38-40 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey gabled terraced group on the NE side of Main Street in the village of Kircubbin, with a chemist shop and dwelling house.

To the left (No.38) is the shop front with central glazed door and large single pane shop windows to either side. Low painted stall riser with painted timber sign board above. Above sign board is narrow ‘cornice’.

To the right of this is the entrance to the living accommodation (No.40), which consists of a panelled timber door with plain fanlight over. Distinctive decorative moulded surround to door with segmental top. To the right of door is a sashed window with vertical astragal and similar surround as door. First floor has five evenly spaced similar windows, on cill course. Internally illuminated projecting PVC sign between second and third first floor windows. A portion of the neighbouring house (No.42) appears to have been annexed to No.40 at some point, it has a sashed window to ground and first floor, but without surrounds. There are quoins between these windows and the rest of those to No.40, stressing the fact that these did not originally belong together. The quoins themselves (which are also to the left side of No.38) are ‘arrow head’ to ground floor and the more common ‘square’ vermiculated variety to first floor.

The left hand gable which rises above No.36 is blank and finished in plain render.

The front facade is finished in rusticated render to ground floor, with plain render to first floor.

The roof of the entire block is pitched with asbestos free slates and two rendered chimney stacks to No.40.

Doubled gabled return to rear with mixture of sashed and more modern windows. Rear finished in plain render.

Mixture of cast iron and PVC RW goods, with broken down spout to front of No.40.

Historical information

A terrace is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834, which may well correspond to the group we see today. The owner of No.42 stated that he believed that these buildings (as well as his own property) were the oldest within Kircubbin and may originally date to the mid eighteenth century. The decoration to the doors and windows is probably mainly Edwardian. Part of No.40 undoubtedly belonged to No.42 at some stage and may have been used as an office. Photographs of c.1910 show this terrace much as today, but without the surrounds to the door and the left ground floor window of No.40.

References- Primary sources
1 'Taylors and Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland' (Dublin 1777).
2 Pigot & Co.s “City of Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory” (Manchester 1824), pp. 417-18. [Description of the town of Kircubbin etc. in c.1824. See also Slater’s “Directory” for 1846, 1856 and 1870, original copies of which are currently held at the Linenhall Library, Belfast.]
3 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Edition, 1834, Co. Down 18.
4 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), p. 84-5. [c.1834]
5 PRONI VAL 1B/311A & B 1st valuation, Inishargy, c.1835.
6 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st revision, 1860, Co. Down 18.
7 PRONI 2nd valuation, Inishargy, c.1863.
8 UFTM WAG 1837 W.A. Green Collection- Photograph of Main Street, Kircubbin, c.1910.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey terrace block (with house and shop) of possible pre 1834 origin, but now with early 20th century moulded surrounds to front façade openings. The shop front has been modernised somewhat.