18 Bridge St., Rostrevor, Co.Down

18 Bridge Street, Rostrevor

A two-storey, two-bay terraced building built circa 1850, combining a hair dresser's shop on the ground floor with a dwelling above. The architect is unknown. The building has a rectangular plan with a two-storey rear return facing northeast.

The building is situated on the northeast side of Bridge Street in Rostrevor, forming part of a terrace of three similar structures (which also includes numbers 16 and 20). It lies within the Rostrevor Conservation Area.

The main southwest elevation faces the public footpath along Bridge Street and features a distinctive glazed shop front with a panelled painted timber door to the northwest side, topped by a square-headed fanlight with brass furniture. The shop front comprises two large rectangular windows with lined painted render walling beneath. The northwest window is positioned higher to respect the gradient of Bridge Street. Each window is three lights wide, spanned by a depressed pointed arch in painted timber set over two painted timber mullions and flanked by moulded and panelled timber pilasters with plain moulded capitals. Above this sits a stepped painted timber fascia board bearing the sign "HAIR VIVID STUDIOS" in modern applied lettering, with a simple projecting moulded timber cornice.

The first floor consists of painted lined render walling with two equally spaced top-opening uPVC casement windows.

The pitched natural slate roof features angled black clay ridge tiles and a corbelled cornice with cast iron rainwater goods serving the front elevation. Half-round guttering discharges to a cast iron polygonal hopper and shared cast iron circular-section downpipe (shared with number 16). The rear elevation has uPVC rainwater goods. Two smooth cement rendered chimney stacks are shared with adjacent properties: the northwest stack (shared with number 16) has two buff clay and two terracotta clay pots; the southeast stack has three terracotta clay pots. Three modern roof vents are positioned to the front.

The northwest elevation is attached to number 16 Bridge Street. The northeast elevation comprises a two-storey pitched roof rear return projecting into an enclosed rear yard bounded by modern block walling. The original building has a single reduced bay to the right of this return with a single top-opening uPVC casement window at first floor level. The two-storey rear return features a two-part side-opening uPVC window at first floor level, with a longer pitch to the northwest of the ridge, abutted on the southeast by the monopitched rear return of number 20. The walling has a smooth cement render finish with uPVC rainwater goods and uPVC windows. The southeast elevation is attached to number 20 Bridge Street.

All walling is rendered: the southwest elevation is smooth and painted, whilst the northeast elevation is smooth and unpainted. Shop-front windows are timber-framed; windows elsewhere are uPVC casements.