14-26 North Street, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT23 4DE

A two-storey terrace of seven dwellings on the west side of North Street in Newtownards, dating from the late 18th or early 19th century. The terrace is likely of vernacular origin, possibly originally built as weavers' houses with working spaces in rear rooms. The ground slopes from south to north, causing number 14 at the southern corner to be the tallest, with each successive property decreasing in height.

Number 14, positioned at the corner of North Street and East Street, is considerably larger than the other houses. Its east-facing front elevation has a centrally-placed entrance with a modern panelled and glazed door framed by plain pilasters, decorative brackets and cornice. To the left are two windows and to the right one further window, all with modern frames. The first floor contains four evenly-spaced windows. The south-facing gable has two ground-floor windows and two first-floor windows (these openings do not appear original). The rear elevation, viewed at a distance, shows two upper-level windows with modern frames and a gabled return shared with number 16. The facade is pebbledashed with chamfered quoins to the south-east corner. The gabled roof is covered in artificial slate, and there are two rendered chimney stacks. A rendered parapet on the south side features a corbel on the south-east corner, topped with a moulded urn. Rainwater goods are a mixture of cast iron and PVC.

Number 16 has a right-positioned entrance with a plain sheeted door, similar to number 14's configuration. To the left is a small window with modern frame, and the first floor has two similar windows. The rear shows a shared gabled return with number 14 and a single-storey flat-roofed extension. The facade is painted render with scored lining to the front and an eaves course. The roof is covered in artificial slate with a rendered chimney stack and parapet to the south. Rainwater goods are mixed cast iron and PVC, with a tall rendered chimney stack to the north.

Number 18 has a front facade that mirrors number 16's arrangement in reverse. The rear includes a single-storey flat-roofed extension and two modern first-floor windows. The facade is plain render, painted at the rear and unpainted at the front, with an eaves course. The roof is artificial slate, and rainwater goods are PVC and cast iron.

Number 20 has a front facade identical to number 16. The rear features a full-height gabled return shared with number 22, and a modern first-floor window to the main rear facade (the ground-floor level could not be seen). Both front and rear facades are finished in plain painted render, while the return is rough cast. An eaves course runs across the front, and the roof is artificial slate with a rendered chimney stack to the south (shared with number 18). Rainwater goods are cast iron and PVC.

Number 22 mirrors number 20 with its front facade arrangement reversed. The rear has a two-storey return shared with number 20, with modern windows to ground and first floors of the main rear facade. Facades are finished in plain painted render with the return in rough cast. The roof is artificial slate with a rendered chimney stack to the north. Rainwater goods are PVC and cast iron.

Number 24 has a front facade similar to number 22 but handed, featuring a stable door with small glazed panel and diamond-leaded panes to the upper pane of windows. The rear mirrors number 22 in reverse with differently-shaped modern windows and is unpainted. The roof is artificial slate with a rendered chimney stack to the south. Rainwater goods are PVC and cast iron.

Number 26 has a sheeted door with small glazed panel to the left and an enlarged PVC window to the right. Two small first-floor windows now have PVC frames. The rear could not be accessed but appears to share a full-height gabled return with number 24. The front facade is finished in rough cast, and the roof is covered in artificial slate with two Velux windows to the front. Rainwater goods are PVC to the front. The property originally shared a taller gable with a demolished neighbouring building removed in the 1960s to make way for the entrance to Strean Church Hall; a brick chimney stack from this former property remains and continues to serve number 26.

The door surrounds throughout the terrace appear to be later Victorian decorative additions. The whole terrace has undergone recent refurbishment, involving external changes to fenestration and internal alterations. North Street was laid out in the 1760s-70s as part of Alexander Stewart's grid-pattern town plan centred on the new market house. By the 1830s, both sides of the street between Orchard Place and East/West Streets were fully developed.