50-56 North Street, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT23 4DE

A terrace of four two-storey houses with attic space, dating from approximately 1900 to 1910, stands on the west side of North Street, north of Newtownards town centre. The facades are constructed of snecked basalt rubble with yellow “in-out” brick dressings. Each house has a door on the right side of the front (east) facade at ground level, with a window to the left and two windows to the first floor. Nos. 50-52 have timber panelled doors, while the remaining houses have modern doors. Plain fanlights are above the doors, and all windows have modern frames. A yellow brick cill band is present at the first-floor level, and yellow brick quoins define Nos. 50 and 56. A dentilled yellow brick eaves course runs along the top of the elevation.

The rear of each house features a large, full-height gabled return with modern windows and doors. A single window is located to the right on the main rear facade, at both first and ground floor levels, now with modern frames. The rear elevation of the entire terrace is rough cast rendered. The roofs of Nos. 50-54 are covered in Bangor blue slates, while No. 56 has asbestos-free slates. Nos. 50-54 each have a single gabled dormer to the front, featuring semicircular arched windows; sash frames are found in Nos. 50-52, while No. 54 has a modern frame. Plain side windows are incorporated into the dormers. No. 56 has a Velux window to the front. Yellow brick chimney stacks with dentilled corbelling are visible on Nos. 50-54, while a red brick stack is present on No. 56. Cast iron rainwater goods are located at the front of the terrace, with a mixture of cast iron and PVC at the rear.

While Lower North Street had been fully developed by the 1830s, this terrace likely dates from around 1900 to 1910. All houses appear to have been modernised to some extent in recent years.