Historic Buildings Record · Northern Ireland
Site of former 39 and 41 High Street
Town Parks, Ards and North Down, Northern Ireland
The record
- Designation
- Record only (not listed)
- Grade
- Record Only
- Type
- Demolished
- Date of construction
- 1800 - 1819
- Address
- Site of former 39 and 41 High Street, Comber, Co. Down
- Townland
- Town Parks
- Council
- Ards and North Down
- Country
- Northern Ireland
- Coordinates
- 54.54978, -5.74824
- Date of survey
- 07 July 1999
- HB reference
- HB24/15/086
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 5 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1794 "Sheet 55. (Cary's England, Wales, and Scotland)." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
The Department's description
Exterior description and setting
Site (on the NW side of High Street, to the W of Comber town centre) of a pair of terrace houses of probable pre 1834 origin, demolished [?]c.1980s.
The houses were described in the first survey of December 1975 as ‘[Two] two storey houses. Roof slated, part rendered [the gable end]. Brick chimneys, gable ends. Wall [front] dark stone rubble. Two first floor drop hung windows (No.41), Georgian panes and two first floor recent top hung windows (No.39). Ground floor has glazed and sheeted door (No.41) and window as above. (No.39) casement window as above and glazed door. All ground floor openings have keystone in stone lintel. Condition poor. Frontage about 30 ft’.
The site is now partly taken up with a section of shrub filled landscaping and the entrance to a modern housing estate.
Historical information
This site is shown occupied on the 1722 map and all other available maps thereafter. The 1834 valuation states that this end of High Street (then named ‘Cow Lane but somewhat erroneously named ‘Mill Street’ on the 1834 OS map) possessed ‘23 houses exempt’ (i.e. under rateable value). It is likely that the two properties described above belonged to this group of 23 and probably date from the late 18th or very early 19th century.
Both houses were demolished some time after 1975.
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.67 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 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
Site of two former two storey, rubble built, terrace houses of probable pre 1834 origin, demolished some time after 1975.
Nearby in the register
- 35-37 High StreetHouse - Terraceunder 1 mi
- 31-33 High StreetHouse - Terraceunder 1 mi
- Site of 43 and 45 High StreetDemolishedunder 1 mi
- 38 High StreetHouse - Terraceunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.