59 High Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Part of a 2 storey terraced block of eighteenth century origin, consisting of a shop and house, at the SE end of High Street.

No.59 is a house and shop. Front NE facade has a right of centre doorway with panelled door and semicircular fanlight with ‘bat wing’ tracery, all encased with blocked and fluted pilaster surround and semicircular architrave with keystone. To the right is a sliding sash window with Georgian panes (8 over 8) and simple, narrow, surround. To the immediate left is a similar window, but with lesser panes (6 over 6). To the far left is a large flat arch carriage opening with timber double doors. Traditional looking projecting timber sign above carriage entrance. Small timber signboard above window to immediate left of this. The front facade is finished in pebbledash render with a plain rendered base.

To the first floor are four windows as ground floor left.

To the left of centre at the rear is a recently constructed porch with a hipped roof of Tullycavey slates, within which is a modern rear door. To the left of this is a modern window, with another modern window to the right of the porch and the rear of the flat arch carriage entrance with recent timber double doors to the far right.

Directly above the porch is a modern window (with a portion of decorative leaded glass) set at an intermediate stairwell level. To the first floor proper is a modern window to the far left and a sash window (as front) to the far right. Near the eaves is a small multi pane stairwell window. The entire rear facade is messy and unattractive. Some of the ground floor openings appear to have been altered. The facade is unrendered and shows a rubble construction which has been painted.

The roof is gabled and covered in asbestos slates. There is a rendered parapet to the NW end and two rendered chimney stacks. Large Velux window to left at rear, smaller Velux window to right at front. Mixture of cast iron and PVC rw goods.

Though the front facade of this property is largely traditional looking and still largely intact, the rear facade and the interior are much altered.

Historical information

Buildings are indicated on this site on Daniel De la Cherois’s c.1780 map of Donaghadee which may well correspond to the buildings we see today which probably date from the mid to latter half of the eighteenth century. The valuation records of c.1836 state that both properties were then in the possession of a Mrs. Shaw and (?both) had a rateable value of £5-8-0.

References- Primary sources
1. Map of Donaghadee [?1700]. [This map is curious. It belongs to the owner of the Manor House, Donaghadee, and was believed to have been drawn up by one James Dillon for Daniel De la Cherois in 1780. However, the overall crude style of the piece and the fact that the representations of the buildings (especially the Church) contradict what we know of them at this stage, suggests it is much earlier . This theory appears to be borne out by the fact that the actual date on the map is probably ‘1700’ rather than ‘1780’, a stroke from the ‘7’ passing through the first ‘0’ giving it the appearance of a figure 8. The map has been reproduced for several publications (notably John Stevenson’s Two centuries of life in Down 1600-1800 republished by White Row Press in 1990) each of which have accepted the date of 1780 at face value, yet questioned the contradictions in the style and positioning of the buildings.] This map shows what must be the original Manor House.
2. ‘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.]
3. PRONI VAL 1B/32 p.3 1st valuation, Donaghadee parish, Donaghadee., c.1836. [See also accompanying town plan.]
4. PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 3.
5. 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.15-16.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Part of a mid to late eighteenth century house which retains a lot of its original architectural and historic character.