15-19 High Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Pair of two storey terrace shops, formerly three houses of possible pre 1834 origin, but much altered over the years. The properties are set on the slope on the NW side of High Street.

No.15 is to the NE side. The front (SE) façade has a doorway set in a recess to the left on the front façade with modern partly glazed door. This doorway used to have a pilaster surround but this has been removed. To the right of the doorway is a sash window with moulded surround with keystone. To the right of this is a carriage entrance with flat arch head, in/out dressings and timber sheeted double doors with wicket gate. Running above all of the ground floor openings is a long PVC sign board. To the first floor are three evenly spaced windows as ground floor. The window to the left of these which looks as though it belongs to No.17-19 is actually part of No.15 (due to a ‘flying lease’). Internally illuminated projecting PVC sign between windows to right. Tall panelled pilaster with floral capital to right hand façade edge. Eaves course. The façade is finished in painted lined render.

To the right at the rear there is a large, two storey brick-built return, which to the NW and SW abuts a very large and much extended return at the rear of No.17-19. The return is part hipped roof and part flat roof with two windows and a door to the ground floor on the NE face (that to the left with a sash frame, that to the right smaller and with a PVC frame), and three windows to the first floor (1st and 2nd with sash frames with Georgian panes- 6 over 6, and the 3rd smaller with a PVC frame). To the left of the return is the exposed section of the main rear façade, which has the rear of the carriage entrance to the ground floor and a sash window, with Georgian panes (6 over 6), to the first floor. This section of the façade is finished in plain unpainted render.

The gabled roof is covered in natural slate to the front and corrugated asbestos to the rear. Decorative red clay ridge tiles. Two yellow brick chimney stacks (that to NE somewhat dilapidated). Rendered parapet to NE.

The front façade of No.17-19 is similar to its neighbour except that its ground floor frontage is slightly longer and is completely taken up with a modern shop front with large windows. There are two windows (as No.15) to the first floor and the tall pilaster is to the left hand side.

The rear is now completely smothered by a massive return which is currently in the process of being extended. The portion of the return abutting the house is (obviously) older and is in part sandstone rubble-built, they extension is of modern design.

The roof is covered in natural slates with decorative red clay ridge tiles and two yellow brick chimney stacks. Cast iron rw goods to front PVC to rear.

Historical information

This site is shown occupied on the 1722 map and all other available maps thereafter. The 1834 valuation returns record three houses, (two then in the hands of a Hugh Duncan and the other belonging to a John Creggan), on this site whose combined dimensions appear to match the present block and whose individual dimensions are still demarked by the present chimney stacks. Thus it is possible that this section of terrace is of pre 1834 origin, if it is however (and it is by no means certain) its present combination of elements of late Victorian detailing and late 20th century shop insertions have obliterated any apparent indication of this both inside and out.

The ground floor of block has largely been given over to commercial use since the 1950s.

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/M54/2, 8, 9, 14 Londonderry Papers- Maps of Cow Lane 1793-1810. [High Street was known as Cow Lane in the 18th and early 19th centuries.]
3 PRONI VAL 1B/316A p.68 1st valuation, Comber, 1834.
4 PRONI OS/1/3/10 OS map, 1st ed. 1834, Down 10.
5 PRONI OS/6/3/10/3 OS map, 1st rev. 1858, Down 10.
6 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 most properties largely impossible.]
7 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

Two storey terrace block, formerly three houses of possible pre 1834 origin, but now greatly altered with modern shop fronts inserted and large returns (of various ages) to the rear.