County: Down Site name: COMBER: 26–30 The Square
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/03/103
Author: Sarah Nicol, Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Well and House - 18th/19th century
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 745979m, N 869222m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.550275, -5.743424
Work on this site began early in 2004 with the examination and recording of Georgian buildings that were to be demolished. In the northern part of the site, a series of Georgian foundations and a curving stone wall were uncovered. The curving wall was a garden feature associated with the building and the reason it appeared to run off site was that the boundary wall had been moved. The building dated from 1731 when the square was redesigned, but was knocked down by 1738 to accommodate the new glebe house.
In the central eastern part of the site a large well was uncovered along with a Georgian foundation, 19th-century cistern and a car-well from one of the garages. The western part of the site, where a carpark was to be built, was stripped to a set depth. During this work a series of Georgian foundations were uncovered, some of which had been badly damaged by the later insertion of a large cistern and the modernisation of drains and water services on site. To the north of these a small well was uncovered which contained a metal pipe for drawing the water.
The final phase of works on site consisted of the digging of foundations for the buildings. In the southern part of the site a stone Georgian wall was uncovered; it did not appear to be part of a building and was possibly a garden feature. In the western part of the site a series of stone Georgian foundations were uncovered. As most of them were only uncovered in small sections, it was difficult to interpret them. Another well was found in this area. All the wells were constructed in the same way, but it was impossible to determine a date or phase for use for any of them. A Georgian drain and cistern were also uncovered; the cistern was badly damaged due to the insertion of a more modern cistern to the north of it. Along with sections of Georgian walls, a whole series of 19th-century brick walls were found. Again these were too fragmented to suggest their purpose.
Farset Enterprise Park, 638 Springfield Road, Belfast BT12 7DY
