24 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Typically fussy late Victorian two storey gabled house with oversized bay windows and half dormers. The house is set at the end of a long-ish drive way on the W side of Main Street, Millisle.

Front E facade has central timber panelled and glazed doorway with three pane fanlight and sidelights with panelled aprons. The doorway has fluted jambs (on extended bay window cill course) and a dentilled moulded cornice above with segmental arch pediment. The dentilled cornice continues as an eaves cornice around the bays to each side of the doorway. The doorway is reached via nine steps with low parapet.

To either side of the doorway is an oversized three sided bay with four sash windows, dentilled eaves cornice and moulded parapet to flat bay roof. The bays also have a cill course supported on a myriad of brackets, which themselves rest on another similar moulded course. To the upper floor are two gabled half dormers with sash windows with shouldered and heeled surrounds and corbelled cills.

The N gable has a small sash window to the right of centre on the upper floor.

The S gable has a similar window.

Attached to the left (SW) side of the S gable is a fairly recent inappropriate looking large single storey extension. The front (E) facade of this extension consists of a crude attempt to replicate some of the detail of the original house, with three sash windows on a cill course with brackets, with another course above with semicircular pediments. There is a panelled timber door with plain fanlight (reached via functional looking steps) between the first and second windows. The front facade of the extension also has a parapet which hides a shallow curved roof.

To the rear of the main house is a central two storey gabled return. To the rear gable of the return is an upper level sash window, with a lean to store extension to ground level. To the left on the N facade of the return is a tall lean to projection, which contains the rear doorway on the N face and a small six pane window on the W face. To the right of the projection (on the main return) is a modern metal kitchen window. To the S facade of the return are two modern windows with a modern flat roofed dormer above. To the right of the rear facade of the main section of the house is a doorway, now covered with a timber glazed porch which joins to the N facade of the large curved roof extension and acts as a ‘corridor’ between the original dwelling and the extension.

The facade of the original house is finished in lined render with vermiculated quoins, eaves course and chamfered base. To the far left of the rear of the main house is a large sash window, with ‘Georgian’ panes.

The main roof is gabled with Bangor blue slates and an overhang supported on corbels. Two rendered and corbelled chimney stacks to main roof. Two Velux windows to rear of main roof. The gabled roof to the return also has Bangor blue slates. Cast iron rw goods.

Historical information

Though a building is shown on this site on the1858-60 OS Map, its shape does not appear to match that which we see today. The present house probably dates from c.1870-1880 and was once the home of David Carmichael, a member of the locally prominent mill owning family. David’s daughter, Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), became a missionary in China, Japan and India, where as a member of the Dohnavour Fellowship she became a well-known and much respected figure among many in the sub-continent. Amy lived in this house as a child, and the building is visited by many people from India whose lives she influenced.

In recent times this house served as an office for an egg packing station, sited to the west of the building.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Revision 1858-60, Down 7.

Secondary sources.
1 Grace Seymour Echoes of Millisle and district, (Rathfriland ?c.1983), pp.15-17, 21.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey late Victorian house with a fussy, ill-proportioned front facade and crude modern extension.