4-8 Court Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey gabled terrace block on the N side of Court Street, to the SE of Newtownards town centre.

No.4- Front (S) facade has a modern glazed door to the left with large fixed light picture window to the right. Large timber sign board above window and door. To the first floor are two sash windows with horizontal glazing bars. The front facade is finished in painted lined render.

The W gable is blank and plain rendered with an internally illuminated PVC sign.

To the right at the rear is a two storey return with two windows to the first floor on the E face and a doorway to the ground floor. Recent single storey extension to gable of return. To the main rear facade is a first floor sash window, behind the actual frame the opening in bricked up. The former window opening to the ground floor now completely blocked. The rear is finished in plain render.
The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates. Two yellow brick chimney stacks. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

No.6- This property has much the same arrangement as No.4 except with ground floor sash window at rear and without extension to return.

No.8 Front facade has modern door to left with window with modern frame to left. To the first floor are two similar windows. Internally illuminated projecting PVC sign between first floor windows.

The E gable has two windows (as front) to each floor. This gable merges with the E face of a greatly enlarged two storey return which completely covers the former rear facade. The return openings are all recent.

Entire facade covered in lined painted render. The main roof is covered in Bangor blue slates. Two yellow brick chimney stacks.

Historical information

The 1858-60 OS map shows that this site was vacant at that stage. The valuation records of 1863 refer to houses ‘in progress’ on the north side of Court Street, suggesting that this block could (in part at least) date from 1863 or shortly afterwards.
All three properties were still dwelling houses (with ‘Ards’ doorways) when first surveyed in October 1972.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.654 Londonderry Papers [This collection contains many documents relating to the development of Newtownards.]
2 PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 6.
3 PRONI 2nd 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.35, 80, 117, 146, 159, 190.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey terrace block of perhaps c.1860s, with three properties now converted to shops and greatly altered in the process.