28 The Square

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Very large two and three storey, gabled and hipped roof building situated on (and encompassing most of) the S side of The Square, greatly altered in recent times due to conversion to a car showroom. The present property incorporates what was once three separate dwellings, the two and three storey section to the centre and E representing a single dwelling, with two more contained within the section to the W. The whole block is largely pre 1834 in origin, perhaps even later 18th century, but the two storey section to the E was built in c.1846 on the site of a slightly larger early to mid 18th century house.

The central section is three storey and gabled. The original ground floor wall has been entirely removed and replaced with one continuous timber shop (showroom) front. This comprises large modern windows set on a low rendered stall riser and surmounted by a continuous line of fanlights. There is a centrally positioned glazed pass door. To the first and second floors are five symmetrically placed window openings each with a sliding sash and case window without astragals. The outer windows are less widely spaced. The second floor windows are slightly squatter. The eaves is topped with a parapet wall. The parapet has plain corner pilasters and is set on a projecting render band with projecting corner stones. The roof is gabled and there are two potless rendered chimney stacks, one to each gable. The N façade and the gables are finished in lined render and painted. The roof is covered with concrete pan tiles with rendered parapets.

To the E is a two storey section. The ground floor front wall has also been removed and the shop front continues across the entire width. To the first floor are five almost equally spaced sash and case windows matching those before. A large modern canopy projects from the level of first floor cills and covers a petrol station fore court with three pumps and a small wooden kiosk. This section is gabled and has a potless chimney to the left hand gable. The verge has a shallow parapet. The left gable is blank. The facades of this section are also finished in lined render and painted. The roof of this section is also covered with concrete tiles. To the far left is a screen wall with large double timber gates.

To the W side of the three storey section is a further two storey section. The ground floor left is a panelled door with moulded surround and plain fanlight. To the right are two sash and case windows (as before). To the right again is a second door (as before). To the far right is a large modern showroom window as before. To the first floor are five slightly unevenly spaced sash and case windows as before. The roof has Bangor Blue slates and two chimney stacks the left of which has six pots and the right one has a single pot. The roof is hipped. The right corner has moulded in/out quoins. This façade is finished in lined render and painted.

The short W facade is finished in rubble brought to courses. The ground floor has a relatively small showroom window to the right side and two eccentrically placed sash windows as before to the first floor. To the right side of the gable is a large modern glazed car show room.

The rear of the original building is all but obscured by three large modern store extensions. All that can be seen of the original rear openings is a sash window (with Georgian panes) to the far left on the second floor of the centre section.

The primary use of the building is a car showroom, however to the east side of the front elevation is a small petrol station. The upper floors of the building are used for offices and storage.

Historical information

This whole of this site is shown occupied on the 1722 map of Comber and all other maps thereafter. On David Geddas’s 1801 lease map of The Square (which only shows selected properties ‘out of lease’) the original house to the east side is shown. This was the property of the Gillespie family and the house where military hero Robert Rollo Gillespie was born in 1766. To the immediate west of this (where the three storey section stands) the ground was leased to a Mr. Mortimer- his property is not shown by the map maker, however, because his lease still had some time to run.

The valuation returns of 1834 note that the former Gillespie house had by this time been acquired a Henry Riddle. The tall house in the centre was in the possession of a William Stitt (who may have acquired it from the above-mentioned Mr. Mortimer), and the block to the west contained two properties, belonging to a Robert Stitt and an S. Davis (far west). According to the valuers all four properties were of reasonable age at this date, possibly all late 18th century or very early 19th.

In 1844, Isaac Andrews, a member of the local mill owning family, bought the large three storey house to the centre, which had been put up for auction by William Stitt after he had become insolvent. In an attempt to extend his new home and also enlarge his garden, Andrews bought the old Gillespie house to the east, demolished it and built an extension to his own dwelling (the present two storey section), on part of the site. The dwellings to the west side remained as separate properties.

Isaac Andrews died in 1883. His eldest son, John, remained in sole possession of the family home until c.1895, when he appears to have sold much of his Comber property to his brother, Thomas James. The story of the Andrews’ house and the other properties in the block after this is unclear, but all appear to have remained as three separate dwellings until the late 1940s at least. By the later 1960s the whole row had been acquired by Mr. Kane who converted the block to a car showroom and offices, with large extensions to the rear and a garage fore court and petrol pumps to the front.

Local legend has it that during the demolition of the old Gillespie house in c.1846, the foreman of the workers stumbled across a pot of gold coins. These he removed to a secluded place during a break in work, returning at night time to bring his find home. After this, apparently, he never had to work again!

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.654/M1B/2 Londonderry Papers- ‘Survey of the town, tenements and parks of Comber…1722’.
2 PRONI D.654/M54/1 Londonderry Papers- ‘A rough plan of the undermentioned tenements in the town of Comber, April 1786’ by David Geddas. [Pictorial lease map of the north side of The Square.]
3 PRONI D.654/M1B/18 Londonderry Papers- ‘A survey of the tenements out of lease in the town of Comber survey’d A.D. 1801’ by David Geddas
4 Linen Hall Library ‘Pigot & Co.’s Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory’ (Manchester 1824).
5 PRONI VAL 1B/316A p.57 1st valuation, Comber, 1834.
6 PRONI OS/1/3/10 OS map, 1st ed. 1834, Down 10.
7 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), p.442.
8 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), p.505.
9 PRONI OS/6/3/10/3 OS map, 1st rev. 1858, Down 10.
10 PRONI 2nd valuation, Comber, 1861. [In print in PRONI search room and in the Linen Hall Library.]
11 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870).
12 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.303-305.
13 MBR Photographs of The Square, Comber, c.1900-1950. [These photographs appear to be mainly copies of those belonging to the Laurence Collection (with original negatives held at the NLI in Dublin)].
14 PRONI OS/2/3/10 OS map, 2nd ed. 1901, Down 10.

Secondary sources
1 Sydney Andrews (ed. John Burls), ‘Nine Generations- A History of the Andrews Family, Millers of Comber’ (Isaac Andrews & Sons, 1958), p.138.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Large two and three storey block which takes in the whole south side of The Square. The three storey central section probably dates from c.1790-1800, with that to the west of a similar age. The two storey section to the east was added in c.1846, replacing an earlier, slightly larger house. The block originally contained three dwellings, but these were amalgamated c.later 1960s to form a large car showroom and attendant offices, with large modern extensions added to the rear and a garage fore court placed at the front. The ground floor of the front façade has been almost completely replaced by a long row of showroom glazing.