1 North Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large, formal, two storey rendered Georgian gabled house of perhaps c.1800, with prominent 'spider's web' semicircular fanlight to main entrance and large tripartite sash windows to front. The building is situated at the south east end of North Street (near the intersection of Main Street) at the north end of the village of Greyabbey.

The front facade of the house is finished in lined render and painted, with chamfered quoins. The gables and rear are finished in rough cast. The roof is pitched with Bangor blue slates, stone parapets and three rendered chimney stacks. Cast iron rw goods. Remnants of rubble built outbuildings to rear. Low rendered garden wall to the front.

The front SW elevation is symmetrical. To the centre of the ground floor is the main entrance which consists of a relatively narrow panelled timber door with large plain sidelights and a very large semicircular fanlight with ‘spider web’ tracery. The doorway is encased with simple fluted pilasters and simple surround to arch with decorative keystone. Large single tripartite sash window, with Georgian panes, to both left and right of doorway. Three similar evenly spaced windows to the first floor, but with simple surrounds and keystone as doorway, as well as small brackets to cills and cill course. Until relatively recently [c.1984] there used to be two Victorian shallow flat roofed bays to the ground floor with a pair of sash windows to each. These were removed by the present owner.

The SE gable has a plain sash window, with plain render surround, to the far left on the ground floor, with a small modern window (with patterned glass) to the far right. Small six pane attic window high in gable. There is a high rendered wall attached to the centre of the ground floor of the gable which encloses the rear garden. To the left of this wall (above the left hand window) there is a faint outline of a gable, indicating that a smaller building once adjoined this (confirmed by the 1834 OS map).

Attached to the ground floor of the NW gable is a single storey lean to kitchen extension, now with modern windows and rear door. The door and window openings to this extension appear to have been altered in recent times. The SW side of this extension is attached to the rear of a single storey gabled former house (now a store) which projects forward from the line of the front facade of No.1 North Street. There is a tiny four pane attic window high in the NW gable.

The rear elevation has a low plain sheeted timber door to the far left with a tiny window to its immediate right and another tiny window just above (between ground and first floor level). To the far right is a sash window with Georgian panes. To the first floor are two similar sash windows, to right and left, with evidence of a blocked similar sized window opening to the centre.

Historical information

The owner of this house (1997) informed the writers that the building dates from c.1800. The building appears to be that shown on the OS map of 1834.

In c.1984 the current owner carried out major renovation work to the house removing two square Victorian bays from the ground floor and installing tripartite windows to both it and the first floor. A bill of works dated 1864, found recently during restoration to the interior, suggests that the square bays and the kitchen extension to the NW gable may date from this time. If so, the decoration to the main entrance and the first floor front windows was probably added at this stage also, however, all this is not certain. The window to the far left on the on the SE facade is not original.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/1B/33 1st valuation, Greyabbey, c.1834-38
2 'Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II', ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), pp.67-72
3 PRONI VAL/1D/3/17 Valuation plan, Greyabbey, c.1838
4 PRONI VAL/2B/3/4 Second valuation, Greyabbey, c.1859
5 PRONI VAL/2D/3/10 Second valuation plan, Greyabbey, 1859
6 PRONI OS/6/3/11/2 Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Revision, c.1860 Co. Down 11
7 PRONI VAL/12B/23/16a-f Annual valuation revision books, Greyabbey, 1866-1930
8 PRONI VAL/12E/99/1 Valuation plan, Greyabbey, 1906-35

Secondary sources
1 Bob Trayte, "The Greyabbey and village" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.16' (1992), pp.2-4

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Large, formal, two storey rendered Georgian style gabled house of c.1800, with prominent 'spider's web' semicircular fanlight to main entrance and large tripartite sash windows to front.