21-45 Railway Street,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey terrace of c.1880 set on the W side of Railway Street, to the W of Comber town centre, containing 13 houses.

The properties from No.23 to No.45 are largely identical with the front (E) façade of each having a doorway to the ground floor left, a window to the right and two similar windows to the first floor. Each doorway is encased with pilasters, frieze lintel and cornice and most have panelled doors apart from Nos.23, 27, 31 and 41 which have modern glazed or PVC varieties. Plain fanlights above each door. The windows have segmental arch heads, except those to the ground floor of Nos.43 and 45 which have been enlarged recently, and all have modern timber or PVC frames apart from those to Nos.27 and 41 which have sash, with the original horizontal glazing bars to No.27’s.

The rear of the terrace is slightly more varied. Apart from No.45 (with has a large modern full height extension and single storey lean to) and No.21 (which is a larger house and whose rear is obscured by a high yard wall-see below), all houses have a doorway to the right on the ground floor with a window to the left. To the first floor is a similar window along with (in many of the houses), a much smaller one, either to the right or the left. Nos.27, 37 and 41 do not have a second smaller window to the first floor, whilst No.41 alone has an extra small window to the ground floor.

Most of the rear doors are of the plain timber sheeted variety, though some are stable doors (Nos.23, 33-37) and some have small glazed panels (Nos.23, 33, 37). Nos.25, 29 and 31 have modern style doors with a greater amount of glazing, and Nos.33-41 have fanlights (of slightly varying size). The window frames are modern (both PVC and timber), though the two larger windows to No.41 have retained their original sash versions with horizontal glazing bars. There is a first floor window (with modern frame) to the left on the (S) gable of No.45.

The front façade of the terrace and the gables are finished in lined render and painted. Chamfered quoins at either end of the terrace. The whole of the rear is finished in rough cast (which is painted only in a few areas), whilst the rear of No.45 is finished in painted lined render.

The roof of the entire terrace is covered in Bangor blue slates with 15 chimney stacks most of which are in a combination of red and yellow brick, with a few rebuilt solely in red brick. No.29 has a small Velux window to the rear. Mixture of cast iron and PVC rw goods (the latter mainly to the rear). Each property has a low rendered garden wall to the front with a mixture of iron and timber gates of varying vintage.

No.21, at the S end of the terrace, is double the size of its neighbours and appears to been originally two properties. To the ground floor of the front façade is a (roughly central), large, plain, flat roofed projecting porch with a modern door to the front and modern window to the sides. To the left of this is a single storey flat roofed canted bay with modern windows to each side. To the right of the porch is a window opening as to front of rest of the terrace, with four similar windows to the first floor, all with modern frames.

The rear was obscured from view by a high wall and all that could be seen were three unevenly spaced windows to the first floor. The outer windows have modern frames but the middle one has a sash frame with margin panes and coloured glass.

The terrace is set on a slight incline with Nos.21-31 set a lower level. Remnants of stone built outbuildings to rears of some properties (which once contained toilets).

Historical information

As its name suggests, Railway Street was laid out in the wake of the arrival of the BCDR line in 1850. By 1858 the northern half of the street had appeared as far as where the present No.45 now stands, but no building along it had occurred. Judging by the style of the present terraces, most (if not all) of the construction work took place after 1870 and, with the exception of the semi-detached Andrew’s mill supervisors dwellings at the south end, was complete by 1901. This terrace is no exception and probably dates from c.1880.

No.21, at the south end of the block, looks likely to have begun life as two properties, with photographic evidence indicating that both amalgamated some time prior to 1949.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/10/3 OS map 1st rev. 1858-60, Down 10.
2 PRONI OS/2/3/10 OS map 2nd ed. 1901, Down 10.
3 Desmond Coakham ‘Belfast & County Down Railway’ (Leicester 1998), pp.26-31. [Photograph showing part of Railway Street in 1949.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Relatively plain two storey terrace of c.1880, now with modern window frames throughout and with ground floor windows to Nos.43 and 45 enlarged recently. No.21, with its awkward bay and porch, probably began life as two houses identical to their neighbours, but were amalgamated some time prior to 1949