37 New Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively small and relatively plain single storey ‘late Regency’ gentleman’s lodge of c.1835-40 with semi-basement and attic. The property is set on the N side of New Road, to the N of Donaghadee town centre.

The symmetrical front façade faces roughly S. To the centre is the high level entrance which is reached via a broad flight of stone steps with side walls with small urns to its end piers. The entrance consists of a panelled timber door with an elliptical fanlight with ‘spiders’ web’ tracery and three pane sidelights with panelled aprons. The whole entrance ensemble has a simple moulded surround.

To either side of the entrance are two relatively tall sash windows with Georgian panes (6 panes over 6).

The writers were unable to survey the remaining elevations. They caught a glimpse of both gables. The W gable appears to have a window to left, as front, and a window-like recess to right. There is also a small attic window to the gable. The left hand edge of this gable merges with a single storey extension, which appears to be flat roofed. The E gable appears to have one window to left, same as those to the front, with an attic window as W gable. Internal evidence suggests there is a central full height return to the rear, with an extension to the W side of this.

The front façade is finished in painted lined render with in-out bevelled quoins and an eaves course. The gables appear to be similarly finished. The gabled roof is slated (to front at least) and has a mainly glazed, centrally placed, dormer to front with a very shallow pitched gabled roof. The roof has a slight overhang. There are two rendered chimney stacks to the main section of the roof with matching octagonal pots.

Either side of the steps to front are low rendered walls which form areas for planting. These walls appear to have been added some time after c.1977.

Historical information

New Road was laid out prior to 1834, linking the north end of Shore Street with the road to Newtownards. Originally known simply as 'New Road', as it developed as a genteel suburb post c.1835 it took on the additional name of 'Carnathen [or Carnathan] Place', becoming 'Villa Road' in c.1890s, before reverting to New Road again c.1920s (although both of the latter names appear to have been used interchangeably during the early 1900s).

Apart from a solitary building at the eastern junction, the road is shown undeveloped on the 1834 OS map. The present no.37 is depicted on the revised valuation town plan of Donaghadee of c.1838, thus dating this property to some time between 1834 and 1838 . Its original occupant may have been 'Captain Camilieri', a member of the Royal Navy who is recorded as the resident in the c.1838 valuation; he did not remain there long, however, for a 'good dwelling house with coach-house, stables [and] hay-loft…now occupied by Captain Camilieri ' at 'Carnathan-Place' was advertised for let in July 1840. 'Captain Camilieri' may actually have been Joseph Camilleri (1794-1860), a Maltese who was appointed a Commander in the Royal Navy in 1829 and who is reputed by one source to have been 'the only officer of the period ever to win his epaulettes whilst being born a foreigner'. From July 1837 until July 1840 he served as an Inspecting-Commander in the Coast Guard, and would appear to have been based at Donaghadee during this time.

By c.1861 the property was in the hands of a Mr Gunning but was occupied by Samuel Delacherois, a relation of Daniel Delacherois, the then landlord of much of Donaghadee. Samuel was still living there in 1864, but by 1866 had been succeeded as tenant by Francis Ward, who in turn was followed by Rev. J. Hill in 1878. A Mrs. Printer [?or Prenter] is noted as the occupant in 1895, Alexander Cumming from 1900 and Henrietta Cumming from 1908. In the 1911 census, Miss Cumming, a 45yr-old spinster, is noted as occupying the house (a 'first class' dwelling with 9 rooms in use) with a domestic servant; according to the valuations she was still here in 1930.

The plan of the house appears unchanged on all of the available maps up to 1939, with the return shown larger (extended westwards) on the OS map of 1964.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL 1B/32 p.3 1st valuation, Donaghadee, c.1834-6. [The valuation for the town of Donaghadee (unlike others of this period) does not provide the dimensions, nor give an indication of the age of the buildings.]
2 PRONI VAL/1D/3/16 First valuation town plan of Donaghadee, c.1838
3 'Belfast Commercial Chronicle', 25 July 1840, p.3
4 PRONI OS/8/8/1/1-9 OS town plan of Donaghadee, 1859
5 PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation Donaghadee parish, Donaghadee, 1863
6 'Belfast Morning News', 2 June 1864, p.2
7 PRONI VAL/12E/121/1/1-9 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1864-1908
8 PRONI VAL12B/23/13A-F Annual valuation revision books, 1866-1905
9 PRONI OS/8/8/2//1-3 OS town plan of Donaghadee, 1901
10 PRONI VAL12B/23/15A-B Annual valuation revision books, 1905-29
11 PRONI VAL/12E/121/2/1-3 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1908-35
12 Census of Ireland, 1911 (online)
13 PRONI VAL/3G/69/2/1-3 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1932-56
14 PRONI VAL/3G/69/1/1-3 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1934-43
15 'Belfast Telegraph', 22 March 1978, p.28 [Estate agent's advert for house.]

Secondary sources
1 Hugh Dixon, Ken Kenmuir and Jill Kennett, ‘Historic buildings…Donaghadee and Portpatrick’ (Belfast, 1977), p.26 [This book suggests that the original owner of the house was a Liverpool timber merchant, but offers no source for this information.]
2 https://gilliandr.wordpress.com/tag/joseph-camilleri/ [accessed 2021.01.05]
3 http://www.nzpictures.co.nz/cammillerijoseph1794time.pdf [accessed 2021.01.05]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Relatively small and relatively plain single storey ‘late Regency’ gentleman’s lodge of c.1835-40 with semi-basement and attic.

General comments

Historical info updated 2021.01.05 PS