5 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey house of perhaps c.1930s set within a terrace, now a shop with mock timber framing rendering applied and recent top hung windows. The property is set on the SE side of Main Street, Greyabbey.

The main gabled roof is covered in asbestos cement slates to front and mixture of asbestos cement and asbestos free slates, to rear. Single brick chimney stack in centre of main roof.

The front NW facade is asymmetrical and has a slightly left of centre shop doorway with timber and glazed door, with bevel jointed surround including keystone and shoulder blocks. Four pane timber window to left of door with segmental arch head to frames of upper two (top hung) panes. Small timber shop sign board above window. Similar window to right, with timber and glazed door (to first floor apartments) to far right. Ground floor facade finished in rough cast render. First floor has two windows, directly above and same as, ground floor windows. Mock half timber facade to first floor (over rough cast render). Square timber shop signboard between windows. Traditional looking projecting sign to right of right hand window.

Large two storey gabled return to rear with modern windows similar in style to front, but of varying sizes. Return roof gabled and covered with asbestos free slates. Rendered chimney stack. Return finished in rough cast. Small name plaque (‘Osmond’) to left of shop door.

Historical information

Though a building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834, a photograph of Main Street (from the Green Collection) shows that in c.1920 the site was occupied by a single storey structure. Therefore, the present building is either that shown in the photograph, but with the addition of a storey, or else it is entirely post c.1920. In a sense the question is academic, as the building is to all intents and purposes mid twentieth century, however, the proprietor of the ground floor antique shop stated that she believed that the roof had been raised a storey and that consequently some of the original fabric may still contained within the ground floor walls.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/11/1 OS maps, Down 11, 1834
2 'Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II', ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), pp.67-72 [1834]
3 PRONI VAL/1B/33 1st valuation, Greyabbey, c.1834-38
4 PRONI VAL/1D/3/17 Valuation plan, Greyabbey, c.1838
5 PRONI VAL/2B/3/4 Second valuation, Greyabbey, c.1859
6 PRONI VAL/2D/3/10 Second valuation plan, Greyabbey, 1859
7 PRONI VAL/2B/3/4 Second valuation, Greyabbey, c.1859
8 PRONI VAL/2D/3/ Second valuation plan, Greyabbey, 1859
9 PRONI OS/6/3/11/2 OS maps, Down 11, 1860
10 PRONI VAL/12B/23/16a-f Annual valuation revision books, Greyabbey, 1866-1930
11 PRONI VAL/12E/99/1 Valuation plan, Greyabbey, 1906-35
12 UFTM W.A. Green Collection WAG 3038 Photograph of Main Street Greyabbey looking south west

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey house of post c.1920 construction set within a terrace, now a shop, with mock timber frame render and recent top hung windows.