36 High Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively large two storey terraced house on the NE side of the S end of High Street, probably built c.1870.

Front SW facade has a right of centre doorway with incised pilasters, matching (Greek key pattern) decorative frieze and cornice. This encases a panelled door, the upper panels of which are glazed. Plain fanlight. To the right of the house doorway is a plain sheeted timber door, giving access to a narrow entry to the rear. To the left of the house doorway are two sliding sash windows.

To the first floor are three unevenly spaced sliding sash windows, resting on a cill course with brackets, and with a moulded course to window heads.

The front facade is finished in lined render with chamfered quoins to ground floor level. Dentilled eaves course and chamfered plinth.

The exposed section of the SE gable is rendered.

To the left of centre at the rear is a full height gabled stairwell projection, with a sliding sash window at the two landing levels. To the right of this (on the rear of the main building) is a sliding sash window to ground and to first floor. To the far right on the ground floor is a single storey gabled kitchen return with a partly glazed door and large modern kitchen window to its SE face. To the left hand side of the main rear face is a sliding sash window to the first floor and a timber sheeted and glazed door, with plain fanlight, to the ground floor (giving access to the entry. The rear facade is finished in rough cast.

All roofs are gabled and have Bangor blue slates, however the slates to the front of the main roof have a less refined ‘Tullycavey’ appearance. Rendered parapets. There are dummy (i.e. they appear to have no glass) skylights to the front of the roof. Two rendered chimney stacks. Cast iron rw goods.

Historical information

Though this site appears to be occupied on the c.1780 De la Cherois map and on the 1834 and 1858-60 OS Maps, the present structure has the appearance of one built, or completely renovated, well into the latter half of the nineteenth century (possibly c.1870). The house which appears to have been on this site on the map drawn up to accompany the valuation of c.1836 had a not insubstantial rateable value of £5, which suggests it was probably two storey, but whether it was indeed this house in an earlier existence is difficult to tell. The irregular arrangement of the front facade openings, could indicate a c.1870s re-working of an older house, however this suggestion is negated somewhat by the high ceilinged interior which has a late Victorian feel.

References- Primary sources
1. ‘A map of the town of Donaghadee...’ [c.1771-90]. [This map was prepared for Daniel De la Cherois, who inherited much of the town and its hinterland in 1771. As Daniel died in 1790, the map can thus be dated to some time between 1771-90. At some point someone has written on the map ‘about 1780’, a date which may be accurate.]
2. PRONI VAL 1B/32 p.4 1st valuation, Donaghadee parish, Donaghadee., c.1836. [See also accompanying town plan.]
3. PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 3.
4. PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation Donaghadee parish, Donaghadee, 1863. [The town plan for the 2nd valuation is not available at PRONI and therefore it is difficult to match the properties listed in the valuation with actual buildings.]

Secondary sources

1. Hugh Dixon et al Historic buildings, groups of buildings, buildings of architectural importance in Donaghadee and Portpatrick (UAHS 1977), p.16.
2. W.G. Pollock Six miles from Bangor: The story of Donaghadee (Belfast 1975). [This book contains many photographs dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some of which show High Street.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Fine relatively large two storey terraced house, with decorated doorway, probably built c.1870. This house is largely intact.