8 Killinchy Street, Comber, County Down, BT23 5AP

8 Killinchy Street, Comber

A large two-storey gabled house of the early 1800s, set on the east side of Killinchy Street with a split-level design incorporating a half basement. The building is constructed of greywacke rubble with a symmetrical west front façade.

The main west-facing elevation features a central painted stone door surround with cornice, enclosing a two-panelled timber door with a rectangular fanlight of petal design (probably a recent replacement). On either side are two large window openings at ground level, with three similar evenly spaced openings to the first floor above. All these openings originally contained sash windows and are flanked by modern unsuitable timber shutters. Each opening has a stone window cill and a stone flat arch to its head. The window openings appear somewhat enlarged, though there is no physical evidence to confirm this.

The south gable rises above the adjoining single-storey neighbour and presents a blank face. The north gable is more articulated, with one window to the right side of the ground floor and a matching window directly above to the first floor. Below these is a recently enlarged basement window. Two large pipes rise up the centre of the north gable—one serving as a boiler flue and the other as a vent pipe.

The east façade includes a timber-sheeted door with a modern window to the extreme right. At ground and first-floor levels are tall window openings positioned to the far left and right. Midway between these levels on the centre of the façade is a similar window lighting the half landing. All these openings appear to be original with stone cills and flat arch heads, though all now contain modern frames. In recent years, modern window frames have been installed throughout the building and unsuitable shutters added to the front.

The roof is gabled, finished with Bangor Blue slates and carrying two brick chimney stacks, each with four matching pots. Rainwater goods are cast iron and PVC.

The property was originally associated with the adjacent Upper Distillery complex to the east and probably served as the manager's residence. The distillery site can be traced to the mid-18th century when James Patterson operated a large malt kiln with a house for the distilling business. Upon Patterson's death in 1761, Alexander Riddle took over, practising both distilling and brewing until 1767, when he rented the buildings to John Andrews, a local miller. Andrews installed William Murdock as manager; Murdock was later described on his headstone as "the eminent distiller of Comber" and retained connections with the business until his death in 1805. By the 1820s, George Johnston and a Mr Gilbert possessed the site, then used for brewing. In 1825, Johnston partnered with John Miller and converted the buildings to distillery use exclusively. By 1846, Miller was operating in partnership with a Mr Cairns (probably James Cairns of nearby Maxwell Court). By 1856, Miller held sole ownership and in 1860 acquired Comber's Lower Distillery. Miller retired in 1871 at the age of 75, and both distilleries were acquired by Samuel Bruce, who installed a resident partner, a Mr McCance or Blizard-McCance. The Lower Distillery closed around 1916; the Upper gradually wound down production after 1948, closing finally in 1953. The site was subsequently sold to an Inverness wine merchant firm for stock purposes. Equipment was dismantled and sold, and in 1957 the site was purchased by local spirit dealers Hollywood & Donnelly, who liquidated remaining whiskey stocks and used the buildings for storage. The former distillery buildings were later, around 1960, sold to Mr Jack Cook, and a paper recycling business operated on the site until the mid-1980s. The former Upper Distillery now houses a small industrial park.

Though most distillery buildings date from the later 1830s or 1840s, following damage caused by the Great Wind of January 1839, this house and the attached row on the west side of the complex (facing Killinchy Street) may predate 1834, as buildings in this position are shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map, and a house matching the present dwelling's dimensions is recorded in contemporary valuation records. Since the distillery's final closure in 1953, the property has been a private residence.