6 Ferry Street, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1PB

6 Ferry Street, Portaferry

This is the right-hand house of an informal pair of two-storey houses of probable pre-1834 origin, retaining substantial architectural character. The building is distinguished by small late Victorian gabled dormers.

The pair is situated on the sloping east side of Ferry Street, just south of Portaferry town square, with the front elevation facing west. The front façade of the entire block is finished in lined render and painted. The actual position and dimensions of window and door openings mirror those of No. 4.

The rear elevation is finished in unpainted roughcast. On the ground floor to the right is a single-storey lean-to, with a sash window to its left. At first-floor level there appears to be a single sash window, with another similar window set at stairwell level to the right. The gabled roof is covered with modern composite slates.

Each house has a small gabled dormer with a sash window (now only present at No. 4), fluted pilaster surrounds, decorative brackets, bargeboards and finials, with slates to the sides of the dormers. Two cast iron skylights are positioned to the rear. Each house is topped by a blue engineering brick chimney with simple corbelling and matching pots. Notably, both chimneys are constructed lengthways, with their longer sides facing front and rear. Cast iron gutters and downspouts complete the external detailing.

Historical records show that a lease of this site, stipulating the construction of buildings, was granted to James McMullan in 1776. By around 1835, this portion of the site (now Nos. 4 and 6) was occupied by two two-storey houses, possibly those originally constructed by McMullan, then held by Elizabeth McDowell and a person named Nathaniel McCarter. By 1846, No. 4 served as the local Post Office under the proprietorship of Charles Press, and by around 1861 No. 6 functioned as the local constabulary station, having previously been located in Church Street during the 1830s. No. 4 continued as a post office until sometime between the early 1870s and around 1890, while No. 6 remained a police station until shortly after 1861, when a newly built police premises was constructed further along Ferry Street at the present No. 16.

The building is currently undergoing substantial renovation, with all windows and door openings boarded up.