25 The Parade

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey terraced house, situated within the NE side of The Parade.

No.25 is a house which has been completely renovated recently and is now sub-divided into two flats. Front N facade has a left of centre decoratively panelled door with semicircular fanlight with tracery. The entrance is encased within a recently installed ‘Ards’; doorway, possibly artificial ‘sandstone’. To the right of the doorway is a sash window with Georgian panes. To the left are two similar windows, with a sheeted timber door to the far left. This door leads to a narrow entry which in turn leads to the entrance to one of the flats contained within this house. To the first floor are five evenly spaced windows, as ground floor. The right edge of this facade is ‘chamfered. The front facade is unrendered, displaying its rubble construction.

At the rear is a large two storey gabled return the S end of which is shorter and looks as though it has been added recently, or else converted to living accommodation recently. The E facade of the return has three sliding sash windows as front but of varying size and with plain stone surrounds to the first floor, with three more to the ground floor along with a sheeted timber door to the far left. The gable of the return contains a large full height opening with a recent looking ‘tripartite’ window with Georgian panes, to the upper level and matching French doors to the lower level. The E facade of the return is unrendered and white-washed.

The exposed section of the W facade is blank and finished in rough cast.

The exposed section to the rear of the main House (to the E of the return) is also unrendered and white-washed. To the first floor are two narrow sliding sash windows, with one to the left on the ground floor, all with frames as front. To the right on the ground floor is the rear entrance to the side entry.

The main roof of the main house is gabled with two large Velux windows to the front and one to the rear. The return roof is gabled also and has two Velux windows of differing size to the W side. All roofs have asbestos slates. Two rendered chimney stacks to main roof with decorative late-Victorian pots. Mixture of PVC and cast iron rw goods.

Historical information

In all of the available maps relating to Donaghadee (the earliest of which appears to be dated 1700), there are buildings indicated on this site. Samuel De la Cherois’s 1817 drawing of Donaghadee shows two storey houses on this stretch of The Parade. The valuation records of c.1836 informs us that what is now No.25 was then in the possession of a William Jordan and had a rateable value of £9-16-0, whilst No.26 had a rateable value of £9-8-0 and was in possession of a George Mc[?Devit].

The ground floor of No.26 was converted to a restaurant in the mid 1970s and large dormers added to the front roof. No.25 has completely renovated recently and converted into two self contained flats.

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.]
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. Drawing of Donaghadee harbour by Samuel De la Cherois 1817
4. Water-colour of Donaghadee Harbour by D. Kennedy, 1834. [Sections of this painting are reproduced in Hugh Dixon et al Historic buildings, groups of buildings, buildings of architectural importance in Donaghadee and Portpatrick (UAHS 1977)].
5. PRONI VAL 1B/32 p.8 1st valuation, Donaghadee parish, Donaghadee., c.1836. [See also accompanying town plan.]
6. PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 3.
7. 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), pp.24-5.2. 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 The Parade.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Part of a terraced block of probable eighteenth century origin now containing apartments. No.25 has been much altered internally in recent years, however the rubble facade, with its Georgian sash windows and ‘Ards’ doorway is a definite asset to The Parade.