUB Marine Biology Station, to the rear of No.12 The Strand.

Front S elevation ground floor- Five openings all with various single and double plain timber doors of varying sizes with an elliptical arch doorway to the far left and a larger segmental arch coach way to the far right. Arches constructed with red brick dressings. Three pedestrian doorways in centre (probably added later).First floor- Three openings of various sizes and slightly varying levels, with the central and far right bay now boarded with a timber sheeted door to the bay to the left. Bay to left once had elliptical arch head, but now square. Evidence of small circular brick dressed bay to eaves between second and third bays and to far left.

East gable blank but with small lean to extension.

The W gable abuts the boundary and is blank.

Rear backs on to bank with visible upper section blank. Walls show traces on former white wash. South east corner roughly rebuilt in concrete block.

Roof- Pitched roof with Bangor blue slates and slight overhang at eaves. PVC gutters and down spouts. West gable blank. The building has a small date plaque inscribed ‘1831’.

Historical information

This building was built as a stable block to serve the present No.12 The Strand. It is undoubtedly that shown on the OS map of 1834 and valuation plan of c.1835-38. The valuation returns reveal that it was probably built some time between c.1800 and c.1830 (the valuers graded it 'A') at the same time as the house it served.

The house itself is recorded as the home of one Hugh Boden (or Bowden) in c.1835. It remained in the Boden family until 1865, when it was bought by the Belfast Banking Co. for use as banking premises. The Bank left the buillding is 1936 (when new premises were constructed in Portaferry town Square).

Queen’s University acquired the property (along with the stable block) in the [?]1960s and since then it has housed the University’s Marine Biology Station.

References- Primary sources
1 Linen Hall Library ‘Pigot & Co.’s Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory’ (Manchester 1824)
2 'Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II', ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991)
3 PRONI OS/6/3/32/1 OS maps, 1st ed., 1834, Down sheet 32
4 PRONI VAL/1B/37 1st valuation, Ballyphilip, c.1835-38
5 PRONI VAL/1D/3/4 Valuation town plan of Portaferry, c.1838
6 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), p.520-23
7 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
8 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), p.592-95
9 PRONI OS/8/23/1- OS town plan of Portaferry, 1859
10 PRONI Second ('Griffith's') valuation, 1863 [In print.]
11 PRONI VAL/12E/112/1- Valuation maps of Portaferry, c.1863, with revisions of 1902
12 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870), pp.341-43
13 PRONI OS/8/23/2 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1874
14 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886)
15 PRONI OS/8/23/3 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1900
16 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 J.H. Buller, ‘Banking in Portaferry’ in Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society, No. 7 (1983), p. 6
4 Dick Oram, "The Buildings of Portaferry" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.16' (1992), p. 24

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey gabled random rubble former coach house of c.1810, to the rear of No.12 The Strand. The building is now used as a store by QUB Marine Biology Station.