House near [?32] Stockbridge Road, Portavoe, Donaghadee, Co Down, BT21 0PN

House near Stockbridge Road, Portavoe, Donaghadee

A relatively plain one and a half storey gabled farmhouse of probable pre-1834 origin, positioned close to the roadside on the south side of Stockbridge Road, roughly 1.5 miles north-west of Donaghadee. The building may have been raised to its present height with some window openings altered in the early 1900s. The property is now vacant and partially derelict. A neighbouring house that stood at right angles to the north-east was demolished around the 1990s.

The asymmetrical north-west facing front façade is largely obscured by tree and shrub growth. To the left of centre stands a mainly glazed gabled porch, with a sash window to its left. Further left is a larger window with a modern frame dating from around the 1950s, and a similar window sits at the far right. Two gabled half-dormers with sash windows (each with 1 pane over 2) occupy the attic level. The north-east gable has a boarded-up opening on the ground floor to the right, appearing to have been a doorway but set unusually low. Remains of a small lean-to adjoin it to the left. The house merges with a large gabled outbuilding to the south-west.

The rear elevation features a large single-storey lean-to at right of centre, with a panelled and glazed door of around 1950s date on its south-east face, flanked by two small six-pane windows. The south-west face has a small four-pane window. To the left, the main house has a modern glazed door and two windows with modern frames. A large window with a modern frame, possibly from around 1950, sits to the right of the lean-to. The front façade is finished in lined render, whilst the rear and north-east gable are rough-cast. The gabled roof is slated with two rendered chimney stacks (one to the north-east gable) and two cast iron skylights to the rear. The lean-to roof is covered in corrugated asbestos. Sections of PVC rainwater goods are visible to the rear. A large new house, possibly a replacement dwelling, has been built to the north-east.

Cartographic evidence from the Ordnance Survey map of 1834 shows a building matching the present plan and positioning. The property appears in contemporary valuations as "under value" around 1836, a phrase often indicating a relatively modest single-storey structure. The theory that the roof was raised slightly, perhaps in the early 1900s, is supported by the plain gabled dormers to the front and this valuation record. By the 1861-1863 valuation, the occupant was recorded as John Perry.