Public House, 156 Shore Road, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1LA

Former Public House, 156 Shore Road, Portaferry

This was a large, two-storey terrace public house, possibly dating from around 1870, originally comprising several separate properties. The building was demolished by October 2005 and subsequently replaced with a large apartment block.

The structure was situated at the junction of Shore Road and Cook Street on the southern outskirts of Portaferry. Its western front façade was asymmetrical in design. The pub doorway was positioned left of centre, featuring a timber panel door and plain fanlight enclosed within plain pilasters, entablature and cornice. To the left stood a large six-pane timber window with a moulded 'v'-jointed pilaster surround joining to the plinth to form a recessed effect, topped by a moulded segmental arch with keystone. A modern PVC canopy awning covered this window and the ground floor front elevation. To the right of the pub door were two sets of paired timber sliding sash and case windows with similar surround treatment to the left-hand window. A timber panel door with plain fanlight occupied the far right. The first floor contained windows similar to those on the right-hand ground floor: a pair at far left, a single window, another pair in the centre, and a pair with a single window to the right. The left and centre windows featured plain pilaster surrounds set on plinths with moulded elliptical arch heads and keystones. Two traditional projecting pub signs appeared at far left and centre left on the first floor, with an internally illuminated projecting plastic sign at far right.

The northern elevation, facing Cook Street on a slope, displayed a large ten-pane timber window to the left of ground floor level, positioned between 'v'-jointed pilasters extending to ground and topped by segmental arch moulding. A smaller two-pane window to the right had similar treatment. The first floor contained two sliding sash and case windows with plain pilaster surrounds, entablature and pediment. A large timber pub sign between the first floor windows had an air vent below. An adjoining modern mono-pitch extension with gable featured a large twelve-pane timber window to the right, with pilasters similar to those on the ground floor and 'v'-jointed entablature. A small two-pane timber window to the left had comparable surround treatment, though its pilasters did not extend to ground. The extension's north-west corner had quoins, and a red brick chimney stood near the middle of the extension roof. The eastern façade of the extension contained a modern three-pane timber window and a timber panel and glazed door set in a smaller lean-to extension to the south end. Large flat-roofed extensions to the rear of the main building contained various modern timber windows and doors, with another small lean-to extension to the left.

The main building's gabled roof was covered with Bangor blue slates and featured four yellow brick chimneys with simple corbelling and varying numbers of pots to each stack. The front elevation had cement render parapets, cast iron guttering and downspouts; the rear had PVC equivalents. The gable extension roof was covered with composite slates.

The building had been altered considerably in recent years and possessed large modern extensions to the rear. The 'heavy' decorative treatment of the western windows may not have been original. The structure had been subject to recent modifications that somewhat compromised its original appearance.

Historical records indicate the site appeared on Patrick O'Hare's 1799 map of Portaferry, noted in the accompanying schedule as land due to be built upon by Jonathan Mullan. The present buildings likely dated from the early to mid-nineteenth century and were undoubtedly two separate properties initially. The building is documented in various historical directories and valuation records from the nineteenth century, confirming its long-standing presence as a commercial establishment in Portaferry's streetscape.