29 New Road, Donaghadee, Co Down, BT21 0DR

29 New Road, Donaghadee

A substantial two-storey gentleman's residence with a hipped roof, finished in unpainted roughcast, standing on the north side of New Road to the north of Donaghadee town centre. Although the building displays late Georgian and Regency styling, it was actually constructed around 1860, as evidenced by its absence from the 1859 Ordnance Survey town plan but its appearance in the second valuation of circa 1861-63. The symmetrical front façade faces roughly south.

The ground floor features a central entrance comprising a panelled door with a semicircular fanlight with spoked tracery, flanked by fluted pilasters with decorated capitals and an archivolt, approached by steps. To either side of the doorway are two windows each, fitted with PVC sash frames with simulated Georgian panes (6 over 6). The first floor contains five similar windows across the front.

The west façade has two windows on the ground floor similar to those on the front, and a smaller fixed-light window on the first floor, with a larger sash window set marginally higher. A small single-storey lean-to is attached to the left. The east façade mirrors this arrangement, with a two-storey lean-to attached to the right. Between the ground-floor windows is a window-like recess.

The rear elevation rises to three storeys in most places, though it drops to two storeys on the far left. A shallow single-storey lean-to to the far left contains a modern up-and-over garage door. The single-storey lean-to to the far right has a partly glazed door to the north face and a small PVC-framed window to the short east face. On the two-storey lean-to section, the first floor has a slightly smaller sash window to the left and a larger matching window to the centre. The attic level contains two much smaller windows. The rear garage lean-to roof is corrugated iron.

The hipped roof is slated with two large rendered chimney stacks flush with the east and west façades; a rear chimney stack has been removed. Cast iron rainwater goods are present throughout.

To the rear is a cobbled yard with a large two-storey gabled outbuilding at the north end, finished in roughcast with a slated roof. This outbuilding has a south-facing façade with a timber-sheeted pedestrian door to the right of centre and a large roller-shutter garage door to its right. Two square-ish PVC-framed windows are positioned to the left of the pedestrian door, with four similar windows on the first floor. A tall first-floor window with Georgian-style panes is located on the west gable.

The property is set within a front garden enclosed by a low rubble wall. The house is remarkably similar to its neighbour at number 31 to the west, both sharing the same late Georgian or Regency character with hipped roofs and almost identical front entrances. However, whilst number 31 dates from circa 1834-38, this dwelling dates to around 1860. Both properties belonged to a Miss Cosh at the time of the second valuation, which supports a local tradition that a former owner of number 31 built this house, accounting for their architectural similarities.

The property underwent complete renovation in the 1970s, with PVC window frames installed in the late 1990s, replacing the original sashes throughout.