41 Irish Street, Downpatrick, BT30 6AH

Three storey, four bay terrace building with symmetrical front facade (to first and second floor) facing onto SW side of Irish Street. Built mid 18th century (c 1760), probably given the window arrangement as two houses. Steeply pitched roof, with natural slates to both slopes. Chimney to each gable, evident on First Survey photograph, now absent. Rectangular on plan, with single storey extension to rear (likely early 19th addition). Front elevation rendered, lined out and painted, with quoins. Rear elevation exposed greywacke rubble. Front elevation (to street) – four openings to second floor (four original 3/3 timber sashes, stone cills); four openings to first floor (four original 6/6 timber sashes, stone cills). All windows have exposed boxes and no horns. Ground floor – Openings now all blocked/boarded up. Remains are visible of arrangement seen in First Survey photograph, ie, to the far left a window and door, off centre a large opening formerly the shop front, and to the right hand side, the blocked up opening formerly an entry down the side of the building to the rear. Rear elevation – access restricted at the time of the survey (Jan and May 2016), with some windows seen only from limited interior inspection. The record is therefore incomplete. To ground floor (rear extension) two timber sashes and one ‘porthole’ circular window; to first floor one original 6/6 timber sash. No record of windows to second floor. It is likely that the window openings to the first and second floors remain as illustrated in the Lawrence Collection photograph, c.1900. The rear of the building is enclosed by the two storey L shaped outbuildings of the adjacent building abutting the SE gable. Setting The building is set a steep hill on the SW side of Irish Street, in a largely intact mid C18th, early C19th terrace. Opposite are C20th replacement buildings in a historic pastiche style.