HIGH STREET, COMBER
28-50 High Street, Comber, Co Down
1985
Whitewashed houses with stone doorcases
Situated on the slope of a steep hill rising from the central
square of the village of Comber, this terrace has an almost uniform
roofline, with the houses ranging in size from two stories with
attic at the bottom to low single-storey houses at the top, with
doors and windows arranged very informally along its length. Almost
entirely devoid of 'architectural features' apart from simple
doorcases, the simplicity of these houses is very characteristic
of vernacular building in Ulster, and has rarely survived in an
urban context. Originally built about 1820, probably as houses
for workers at the Comber Distillery, they passed about 1920 into
the ownership of the Andrews Mill, which owned them at the time
they were vested as part of a redevelopment area by the N I Housing
Executive. The range of sizes and the internal finish of the houses
reflect their origins as factory housing, with larger houses accommodating
foremen.
Many of the houses had lacked bathrooms and other amenities even
in recent times, and with the compulsory purchase of buildings
in the area for redevelopment, they would normally have been demolished.
However, as they were listed buildings, Hearth offered to carry
out the improvement of the property alongside the new development
by the Housing Executive. Planning permission was sought, and
granted on condition that the elevations must not be altered,
and that levels be settled in discussion with the Roads Service.
Since much higher road and pavement levels were planned by the
Roads Service, this proved a difficult conflict to resolve, but
eventually work was started in 1986.
Restoration involved complete re-roofing, and partial re-rendering,
provision of new kitchen returns, and secondary glazing to the
front windows, which suffered from high traffic noise. The variety
of windows and doors, some of which may have been original, others
perhaps of inter-war date, was retained, and walls were repainted
in limewash. Of the original twelve houses, nos. 40-50 were combined
two-into-one to produce reasonably sized units, but the redundant
front doors were retained, and converted into windows.
Client: Hearth Housing
Association
Client: Hearth Housing Association
Architect: Hearth
Quantity Surveyor: McNeil Rainey & Best
Main Contractor: D M Murray, Downpatrick
Restored: 1986-87
Funded by Housing Association Grant
Accommodation: One three-bedroom house, four two-bedroom
houses and four one-bedroom houses
