2 Church Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large two storey roughcast terrace house of c.1860s, of generally Georgian appearance but incorporating a typically Victorian shop front. The property is situated at the south west end of Church Street, at the intersection with Main Street, Greyabbey.

The gabled roof is slated and has four evenly spaced yellow brick chimney stacks. There is a tall brick chimney stack to the gable of the return. PVC rw goods to the front facade, cast iron to the rear.

Front SW elevation is asymmetrical. To the right is the house front door set in elliptical arch recess, with plain sheeted door, wide timber jambs to door and elliptical arch radial fanlight. To right of doorway is a sash window with Georgian panes, with a similar window to the left and five similar, evenly spaced, windows to the first floor.

To the far left on the ground floor is a timber shop front with a large three light window with semicircular headed panes filled with small diamond leaded lights, on either side of the shop doorway. There are thick timber mullions between the windows and the doorway and the whole ensemble is framed with plain pilasters to the outer side of each window and a timber sign board above. The shop door is now of the modern glazed variety, with many Georgian-like panes. The whole front elevation is finished in unpainted roughcast with plain quoins and slightly recessed plinth. There is a metal street sign under the left hand shop window.

The NW gable has a very small four pane attic window near the apex and a larger window, as front, to the left of the first floor.

To the right hand side of the rear elevation there is a two level gabled return, with a small sash window (like before but much smaller) to the right on the ground floor and a small timber sheeted loft door at the upper level. To the NE side of the return is a small lean to projection with dilapidated louvre window to the NE side and a recessed doorway (with timber sheeted door) to the NW side.

To the rear elevation of the main house is a small , slightly left of centre, plain sheeted timber door. To the right of this is a window, as front, with a very small single pane window to the immediate left of the door. To the left of this is another sash window (as before), with a small four pane window to the far left. To the first floor are three sash windows, as before, with that in the centre at a slightly lower (landing) level. The rear is also finished in rough cast.

Large rear garden with several rubble-built outbuildings.

Historical information

Though a building is shown on this site on the site on the OS map of 1834, the site is blank on the revised map of c.1860. The fanlight above the house door has odd ‘radial’ tracery which is identical to that on the Presbyterian Manse in Main Street, a building which dates from 1862, which suggests that this building may be a contemporary. The shop front also has a distinctly Victorian appearance. The shop section appears to have ceased trading some considerable time ago.

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
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Large two storey roughcast terrace house of c.1860s, of generally Georgian appearance but incorporating a typically Victorian shop front.