8 Ferry Street, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1PB

8 Ferry Street, Portaferry

A large and impressive three-storey Georgian terrace house dating from 1780–1781, built as part of a development of formal houses constructed by builder James McMullan on a site leased by Patrick Savage. The property occupies the east side of the sloping Ferry Street, just south of Portaferry town square, and is listed Grade B1.

The symmetrical west-facing front façade is rendered and painted. At ground floor level, the central entrance features a timber panelled door with a plain fanlight and two-pane sidelights, all framed by panelled pilasters with decorative console brackets supporting a large projecting dentilled cornice. Flanking the entrance on either side are large tripartite sliding sash windows with simple keystones and stone cills. The first and second floors follow a similar arrangement of three tripartite windows each, progressively reduced in height. The second-floor window frames retain their original Georgian glazing with two panes over two. A chamfered plinth with stepped detailing runs along the base, while the façade is articulated with chamfered quoins and an eaves band. The exposed sections of the north and south gables are plain, finished in unpainted lined render.

To the rear is a one-and-a-half storey lean-to section. The northern end contains a row of modern windows resembling a conservatory, while the southern end connects to a two-storey gabled outbuilding. The rear elevation includes square sash windows on the first and second floors to the right, with a narrower window positioned at stairwell level between the first and second floors. All sashes in this elevation feature vertical glazing bars (two panes over two). The rear façade and much of the lean-to are finished in unpainted roughcast. The gabled roof is covered in Bangor blue slates and topped with two modern brown brick chimney stacks with simple corbelling and matching pots.

The property is surrounded by an extensive range of outbuildings of various dates. One large two-storey brick structure was probably added around 1900. Historically, these outbuildings served multiple functions: storage for beer and tobacco, a hem-stitching and handkerchief factory, Dr Alexander Filson's laboratory for preparing medicines, and a coach house and stables.

According to documentary evidence, the site was leased by Patrick Savage to James McMullan in 1776, with instructions to construct three-storey slated houses. The present Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Ferry Street appear to be among McMullan's original construction, completed by 1781. By the 1780s, Thomas Watson's widow had taken over the lease from McMullan, as shown on Patrick O'Hare's 1799 map. Around 1835, the property passed to Dr Alexander Filson, whose family occupied it throughout most of the 19th century. The building lies within a conservation area.