1-9 Church Street, Greyabbey, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2NQ

A row of nine plain single-storey rubble-built dwellings dating to around the 1830s, located on the south-west side of Church Street at the north-west end of Greyabbey. The buildings are largely vernacular in character with significant modern extensions to the rear.

The row consists of properties numbered 1 to 9. All have pitched main roofs; numbers 3 to 7 are covered with concrete pantiles, number 9 has Bangor blue slate to the front elevation and asbestos-free slates to the rear with stone parapets, while number 1 is currently undergoing restoration with only recently erected steel purlins in place. All houses feature two brick chimney stacks, largely shared between properties. Numbers 3 to 9 have Velux windows to the rear.

Number 1 stands on the corner of Church Street and Main Street, with a roughly L-shaped plan and bevelled corner. The front entrance is positioned on the corner. The Church Street elevation has two boarded-up window openings, with the right opening being larger, and one window opening on the Main Street elevation.

Numbers 3 to 9 share a consistent front north-east elevation arrangement, with a door positioned slightly right of centre and a window on either side. Numbers 3 and 7 have timber and glazed doors; numbers 5 and 9 have plain timber sheeted doors. Numbers 5 to 9 retain sash windows, with Georgian panes to numbers 5 to 7. Number 3 has modern timber windows made to resemble sash windows. All front elevations have cast iron rainwater goods except number 3 which has a PVC gutter, and number 1 which has no gutters or downspouts.

Modern extensions have been added to the rear of numbers 3 to 9, with single-storey flat roof extensions to numbers 3 to 7. Number 9 has a larger two-level hipped roof extension with a small lean-to store attached to its south-east gable and an attic sash window high in the gable. The rears of numbers 3 to 9 are finished in rough cast. Numbers 3 to 7 have PVC rainwater goods to the rear. Number 9 has a small patio-like entrance and forecourt at the rear. One of the properties has been converted to a visitor centre for the nearby abbey ruins.

The Ordnance Survey map of 1834 shows buildings only on the sites of the present numbers 5 and 7. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of around 1835 noted that neat new single-storey houses were being constructed at the north-east edge of Greyabbey at this date, indicating these dwellings belong to that development phase.

A stone wall to the south-west of number 1 on Main Street, constructed from materials from Grey Abbey, was demolished recently but is currently being reconstructed.