50-56 North Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Gabled terrace of four two storey houses (with attic) of c.1900-1910 with snecked basalt rubble front facades with yellow ‘in-out’ brick dressings. The terrace is set on the W side of North Street, to the N of Newtownards town centre.
Each house has a door to the right on the ground floor of the front (E) facade, with a window to the left and two windows to the first floor.
Nos.50-52 have timber panelled doors, the rest have modern doors. Plain fanlights. All have modern window frames. Yellow brick cill band to first floor. Yellow brick quoins to nos.50 and 56. Dentilled yellow brick eaves course.
To the rear each house has a large full height gabled return with modern windows and doors. To the right (on the main rear facade) is a single window to the first and to the ground floors, now with modern frames. Rough cast render to rear of entire terrace.
The roofs off nos.50-54 are covered in Bangor blue slates with asbestos free slates to No.56. Nos.50-54 have a single gabled dormer to front with semicircular arch head window (with sash frame to nos.50-52 and a modern frame to No.54). Plain side windows to dormers. No.56 has a Velux window to the front. Yellow brick chimney stacks with dentilled corbelling to nos.50-54, red brick stack to no.56. Cast iron rw goods to front of terrace, mixture of cast iron and PVC to rear.

Historical information

Though (Lower) North Street had been fully developed by 1830s (at least), this terrace probably dates from c.1900-1910. All the houses appear to have been ‘modernised’ to some extent in recent years.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS Maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 6.
2 PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 6.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey gabled terrace c.1900-1910, consisting of four houses with basalt rubble facade with yellow brick dressings. The terrace does not merit listing due to significant internal alterations and the loss of original fabric. It makes, however, a striking contribution to the streetscape, and of local interest.