Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB16/06/038 A

Address :
1 Brick Row Horner's Lane Rostrevor Co. Down BT34 3BQ

Townland:
Rostrevor

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
22/09/1981 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House - Terrace

Former Use
House - Terrace

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
277/11SW

IG Ref:
J1796 1830

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

One-and-a-half-storey two-bay Victorian red-brick modest terraced house with blue brick and red sandstone dressings, built c. 1872-74 likely to designs by architect William James Watson. Rectangular plan form facing SE having a full width two-storey red brick rear extension, added c. 1994. No. 1 Brick Row is one of six similar terrace houses (HB16.06.038B-F inclusive) located on the NW side of Horner’s Lane, off Bridge Street, Rostrevor. The terrace faces SE and is fronted by a shared gravelled area bounded along Horner’s Lane by a random-coursed rubble stone wall with rock-faced coping. Gravelled parking area has a vehicular entrance to the E. Dwellings are grouped into symmetrical pairs along the terrace having recessed semi-circular arched doors to centre of each pair. Open porches formed by continuous over-sailing eaves are supported on decorative timber brackets. Porches are flanked by narrowly projecting gabled bay windows. Each pair of houses shares a dormer with its neighbour, (each dwelling having a single diminutive window to shared dormer) with rectangular section red and blue brick chimneys at apex level. Gabled bay windows and dormers both have decorative pierced painted timber bargeboards. Generally English Garden Bond red brick walling with a red brick plinth and single blue brick courses at window cill and impost levels. Stop - chamfered brick detail to door and window jambs. Square-headed window opes with front elevation having red sandstone heads and splayed red sandstone cills. Typically top opening timber casement windows. Pitched natural slate roof to front block has angled terracotta clay ridge tiles; slates are graded in size with those at eaves level larger than those near to apex. Flat roof of dormer extension to rear extends NW from ridge for a short distance having a pitched roof block attached to W, connecting to a full width rear extension to NW, and a second monopitched roof attached to N, which has a skylight and forms a valley with gable of rear extension. Rectangular-section red brick chimney to NE gable has 9 courses of blue brick to its top half and a single terracotta clay pot. Narrowly projecting eaves with exposed painted timber rafter ends; generally uPVC RWGs with half-round guttering discharging to circular section downpipes. Cast iron downpipe to front elevation is shared with No. 2 (HB16/06/038B). Principal elevation Front elevation faces SE having a painted sheeted timber door, with brass furniture, opening onto an open porch at SW formed by over-sailing eaves; decorative painted timber posts framing porch with decorative trefoil brackets. Door opens onto concrete platform accessed via a granite step from the shared gravelled yard to SE. Dormer window centred above paired porches has a diminutive side opening timber casement window with a horizontal glazing bar. Gabled narrowly projecting bay window to NE side of porch has paired top opening timber casement window to GF level with sandstone head; semi-circular red sandstone arch over, with flush herringbone pattern brick spandrel. Modern red brick walling abuts NE side of elevation which has similar detailing to gable (in buff brick), blue brick bands and a semi-circular headed gateway leading to private yard and NE gable end. Southwest elevation Building is attached on the SW to No. 2 Brick Row (HB16/06/038B). Northwest elevation Limited access to rear NW facing elevation but, where visible, consist of a full width red brick two-storey pitched roof extension which extends NW from rear wall of original dwelling to meet shared access passage. Rear return has a natural slate roof, its first floor extending further NW than its GF level being supported by red brick walling to NE and a painted metal pillar to SW; partially covered concrete yard below is access via a painted metal pedestrian gate to SW having modern block in-fill walling to SE of gate. Top hung timber casement window to GF level and a four part timber casement window to gable. A narrow corridor at NE leads SE from covered section of yard to back door. SW elevation of rear return has a single top opening casement window to FF above covered rear yard. Generally rear return has Stretcher Bond red brick walling and timber casement windows with slim concrete cills. Northeast elevation Limited access to NE elevation but, where visible, consists of a smooth cement rendered gable with chimney to apex (an abutting building appears to have been recently demolished). Side wall of rear return is attached to neighbouring buildings. Setting No. 1 Brick Row forms part of terrace of 6 similar houses which are located on the NW side of Horner’s Lane, within the Rostrevor Conservation Area. The site is bounded to the front by rubble stone walling and to the rear by a high stone retaining wall. Rear facades along Brick Row are generally much altered with various extensions of different shapes and size. A pair of two-and-a-half-storey red brick semi-detached dwellings are located on a raised site to the SW end of Brick Row; these dwellings bear a similarity to Brick Row but are much larger and have some significant differences in detail. Materials Roof: Natural Slate, with membrane sheeting to flat roof RWGs: Cast iron and uPVC Walling: Red brick, blue brick and red sandstone Windows: Timber casement, painted

Architects

Watson, W James

Historical Information

Nos 1-6 Brick Row, a terrace of six one-and-a-half-storey red-brick houses located on Horner’s Lane off Bridge Street, were constructed in c. 1872-74. The terrace was constructed as part of the rapid development of the village of Rostrevor from the mid-Victorian period. The Rostrevor Conservation Area Guide records that there was steady growth in the population of the village in the late-19th century which coincided with the arrival of the tramway from Warrenpoint in 1875 and the construction of the Rostrevor Hotel in the following year (Rostrevor Conservation Area Guide). The majority of listed buildings in Rostrevor date from the early-to-mid-19th century, however nos 1-6 Brick Row date from c. 1874; the terrace was first recorded in the Annual Revisions in that year. The valuer noted that the terrace was constructed on land leased by Edward Greer, a local solicitor and magistrate (who resided at Moygannon), and that three earlier houses, located to the rear of Bridge Street, had been demolished in order to make way for the new row. It is likely that the terrace was designed by William James Watson, a local architect who operated in Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor and practiced almost exclusively in south Co. Down. In 1872 the Irish Builder recorded that Watson had designed four new houses, ‘which are to form the first portion of a terrace,’ for Edward Greer. This terrace was constructed by Alexander Whelan, a Newry-based building contractor who submitted a tender for £1,550. The Irish Builder reported the acceptance of the tender in September 1872 and subsequently noted that the terrace had been completed by at least May 1874. It is not certain whether this terrace is Brick Row, although it is very likely given the dates and the association with Edward Greer (DIA; Irish Builder). No. 1 Brick Row, a one-and-a-half-storey red-brick end-terrace house, was originally valued at £3 by the Annual Revisions. The valuer noted that the house was initially leased to a Mr. Francis Taggart by the Greer estate. By the turn of the 20th century the house was occupied by James Feron, a local shepherd. The 1901 Census of Ireland building return described No. 1 Brick Row as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of three rooms and possessed no outbuildings to rear. The occupants of the house changed with great frequency over the following three decades and by the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) the value of No. 1 Brick Row had been increased to £4. The valuer noted that ownership of the row had passed to a Mr. Francis Morrow by the 1930s. The total rateable value of No. 1 Brick Row stood at £5 and 5 shillings by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) which noted that the house was owned by a Mr. Daniel Rooney but lay vacant. Nos 1-6 Brick Row were included in the Rostrevor Conservation Area in 1979 and were subsequently listed in 1981. The NIEA HB Records note that No. 1 Brick Row possessed a single-storey flat-roof extension, however in c. 1994 this was replaced with the building’s current two-storey return. In c. 2001 the house underwent an extensive renovation which included the restoration of the redbrick wall and entrance gate to the north-east side of the property (NIEA HB Records). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/2/54/2 – Second edition Ordnance Survey map (1859) 2. PRONI OS/6/2/54/3 – Third edition Ordnance Survey map (1901-02) 3. PRONI OS/6/2/54/4 – Fourth edition Ordnance Survey map (1919-30) 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/19/21A-F – Annual Revisions (1865-1930 5. PRONI VAL/3/C/4/23 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 6. PRONI VAL/4/B/3/81 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 7. Irish Builder (15 Sep 1872; 15 May 1874) 8. Ulster Town Directories (1877-1918) 9. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 10. First Survey Record – HB16/06/038 (1969) 11. NIEA HB Record – HB16/06/038A Secondary Sources 1. ‘Rostrevor Conservation Area Guide’ Belfast: Department of the Environment (N. I.), 1979. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects – www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

V. Authorship R. Age T. Historic Importance S. Authenticity X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A modest one-and-a-half-storey two-bay Victorian red-brick end-of-terrace house with blue brick and red sandstone dressings, built c.1872-74, most likely to designs by William James Watson. Rectangular on plan, No. 1 Brick Row exhibits much character externally with well designed proportions and style. The addition of a somewhat overbearing rear return is adverse to its original architectural quality; however, as part of a coherent row of six similar dwellings (HB16.06.038A-F inclusive) it represents a good example of small scaled domestic architecture from the Victorian era. A square stone pillar and rubblestone wall that mark the entrance to the terrace on Horner's Lane further augment the character of its setting within the Rostrevor Conservation Area.

General Comments

Date of Survey

12 June 2015