97-99 Mill Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey vernacular terrace house (with former shop), which probably began life as a single storey building, but which was raised in height perhaps c.1860. The house is set on the curved corner of Mill Street and Belfast Road, to the W of Comber town centre.

The front (SW) façade has a recent timber panelled and glazed door to the centre, encased with painted stone surround with cornice. To the left of this is a recently replaced shop front with traditional feel, having fluted pilasters, panelled stall riser, panelled and glazed door, arched lights to window etc. The ‘sign board’ above has a ‘carved’ head to each side resembling [?or directly based upon] one of the water gods from James Gandon’s custom house of 1786 in Dublin. To the right of the entrance door is a window with PVC frame. To the first floor are four similar windows, unevenly spaced. The lower half of the façade is in greywacke rubble, the upper half in sandstone.

The SE gable is blank and now almost entirely covered in ivy growth. To the rear there is a modern single storey lean-to extension with patio doors and contrived looking render. To the left of this is a very small lean-to projection which is completely blank. To the first floor are two windows with PVC frames. That to the left is quite small and appears to have been reduced in size owing to the height of the lean-to roof. The upper portion of the rear façade is in sandstone rubble.

The gabled roof is covered in asbestos ‘slates’ with natural slate to the lean-tos. Two recent brick chimney stacks with tall octagonal pots. Metal rw goods.

Historical information

This stretch of terrace is not shown on the OS map of 1834, but does appear on the 1838 map to accompany the annotations to the first valuation. From the front façade we know that the building was originally single storey. It may have been raised in height in c.1860, when the (largely matching) terrace to the north side appears to have been built.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL 1B/316A p.72 1st valuation, Comber, 1834 [with annotations and map of 1838].
2 PRONI OS/1/3/10 OS map, 1st ed. 1834, Down 10.
3 PRONI OS/6/3/10/3 OS map, 1st rev. 1858, Down 10.
4 PRONI 2nd valuation, Comber, 1861. [In print in PRONI search room and in the Linen Hall Library- the town plan to accompany this valuation is missing making identification of owners of properties largely impossible.]
5 PRONI OS/2/3/10 OS map, 2nd ed. 1901, Down 10.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Rubble-built two storey vernacular terrace house (with former shop), which began life as single storey but was raised in height perhaps c.1860. The traditional looking shop front, with Gandonesque water god-like heads, is a recent replacement and all the house windows are now PVC. At the rear there is a modern lean-to extension.