Former Presbyterian Manse

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Former two storey manse house of c.1869, recently used as offices and much altered and extended. The building is situated on the S side of Mark Street, to the rear of the Second Presbyterian Church. The property is currently (2018) vacant.

Front € façade has a central timber panelled door with moulded semicircular arch surround with panelled pilasters, archivolt and keystone. To the left of the doorway is a window with modern frame now covered with a security ‘grill’ (all window frames are modern and all have similar grills). The window has a moulded surround with panelled ‘pilasters’ and curved brackets supporting a cornice with shaped top. To the right of the doorway is a similar window. To the first floor are three windows with similar frames and ‘grills’, but with much simpler surrounds. The windows are all set on a cill course with brackets below cills. The front façade is finished with channelled render to the ground floor with lined render to first floor. Chamfered quoins and plinth. The quoins to the ground floor are smaller with wider spaced joints. The N gable has a window to the centre of the ground floor.

The S gable has a single storey gabled extension with a door to its (S) gable face. To the right on the main gable is a small window.
To the right at the rear is a large full height gabled return. To the N façade of the return are two ground floor windows. To the first floor left is a recent door which links to a spiral staircase fire escape. To the right of this door is a window. To the S façade of the return are two large windows to the first floor and two small windows and a doorway to the ground floor. The gable of the return has a single storey linking ‘corridor’ which joins to a recently built two storey section.

To the left on the rear façade of the main building is a window to the ground floor and a doorway to the first floor (which also leads to the fire escape). The gables, rear façade and return are rendered and painted.

PVC rw goods.

The area to the E of this building is used as the church car park.

Historical information

This former manse appears to have been constructed in or around 1869, the year in which the present Newtownards Second Presbyterian Church was erected. In recent years (c.1980s) the building was leased to the NI Housing executive for use as offices and a new manse acquired in Manse Park, to the western outskirts of Newtownards. Under the Housing Executive the property was completely modernised and a new block built to the rear. The building is now vacant.

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

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey former manse house built c.1869 with decorative moulding to front facade openings. Recently (c 1990) modernised and extended (with a new roof and windows) and converted to office accommodation. The building does not meet the test for listing (due to the loss of historic fabric), but is of local interest and important to the setting of the adjacent church.