9-11 The Diamond, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry, BT55 7EA

Numbers 9-11 The Diamond, Portstewart

This building comprises two formerly separate two-bay, two-storey mid-terrace houses, originally dating from the 1880s, that were demolished in 2003 and rebuilt as a single commercial unit. It is located on the east side of The Diamond in Portstewart town centre, prominently positioned at the southern end of an important terrace on the approach to the town.

The present structure was reconstructed on a square plan. The principal elevation faces west and is expressed as two distinct units, reading as the continuation of the original terrace composition. The roof is pitched with natural slate covering, blue and black angled ridge tiles, and rendered chimneystacks. Plastic rainwater goods are mounted on projecting eaves. The walling is painted ruled-and-lined render.

The west-facing principal elevation features six first-floor windows and two traditional-style shop-fronts at ground level. Windows are modern three-over-six timber sash units with projecting painted sills. The shop-fronts are identical, comprising tripartite plate-glass windows flanked by wide panelled pilasters on rendered plinths, with a rendered stall-riser and projecting sill. A modern four-panelled timber door to the left is accessed via a single stone step. A plain timber fascia with applied lettering and cornice with lead covering sits above. The north and south elevations are abutted by adjoining buildings. The east (rear) elevation was not recorded.

Although demolished and substantially rebuilt, the building retains group value as part of a listed terrace that forms a significant element of Portstewart's townscape character. The terrace is set back from the road with a tarmacadamed public parking area to the front. A large two-and-a-half-storey modern extension with dormers extends to the north side of the terrace and across its full rear length.

Historically, buildings occupied this site from at least 1830, though early structures were recorded as low-value, possibly single-storey vernacular dwellings. The present terrace was remodelled between 1875 and 1882 as seven dwelling houses, reflecting Portstewart's growth as a fashionable bathing resort. The terrace, though lacking architectural pretension, likely retained fabric from its simpler predecessors.

Number nine was newly remodelled by 1880 under developer William Martin and initially valued at £4.10s. Early tenants included Robert McKergan (1885), Mrs Campbell (1900), and Daniel McGowan (1901), a 45-year-old fisherman heading a large household of nine children. In the 1930s the accommodation comprised a kitchen, one room, and four bedrooms, with rent at £1 per month.

Number eleven entered valuation records in 1882, also leased from William Martin. Initial tenants included James Shaw, followed by Robert Irwin (1885), Andrew Logue (1886), and William Cox Junior (1900), a carter. By the 1930s this seven-room second-class dwelling comprised a kitchen and five bedrooms, also rented at £1 per month. Associated outbuildings included a communal yard with brick and corrugated iron water closets allocated to houses nine through fifteen.

Both numbers nine and eleven were demolished in August 2003 and subsequently rebuilt, leaving no original fabric.