53-63 Frances Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey terrace, on the S side of the E end of Frances Street, consisting of five houses and shops, probably dating from c.1835.

HB24/09/004A No.53. This section of the terrace was rebuilt c.1990 and is entirely modern the front facade with its Gibbsian-like ‘Ards’ doorway to the left and large shop front to the right replicates much of the previous arrangement but the upper floor window openings are different with size of window openings altered. The Front facade is finished in lined render.

The W gable is blank and finished in rough cast render (and has a high wall projecting from it).

To the rear is a large two storey, flat roofed, return with modern windows and door.

Bangor blue slated roof, PVC rw goods. Rendered chimney stack, shared with No.55.

HB24/09/004B No.55 This house is smaller than No.53. To the front there is a doorway (as previous) with a window to the right of this and two window to the first floor. All windows have modern frames. The front facade is finished in lined cement render and unpainted.

To the rear is a large tow storey gabled return with modern windows and door. To the ground floor of the rear facade of the main house is a window with modern frame. With a smaller window (with similar frame) to the first floor. This smaller window appears to be ‘cut into’ by the roof of the return.

The main roof is covered in Bangor blue slates. The chimney stack shared with No.57 has largely collapsed. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

HB24/09/004C No.57 This house has a similarly arranged front facade as No.55 but with a modern partly glazed door and sash window frames. The ground floor window has a simple moulded surround and the upper floor windows are set on a cill course with brackets. The lower two thirds of the facade is covered in rusticated render, the uppermost potion in plain render.

The writers were unable to gain access to the rear of this house, but were able to observe that the building possesses a two storey gabled return, much of whose gable end and E face are covered in greenery. The return is brick built and there is at least one window (which has a sash frame) to the first floor on the W face.

The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates. Rendered chimney stack shared with No.59. PVC gutter to front.

HB24/09/004D No.59 is similar to No.57 but with a panelled door to front and without the moulded surround to the ground floor window. The ground floor window also has a fixed light frame.

To rear the return (which is longer than No.57’s) has modern windows and door (with a further ‘store’ door opening near the gable end) and is finished in rough cast render, as is the rest of the rear facade. The gable of the return is largely covered in greenery. The rear facade of the main house has a window to the ground floor and one to the first floor , both with modern frames. The roof and chimney stack are as No.57. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

HB24/09/004E No.61 is similar to No.55 but with sash windows and with a painted front facade. The house is vacant and because of rampant greenery at the rear, the rear facade and return are obscured.

HB24/09/004F No.63 is the largest property within the terrace and is now a take-away restaurant. To the right of centre on the front facade is a doorway with surround as before but with modern glazed door. To the right of this is a window with modern frame. Above the doorway and window is a laminated signboard. To the left of the doorway is a very large modern (‘shop’) window with a moulded ‘relieving’ arch over. This moulded arch actually follows the line of the head of an carriage arch which was blocked at some point (it was blocked by 1972 at least). To the first floor are three sash windows. Internally illuminated PVC projecting sign between second and third windows. The front facade is finished in lined render and painted.

The E gable is blank and finished in plain render and painted. The gable merges into the W facade of a large single storey flat roofed return with modern windows and door. To the first floor there are three windows with modern frames. The far left of the rear facade is in line with the rear of the rest of the terrace but the rest of the facade to the centre and right projects slightly.

The rear is finished in plain render and painted.

The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates with a low, rendered chimney stack to the gable. [?] Stone parapet. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

Historical information

This terrace is not shown on the OS Map of 1834, but appears (minus the current No.63) on the Newtownards town plan to accompany the valuation survey of c.1836, when the four dwellings belonged to a group of ‘seven houses exempt’. The OS Memoirs (c.1834-7) make reference to the erection of new houses by the Marquis of Londonderry at this time for which he was ‘granting leases for 60 years or 3 lives at a rate of 1s per foot, upon which they can get the house erected at the rate of 1s per foot’.

The whole terrace appears on the revised OS map of 1858-60.

No.63 once possessed a large carriage arch, the outline of which was made a feature of when the front facade was last rendered. The two storey returns were probably added in the early 1900s. No.53 was largely rebuilt in c.1990 and No.59 was a shop until fairly recently.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS Maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 6.
2 PRONI VAL 1B/34 p.95 1st valuation Newtownards parish, Newtownards, c.1836 (see also associated town plan).
3 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), pp.105-106.
4 PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 6.
5 PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation, Newtownards parish, Newtownards 1863. [The town plan to accompany the 2nd valuation does not appear to be held at PRONI thus making it difficult to match the information contained within the written record with actual buildings.]

Secondary sources
1 Trevor McCavery 'Newtown: a history of Newtownards' (Dundonald 1994), pp.105-7.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey terrace of c.1835 consisting of shops and houses. This terrace is now much altered. No.53 has been rebuilt and No.63 is now a modern carry out restaurant with a much altered front facade and a large modern extension to the rear. The rest of the properties have largely retained their original front facades but many windows now have modern frames.