Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB16/26/013 B

Address :
3 Downshire Road (2 Sandy's Place) Newry Co Down BT34 1ED

Townland:
Carneyhough

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
26/02/1976 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Office

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
266/7 NW

IG Ref:
J0883 2689

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

Left one of a pair of two and a half storey (+ basement)/ three-bay buildings on east side of Downshire Road. Four outhouses to rear. Pitched natural slate roof with one cast-iron skylight to front pitch and two to rear pitch. Left gable is copped with granite and there is a single lined render chimney on party wall with adjacent building (no.1). Ogee cast-iron gutters with metal downpipe shared with adjacent property. Main façade faces west to street. Wall of squared granite rubble brought to courses with projecting eaves course. Nine steps rise to a granite-paved platform over basement passage, which serves main entrance to central bay. Reproduction spiked iron railings flank steps; each side of platform is inset with an iron boot-scraper. Front door is four panelled (each coffered and bolection moulded) painted timber with brass furniture. It is flanked by a pair of three-quarter attached granite Tuscan columns supporting a moulded granite entablature over which is a leaded peacock-tailed rectangular fanlight. Door opening has moulded one-piece panelled jambs, scrolled brackets and projecting moulded cornice, all in granite. Over the cornice is a semi-elliptical rendered band, probably over a brick relieving arch. Attached to each jamb is a modern coach lamp, and attached to the wall are modern plaques advertising the occupant. All window openings throughout have flat rendered heads, stepped rendered jambs and granite cills. All windows are without horns unless otherwise stated. To ground floor left and right bays are single 6/6 sliding sashes. Basement door is centred below front steps and is t+g sheeted painted timber. To left and right are 8/4 sliding sashes (with horns) windows, in line with ground floor openings; both have security grilles over. To first floor there are three 6/6 sliding sash windows, in line with ground floor openings but diminished in height. Left gable is blank. Low wall continues at left to enclose garden to rear, and terminates in side wall of outhouses at back of premises (q.v. outhouses 2 and 3). Right gable forms party wall with adjacent property (no.1). Rear wall is of random rubble brought to courses, with raised eaves course. A passage runs across in front of basement. At centre of basement level is a painted t+g sheeted door. To its immediate right is a small modern casement (serving a toilet). To left and right bays are single 8/4 sliding sashes. Above door, between basement and ground floor, is a semicircular opening containing a pair of partly glazed doors which give onto concrete platform (with plain modern railings), from which ramp leads down to garden. To right is a large tripartite window consisting of a 6/6 sliding sash flanked to either side by a 2/2 sash. The wall surround appears to have been rebuilt, the stones being larger, sharper and not so well coursed. To left bay is a 6/6 sliding sash window. Between ground and first floors at centre is a 6/6 spoke-headed sash. Immediately to its left, and level with its cill, is a small window with two-centred head, render surround and granite cill. To first floor left and right are single 6/6 sliding sashes. On half landing between first floor and attic, at centre, is a 3/3 spoke-headed sash. Garden to front separated from street by a low chamfered dressed granite wall (over strap-pointed random rubble) carrying reproduction arrow-headed metal railings. These railings also flank the path up to the steps. The right railing along this path has a gate through to concrete steps down to the basement passage. Outhouse 1 Rear garden is enclosed on all sides by rubble walls and contains four outhouses. Positioned on the boundary wall with the adjoining property (no.1) is a double-height single-storey outhouse with pitched natural slate roof; it is divided longitudinally (down the ridge) by the boundary wall, each property owning half the complete building. Rubble granite walls brought to courses. All opening have stepped render trim. On gable facing to rear of house is blank. South wall is shared with no.1. Gable to back of premises has t+g door at right. North wall has a t+g sheeted door at right and an opening (former door) to centre with a fixed modern window and cement panel below. Outhouse 2 At north east corner of premises is a two-storey outhouse. Hipped natural slate roof and random rubble walls. Its northern and eastern walls form boundary of yard. The north elevation forms boundary to premises and is blank. Gable facing east on to back access lane has a sheet metal door at centre and another at first floor; the latter is accessed by concrete stairs. The south elevation, which faces into yard, has a modern glazed window to right of centre at ground floor and a similar window to first floor left. The west gable (facing to rear of house) has a single modern window at ground floor right. Outhouse 3 abuts at left. East gable continues at a high coped granite rubble wall enclosing back of premises. A left is a shallow segmental headed arch with dressed jambs and voussoirs (with raised keystone), containing a metal and wire mesh gate. To its left is an identical opening to the back of no.1. In the spandrel between the two arches is a finely dressed rectangular granite plaque with raised capitals reading ‘F.W 1837’. Outhouse 3 Abutting west gable of outhouse 2 is a single storey outhouse with monopitch natural slate roof (sloping down from boundary wall to yard) and random rubble walls. Segmental headed arch to right and door to left. The latter has plinth blocks with cut outs for the insertion of timber frame. Outhouse 4 Between outhouses 1 and 2 is a modern renderred single storey shed which also divides the yard into two.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Erected 1837 by Francis White (=F.W. on plaque), a hardware merchant, the land having been leased from the Marquis of Downshire. Occupied in 1838 by Peter Quinn. Purchased for £1000 in 1861 by Mr A. Erskine, a Trustee of the 2nd Presbyterian Church. He sold it for £500 in 1867 for use as a manse. One of its subsequent occupants was Dr P McKee who later became moderator of the Presbyterian Church. When sold in 1960 by Dr T. Hagan, it was used for a time as a Gospel Hall. Primary Sources: 1. OS 6" map, 1st edition (1833) Co Down sheet 46 (PRONI - OS 6/3/46/1) 2. Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI VAL1D/3/8A 3. Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI VAL 1B/ 389, p.55. 4. Plaque on back boundary wall. 5. Archaeological Survey Co Down, p.428 (entry 417.27). Secondary Sources: 6. Information board on premises (1998).

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form I. Quality and survival of Interior K. Group value

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Left one of a pair of two and a half storey (+ basement))/ three bay buildings. A well proportioned and detailed example of early Victorian town planning in virtually original condition.

General Comments

Date of Survey

31 March 1998