Site of former 25 Scotch Street, Downpatrick, Co Down

Site of former 25 Scotch Street, Downpatrick

This site on the south side of Scotch Street contains the remains of a three-storey house, possibly constructed before 1834, which likely originated as two separate dwellings. The building was demolished around 1990 and has since been replaced by a car park entrance.

A survey conducted in February 1974 documented the building in detail before its demolition. It was situated on the slope of the street descending westward, with a slated roof and right-hand gable end. The chimneys were rendered, and the walls were rendered and channel-jointed or rusticated, with a dentilled eaves cornice, raised quoins, and a moulded first-floor sill course.

The second floor contained four drop-hung windows without astragals. The first floor had four drop-hung windows with horizontal divisions. The ground floor comprised a four-pane window with a semicircular arch to the top panes, a coach doorway with a recessed lintel and keystone and diagonally sheeted door, a house doorway framed with panelled pilaster jambs with decorative brackets and a decorative frieze lintel below a pediment, and a drop-hung window matching the first-floor style. All windows featured moulded architraves and decorative keystones. At the time of survey, the front façade was in fair condition, though the roof had settled and the building was believed to require structural attention.

Historical evidence suggests the building dates to the 18th century but began as two separate dwellings. The south side of Scotch Street appears fully developed on a 1720 Downpatrick town plan. A valuation town plan of 1838 indicates smaller individual properties on this site, likely corresponding to separate houses belonging to William Forsyth and George McKeating. When these two dwellings were merged into one is uncertain, though the front façade character suggests this occurred in the late 19th century. The building stood until its demolition around 1990.