61 High Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

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

House with a single fronted facade. To the ground floor is a panelled door (to the far right) with plain fanlight). Attached to the left side of the door is a double sliding sash window with Georgian panes. To the first floor are two similar single windows with narrow plain render surrounds. The front facade is finished in rough cast.

The SE gable is blank and finished in rough cast.

To the rear is a large single storey flat roofed extension with modern windows and door. To the left of this (on the ground floor of the main house) is a modern door, directly above which is a modern window, with another modern window to the right of this at a slightly higher level. The rear facade and the extension are finished in rough cast.

The roof is gabled and covered in asbestos slates, with a cast iron skylight to front and to the rear. Rendered chimney stack with decorative Victorian pots to SE gable. Mixture of cast iron and PVC rw goods.

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 is also in the possession of trhe Manor House's owner and 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 availableat 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
H+. Alterations enhancing the building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Despite being much altered this is one of the earliest buildings in Donaghadee and retains its character on the elevation to High Street.