22-24 Church Street, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1LS

Two storey terrace block containing two dwellings on the west side of Church Street, north of Portaferry town centre. The building possibly dates from before 1834, though documentary evidence suggests the properties may have been constructed or substantially rebuilt between 1820 and 1839.

No. 22 is a 'flying leasehold' property, part of whose upper floors sit directly above the much smaller property of No. 24. A passageway runs between the two properties.

The front eastern façade is asymmetrical and rendered in Tyrolean finish with moulded vermiculated quoins, though the quoins and surrounding details have been overspayed with Tyrolean finish, resulting in considerable loss of sharpness. The façade is painted.

To the left of centre is a timber six-panel door to No. 22 with plain fanlight and surround featuring entablature on scrolled brackets. Adjacent is a large square modern four-pane mullioned and transomed PVC window with upper two opening panes top-hung and concrete cill. A second door of similar design but without surround leads into the passageway between the properties, its former sidelight now panelled. To the right is a five-panel timber door to No. 24 with fanlight, flanked by relatively large PVC windows matching the far left. The first floor, which belongs entirely to No. 22, has five unevenly spaced windows with PVC frames and concrete cills. All windows throughout now have PVC frames.

To the rear of No. 22 is a single-storey hipped-roof return with at least three windows to the first floor, all with two-pane PVC frames. The rear elevation of No. 24 is largely obscured by a large outhouse. Four Velux windows are installed in the roof. The gabled roof is covered with concrete tiles. Two cement-rendered chimney stacks without pots are present. A crow-step gable appears on the south side. The eaves course is supported on brackets with PVC guttering throughout. Extensive outhouses at the rear of No. 22 include a building with king post rafter. Beneath the rear yard is a large brick vaulted well chamber, approximately 12 feet in height. A distinctive water pump also survives in the yard.

Historical development is documented in several sources. A building on this site appears on Patrick O'Hare's 1799 map, listed as being in the possession of Edward Shaw or Mary Miskelly. The 1838 valuation returns record that the site comprised a small two-storey police barrack and a larger two-storey dwelling, then occupied by William Anderson. The dwelling house contained a school house and office. By 1863, the smaller southern property had ceased to function as the local police barrack (a new larger one having been built in Ferry Street), and both properties were listed as dwelling houses. By this date, the properties were in the hands of Elizabeth Thompson (No. 22) and Mary Anderson. Photographic evidence shows that during the 1920s No. 22 served as a tea room. The building lies within a conservation area.