14 The Strand, Portaferry, , Co. Down, BT22 1PF

14 The Strand, Portaferry

A well-proportioned two-storey terrace house of around 1808, with coach arch, a full-height Edwardian canted bay added around 1900, and small hipped roof dormers of around 1990. The house overlooks Strangford Lough and forms part of a terrace on the north side of The Strand, west of Portaferry town centre.

The south-facing front façade is asymmetrical. An off-centre doorway with timber panelled door and fanlight with horizontal and vertical astragals is enclosed by panelled pilasters and decorated console brackets supporting a cornice hood and plain blocking course. Three stone steps lead to the door. To the left is a sash window with horizontal and vertical astragals and a stone cill. To the right of the door is a three-sided two-storey bay with a hipped roof of Bangor blue slate with lead flashing. Three sash windows with horizontal and vertical astragals as margins appear on each side of the bay at each floor level. A coach door to the right of the bay has an elliptical arch head with plain quoins and a timber-sheeted double door with wicket gate. The first floor has two windows to the left of the bay and one to the right, all similar in style to the ground floor window left of the bay, though slightly shorter.

The rear elevation features a two-storey lean-to extension at the centre. The ground floor has a half-glazed and panelled door, while the first floor has a small four-pane fixed light. To the left of the return is a six-over-six sash window at first floor and an open coach arch at ground floor. To the right of the return are six-over-six sash windows at both ground and first floor levels. The rear also has a concrete and iron cat walk (constructed from train track) stretching from the first floor of the extension to a high-level garden beyond the ground-level yard. The end of the cat walk is covered with a small timber and glazed enclosed porch with doors to the house inside. Original snecked rubble outhouses survive to the rear. The house adjoins Nos. 15-16, with a lane between it and No. 13 containing a stand-alone coach arch. The east gable is blank.

The façade is finished in unpainted lined render with in-and-out quoins to the front. The roof is gabled and covered with Bangor blue slates. Three dormers, unevenly spaced, each contain a squat sliding sash and case window with vertical astragals, and have Bangor blue slate hipped roofs with lead flashing to the sides and ridges. Three yellow brick chimney stacks with bracketed corbelling and uniform pots rise above the roof line. Three Velux windows are set into the rear roof slope. Cast iron gutters and downspouts complete the exterior.

The house is recorded in the 1838 valuation returns as a property 30 years old at that date, corresponding to a construction date of around 1808. In 1838 it was occupied by William McCleery. By 1863 the occupant was Jane Donnan. The full-height canted bay was added around 1900. The property was re-roofed and re-rendered in 1985, with the hipped roof dormers added around 1990. The house is located within a conservation area.