Site of 43 and 45 High Street

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 corrugated asbestos. Right hand gable end. Brick chimneys. [Front] wall dark stone rubble. Four first floor drop hung windows, Georgian panes, but third window now has no astragals. Ground floor has drop hung window, no astragals, [then] sheeted door with plain stone surround [both No.45]. [No.43] Drop hung window, horizontal astragals and simple cornice hood, [then] doorway as before but door glazed and sheeted. Condition poorish. Frontage about 35ft’.

All the properties in this terrace were demolished [?]c.1980s and a new terrace built in its place. The new terrace does not encompass the position of the two houses described above; their site is now partly taken up with the widened entrance to a housing estate (itself to the N of High Street).

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.