46-52 Carnesure Terrace,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Carnesure Terrace is situated on the E side of the N end of the Old Ballygowan Road, to the SW of Comber town centre. It is split into three sections of two storey terraced dwellings mainly built around 1904 by John Andrews & Co., for workers at the company’s near by spinning mill. The whole grouping is delightfully set amongst almost semi-rural looking surroundings, with long gardens to the rear and, in the case of No.46-52, set well back from the roadside affording long gardens to the front as well.

Nos.46-52 were built as a terrace and are largely identical. The properties are arranged in handed pairs with the front (W) façade of each pair having a central gabled porch with a doorway to N and to the S leading into their respective properties. Each doorway has a moulded surround with keystone, but only Nos.48-50 have their original panelled doors, the rest sporting modern glazed varieties. The gabled (W) face of each porch sports a pair of semicircular arch headed window openings with sash frames and linked label moulding above. The porches are Bangor blue slated with decorative shaped barges, small ‘tie-beam’ and finial.

The front façade of each house has two first floor sash windows with vertical glazing bars, with another to the ground floor (at either left or right of the porch). The first floor windows of No.52 have been recently had top hung frames installed, made to resemble the original sash ones.

To the rear each pair of houses has a two storey gabled return, with a door and at least one (kitchen) window to the ground floor of the return, one window to the first floor (near the intersection with the main house), and one to the first floor of the gable (with two to the gable in all). The rear of the main houses each have a single window to the ground floor and to the first floor. The frames at the rear are mainly similar to the front, though some of No.50’s are modern. The rear yards of Nos.46 and 52 and now mainly covered in. The gables of the returns have small single storey lean tos which were once outside toilets.

The entire façade finished in lined render to the front with plain render to the rear and unpainted at the front with a few rear yards white washed. The N and S gables are rendered. Chamfered quoins to front. Eaves course. The roof of the terrace is covered in Bangor blue slates and the RW goods are a mixture of cast iron and PVC (the latter mainly to the rear). Rendered chimney stacks with original octagonal pots.

To the N of this section of Carnesure Terrace is a terraced block of four further two storey houses (Nos.14-22) also built as employees houses by John Andrews & Co. This section was built around the same time as Nos.46-52 and 30-44, but is of a different (arguably less picturesque and more utilitarian) design, without shared porches but with the inclusion of single storey flat roofed bays.

Small stream to W of terrace with rubble bridge carrying road.

Historical information

The bulk of Carnesure terrace was built in 1904 by John Andrews & Co., for workers employed in the company’s near by spinning mill, the townland of Carnesure having been purchased much earlier by a previous John Andrews with part of his £10, 000 he won in the Irish State Lottery in 1783.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.4189/E/8 Andrews Papers- Carnesure ledger 1888-1918.
2 PRONI OS/6/3/10/3 OS map 1st rev. 1858, Down 10.
3 PRONI OS/2/3/10 OS map 2nd ed. 1901, Down 10.

Secondary sources
1 Sydney Andrews (ed. John Burls), ‘Nine Generations- A History of the Andrews Family, Millers of Comber’ (Isaac Andrews & Sons, 1958), pp.64, 148 etc.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Slightly picturesque and attractively sited two storey terrace c.1904 built for employees of the near by Andrews spinning mill. The houses are of a relatively simple design with shared gabled porches to the front and two storey gable returns to the rear. Nos.46, 50 and 52 now have modern doors with some modern window frames to No.50.