69-85 High Street, Comber, County Down, BT23 5QE

This is a substantially complete, long, late Edwardian terrace of nine houses, built around 1915-1920 on the sloping northwest side of the southwestern end of High Street, Comber. The terrace was constructed by the owners of the nearby Andrews flax spinning mill to house their workers. The three properties in the centre of the terrace have a slightly different design than the rest, lacking the prominent front gables found on numbers 69–73 and 81–85.

The architectural style is characterised by projecting square bays with slightly rounded corners, a half-glazed timber panelled front door with a plain fanlight, and small front gardens with decorative quarry tiled paths. A continuous, bracketed “lean-to” roof shelters the front door and the projecting bay, which features a paired arrangement of sash windows. The lower sash in the bay windows lacks astragals, while the upper sash has a typical Edwardian pattern of horizontal and vertical astragals. The window opening is distinguished by a segmental arch head, a fine pilaster to the broad mullion, and decorative fretwork below the arch. Similar paired windows are located on the first floor. The rear of the terrace features a central timber door and sash windows on either side. Each first floor has a single sash window set within a small gable.

A high, rendered brick wall encloses a rear yard. A cinder-covered path, serving as a right of way, runs along the entire rear of the terrace, providing vehicle access and parking. Individual gardens are located to the north side of the access path. Single-story, mono-pitch outhouses are situated on the west side of the yard; originally containing an outside WC and fuel store. While the rear facades were likely broadly similar upon construction, numerous ad hoc alterations have occurred over time, including the addition of small first-floor windows (likely for bathrooms) and the enlargement of ground floor kitchen windows. The terrace is finished in painted rough cast, which has maintained a pink colour over the years, earning it the local nickname “Strawberry Row.” The gabled roofs are covered in Bangor Blue Slate, and the rendered chimney stacks feature a mixture of matching and non-matching pots. Cast iron rainwater goods are present.