3-5 East Street, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 3EJ

Two storey terrace block of two gabled houses constructed mainly in basalt rubble, located near the west end of the south side of East Street. The houses likely date from the late 1760s to 1770s, when Alexander Stewart, who became landlord of Newtownards in 1744, undertook extensive improvements to the town. Around sixty new houses were built between approximately 1769 and 1777, mostly constructed of stone or slate, and this block may represent two of those properties. Records from around 1836 confirm two houses were on this site, though neither was recorded in valuation documents due to being below rateable value. The basalt construction is somewhat unusual for the area, which more commonly employed local sandstone.

The front (north) facade of No. 3 consists of a modern glazed door at the centre of the ground floor with a sash window featuring vertical glazing bars to the left. To the right of the door is a carriage entrance with a roughly elliptical arch head constructed in basalt and sandstone voussoirs. The first floor contains two windows matching the ground floor arrangement but with red brick lintels. The west gable is blank. To the rear stands a modern single storey flat-roofed extension containing a conservatory and part of the kitchen. The rear facade is rendered, with a window to the left and a glazed door leading to a balcony on the extension roof at first floor level.

No. 5 has a similar layout with a modern glazed door to the right on the ground floor and a window to the left. The first floor contains two windows with red brick lintels. A small single storey flat-roofed extension with modern door and window is attached to the rear. The rear facade is rendered and painted with a first floor window featuring a modern frame.

Both houses share a roof of Bangor blue slates with two concrete brick chimney stacks. A small Velux window is set into the rear roof of No. 5. The rainwater goods comprise a mixture of PVC and cast iron. The front facades of both houses remain intact and well maintained, though the interiors are largely modern in appearance. The red brick arch lintels at first floor level may be replacements dating from the later nineteenth or early twentieth century.