1-3 West Street & 2 Mary Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Description at the time of the survey (1998). This building is now demolished and a new building constructed on the site (2018).

Large two storey gabled block with pub and house, set on the corner of West Street and Mary Street, slightly to the NW of Newtownards town centre. This block appears to have been built in 1861 and has a basalt rubble façade and brick dressings.
No.1 West Street - 2 Mary Street. The pub faces S into West Street, but has a long return into Mary Street (part of which must once have been a separate property). The front (S) façade has a left of centre ‘Ards’ doorway with recent looking panelled door. The surround itself has chamfered pilasters (with narrow ‘panel’) with hound’s tooth decoration to the underside of the semicircular archivolt. Blocked ‘fanlight’ with modern circular sign thereon.

To the left of the doorway is a window which is now filled with a small modern multi-pane window with opaque glass and louvered section above glass. Around this small-ish window frame the rest of the former opening has been filled in with a large, smooth rendered and painted, surround with splayed ‘cill’. This surround also covered much of the brick dressings to the original opening. Laminated sign board above window. To the right of the doorway are two similar windows. To the first floor are four evenly spaced windows with brick dressings and modern frames and ‘frosted’ pattern to glass on lower pane. Three of these windows have thin modern lintels inserted below brick dressings. Two internally illuminated projecting PVC signs to first floor (along with satellite dish). Painted quoins to SE corner. Bracketed eaves course.

The E gable of the pub has a very large window to the right on the ground floor, in the same style as those to ground floor front. Above this window is the outline of a segmental arch [?suggesting that there was once a large carriage entrance here at some point- it seems unlikely as it would have been awkwardly positioned]. To the left of the large window (at an intermediate level) is a laminated sign board. To the first floor are two windows as first floor front and to the attic level are two small semicircular headed windows with brick dressings and modern frames.

The E façade of the long return has two windows to the left in similar style to those on ground floor front. The furthest left of these windows used to be a door. To the right are three window like recesses with brick dressings (which may once have been proper window openings). To the far right is a large flat arch carriage entrance, with (somewhat out of place) sandstone dressings to sides. Internally illuminated projecting PVC sign above arch. To the first floor of this façade of the return are two windows to the far left, as first floor front, then two window-like recesses (as ground floor return), then a window with the remains of a frame with horizontal glazing bars, then another window recess.

The rear of the pub and the W façade of the return are completely covered by a modern extension.

Asbestos free slates to main pub section, bangor blues to E side of return roof (at least). Two matching basalt chimney stacks to main pub building, two to N end of return. Mixture of cast iron and PVC rw goods.

No.3 West Street. This property is a house which has recently been completely gutted and refurbished, but the interior is unfinished and the whole building is largely just a shell. To the front (S) façade is a right of centre doorway, as pub, but with panelled PVC door and plain semicircular fanlight. To the left of this are two windows with brick dressings and PVC frames. To the right is a similar window, with four more to the first floor. Brick quoins to left.

To the centre of the rear façade is a large two storey flat roofed extension. The N façade of the extension has a modern glazed door to the ground floor and a PVC window to the first floor. To the left side of the extension (on the main rear façade) is a window to the ground and to the first floor, both with PVC frames. To the right of the extension is a window to the first floor (with PVC frame), and a large door-like opening to the ground floor, without door. The rear façade is rendered and painted.

The roof is covered in artifical slates. Two basalt chimney stacks (one shared with pub). Sections of cast iron rw goods.

Historical information

Though this site is shown occupied on the 1834 and 1858-60 OS maps, the present block appears to have been built by a John Copeland (at least in part if not in whole), in 1861. The long return to the rear of the pub (No.2 Mary Street) was obviously a separate property at some point, though originally it may have related to No.1 West Street in some fashion.
A local resident referred to No.1 (the pub) as once being a farm house (‘Jameson’s farm’), however, when built in 1861 this area was already heavily developed, and could not have been a ‘farm’ in the accepted sense of the word.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 6.
2 PRONI 2nd valuation, Newtownards parish, Newtownards (Corporation Nth), 1863.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

The buildings recorded on this site in 1998 have been demolished.