Prospect House, 4 Millisle Road, Donaghadee, Co Down

Prospect House is a large two-storey gabled town house with a substantial attic, probably dating from around 1760, situated on the east side of the northern end of Millisle Road, to the south of Donaghadee town centre. It remains one of the most impressive buildings in the town and is still largely intact and well cared for.

The house sits on a gentle rise, as the street slopes toward the northwest. The principal south-west-facing front façade was probably originally symmetrical, but an extension to the south-east end — which may have been added not long after the house was first built — has made it asymmetrical. The original section is nevertheless still clearly identifiable.

The entrance is positioned slightly left of centre and is reached by five stone steps arranged in a pyramid. The door is panelled and fitted with a semicircular fanlight with decorative tracery. The doorway has a Gibbsian surround, with blocked pilasters and architrave. To the left of the door, set at a high level, are two sash windows with Georgian panes; to the right are two similar windows. Further to the right, at ground-floor level in the south-east section thought to have been added later, is a flat-arch carriage entrance with timber double doors. At first-floor level on the original section are five evenly spaced sash windows matching those below. On the upper level of the south-east addition is a large tripartite window with Georgian panes, set slightly lower than the first-floor windows of the original section. The front façade is finished in roughcast with quoins at the corners. Quoins also appear between the original and extended sections, reinforcing the evidence of a later addition. A small and curious circular skylight sits at the centre of the front roofline.

The exposed upper part of the south-east gable is plain rendered and contains two attic windows, similar to those on the front but smaller. The north-west gable is finished in plain render and painted. On the first floor of this gable is one window matching those on the front, with two smaller attic windows above, as on the south-east gable.

The rear façade is unrendered but whitewashed, exposing its rubble construction. Slightly right of centre is a timber-sheeted rear door set within a recess. To the right of this are a narrow pair of French doors, which now occupy an opening that was previously a doorway connecting to a single-storey rear extension. To the left of the main rear door is a small six-pane sash window set at a high level. Directly above the main rear door — almost resting on its lintel — is a tall stairwell sash window, similar in style to those on the front. Above that is a smaller sash window lighting the attic stairwell. Also at first-floor level, to the left of the tall stairwell window and set at a high level, is a sash window in the same style as all the others, which lights the bathroom. The stonework to the rear confirms that the south-east section was added later, as does the absence of windows in that part of the rear wall. Some of the rear window openings appear to have been altered. To the far right of the rear façade there was once a single-storey extension, probably added in the early 19th century and, according to the owner, rebuilt in Victorian times, but removed around the 1970s, with the connecting doorway subsequently replaced by the French doors.

The roof is gabled with rendered parapets, covered in asbestos slates to the front and Bangor blue slates to the rear. To the rear there are three large and two small Velux windows. There are three rendered chimney stacks: one to each gable and one positioned directly above the junction between the original house and the south-east addition, again reinforcing the likelihood that the two sections were not built at the same time.

There have been some alterations to the rear façade and to the kitchen interior, including an enlarged kitchen doorway, but these detract only marginally from the overall character and quality of the building.

The house appears on a map of Donaghadee prepared for Daniel De la Cherois — now believed to date from somewhere between 1771 and 1790, though long cited as circa 1780 — and its deeds indicate it was built prior to 1779. A possibly earlier map of the town, once dated to 1780 but now thought more likely to date from around 1700 on stylistic and architectural grounds, also shows the site as occupied, though the present building is almost certainly mid-18th century. By the time of the first Ordnance Survey map of 1834, a rear extension had been added. This was substantially renovated or rebuilt in Victorian times and subsequently removed in the 1970s by the then owner, the architect Kenneth Kenmuir, who also appears to have been responsible for enlarging the kitchen doorway.

The early human history of the house is largely unknown. Local tradition holds that it was originally built for a sea captain who could use its elevated position — its "prospect" — to watch toward the sea and judge when his vessels might arrive or when conditions were favourable for sailing. At least one other local account suggests it may once have served as a custom house for Donaghadee, though this seems unlikely given that custom houses were generally situated closer to their respective harbours. In the valuation records of around 1836, the house is recorded as being in the possession of a Mrs Vaughan, with a substantial rateable value of £18.

Prospect House lies within a conservation area and is in private ownership.