12 The Parade, Donaghadee, Co Down

Large three storey gabled terrace house of approximately 1820-30, situated in the middle of The Parade overlooking the shore. Despite substantial alterations, the building retains its historic character.

The front north facade displays a symmetrical arrangement. At its centre is a large doorway set within an elliptical arch, featuring a panelled surround, plain sidelights, panelled aprons and a radial fanlight. Originally flanked by two sash windows on either side, these have been replaced by a single large window with a modern frame. Timber sign boards are mounted above the doorway and windows. The first floor contains five sliding sash windows, with five more on the second floor, proportionally smaller. The front facade is finished in lined render with chamfered stone quoins. Both gables are blank and finished in lined render, with only the uppermost section of the east gable exposed.

The rear has undergone recent alteration. To the right stands a large, long two storey gabled return with modern windows and doors arranged irregularly in varying sizes and shapes. At the centre of the rear facade, attached to the west face of this return, is a three storey lean-to projection with a large modern metal fire escape. The projection has modern doors to its upper levels. To the left of the projection, on the rear of the main building, are first and second floor windows with modern frames. To the right of the projection, on the rear of the main house, is a second floor window, also with a modern frame. The rear is partly finished in plain render and partly in roughcast. The return is finished in roughcast.

The main roof is gabled with fibre cement slates; the chimney stacks have been removed. The return roof also has fibre cement slates, whilst the rear projection roof is covered in Bangor blue slates. The rainwater goods are a mixture of PVC and cast iron.

The building does not appear in Samuel Delacherois's 1817 drawing of Donaghadee Harbour, but is depicted in D. Kennedy's 1834 watercolour showing its original ground floor window arrangement. The 1836 valuation records indicate the property was then owned by James Kelly with a rateable value of £18. The rear return is not shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1834, though it appears on the revised map of 1858-60. Ground floor windows were enlarged approximately 1980. The original Georgian panes were removed in the later 19th century.

In recent times, the property has served as a hotel and subsequently as part of the Peto Institute, a Hungarian organisation specialising in physiotherapy for children with cerebral palsy. Part of the ground floor is currently used by a children's playgroup.