26 The Parade

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

No.26 is now a shop and has been greatly altered in recent years.

The front (N) facade has a right of centre ‘Ards’ doorway with plain pilasters and keystone. This encases a semicircular fanlight and modern glazed door. To the left is a greatly enlarged window with PVC frame and plain narrow surround. To the right is a much smaller window with similar surround, but now with PVC frame. To the first floor are four evenly spaced windows, as ground floor right. There are two timber signs between the ground and first floors and a traditional style projecting sign to the right on the first floor. The front facade is finished in rough cast.

To the front of the gabled roof are two large timber constructed dormers with curved roofs and large PVC windows.

Attached to the ground floor of the rear facade is a large single storey flat roofed extension with modern windows and door. To the first floor of the rear of the main house are three small-ish windows of differing shapes , but all with modern frames. The rear facade and the extension are also finished in rough cast.

The roof is gabled and has Bangor blue slates. Rendered chimney stack to E. 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.]

Evaluation

Much altered former house that has little architectural or historic interest,