Albert Place

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A freestanding, symmetrical, three-storey stone building situated on the north side of Bridge Street, Kilrea and built in the mid 19th century as two adjoining residences, now with a single shop on the ground floor. Rectangular on plan with a remodelled and enlarged central return to rear. Abutting single-storey porches to side elevations (later additions) and a substantial outbuilding directly to north.

Hipped slate roof with angled ridge tiles; chimney-stacks have been removed. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods with decorative hoppers. Walling is ashlar sandstone to main elevation; ruled-and-lined-rendered to sides and porches; roughcast to rear and abutting return. Raised quoins to main building and porches. Windows are a combination of 6/6 and 3/6 timber sashes with stone sills (some replacement) and plain surrounds except for moulded architraves to blind openings of ground floor (unless otherwise stated).

The principal elevation faces south and is six openings wide on each floor; 3/6 windows to second floor, 6/6 windows to first floor. Two wide openings at centre of ground floor with modern glazing and deeply recessed door to left; surmounted by modern signage and metal roll-shutters. Central openings flanked either side by door openings, which have been infilled, and line rendered; outer windows are also infilled, having stone sills and projecting moulded architraves. Vestiges of former painted sign reading ‘Albert Place’ remain on left side above ground floor.

West elevation has central window to second floor; sixteen-pane window below, upper portion partially covered over and sill removed. Gabled single storey porch to right; metal frame casement windows to main elevation and left cheek; six-panelled replacement timber door to right cheek.

Rear elevation (north) has metal frame window to right side of ground floor; other remaining windows have been infilled. Two-storey, hipped roof, roughcast extension abuts to rear and encompasses most of the elevation. Return is blank except for central steel door to north elevation and similar door to centre of right cheek.

East elevation has twelve-pane window to second floor; first floor window blocked up. Ground floor has single storey, hipped roof porch to left with central round-headed timber window, having moulded surrounds. Ogee cast iron rainwater goods; some square uPVC downpipes. Right cheek is blank; left cheek has central hardwood replacement door with moulded surrounds, surmounted by a modern portico supported on columns.

Setting:
Located in an urban
setting, street fronted with a car park to eastern side; coursed rubble wall and laneway between neighbouring building to the west (HB03/01/008). Cast-iron railings and gate to west side of main elevation giving access to porch. Modernised roughcast outbuildings (of no interest) in close proximity to rear, forming northern boundary, abutting coursed rubble wall to west and roughcast wall to east. Expansive metal-sheeted gates abutted to north-east corner of main building act as service entry, separating rear of building from car park.

Roof: Slate
Walling: Ashlar stone, roughcast render
Windows: Timber sash, metal casement
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

First shown on the second edition OS map (1853), the building comprised two adjoining properties, both of which were owned by the Mercers’ Company. Griffith’s Valuation (1856) shows the eastern half was occupied by William Dripps; valued at £22 the listing comprised a house, office, yard and a new drapery shop. The western portion was occupied by Joseph Irwin and consisted of a house, a grocery and hardware shop, out-offices and a yard. The value was noted at £23 on account of the offices being of greater quality compared to those of the adjoining property.

In Plantation times, during the colonisation of Ulster, the Worshipful Company of Mercers’ (a principal Livery Company of the City of London), directly controlled a proportion of land within County Londonderry. The estate of 33.5 sq miles was located around the district of Kilrea and Movanagher but by the mid 17th century the Mercers’ estate was let to nominated individual/s, many of whom were absentee landlords, and subsequently the estate fell into severe decline. With the death of the final tenant, Alexander Stewart, in 1831, the Mercers’ took repossession of and direct control over the estate. Kilrea was now the capital of the proportion and in the ensuing decades the Company instigated an ambitious scheme of improvements intended to raise productivity, general welfare and the overall appearance of the estate with particular focus placed on Kilrea town. An architect to the Mercer’s Company was appointed (William Barnes) and a cohesive design plan for the development of Kilrea was generated which carefully regulated the style and proportion of all new buildings, such as these houses (Curl).

The Annual Revisions (1865-85) record that the western side became occupied by David Tomb in 1877 and the east by James Dripps in 1881. According to the 1901 Census Records, Tomb operated a grocer’s shop on the ground floor of the premises and resided in the property with his two children and another individual. Noted as ‘postmaster’ in the contemporary Directory of Ulster Towns (1901) the shop owned by James Dripps functioned as a draper’s, haberdasher’s, newsagents and he was also noted as the distributor of fishing licenses.

The Annual Revisions (1895-1910) record in 1905 the daughter of David Tomb, Margaret Graham, took over the grocers shop. James Dripps was succeeded by Richardson Long, a postmaster who operated the shop as a stationers, newsagents, embroiderers and an emigration agents. By this period both properties had been purchased by the tenants under the Wyndham Land Purchase Act 1903, which saw the Mercers’ estate slowly dissolved and sold to the occupiers.

In 1935 John Lyttle owned both buildings; he operated a shop from the western property but the shop and house to the east lay vacant according to the First General Revaluation (1935). By 1956 the two houses, shops and outbuildings were owned by a William McCool and in recent decades the ground floor has been merged into one shop, with a large extension erected to the rear and the outer windows and doors have been blocked up.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/27/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map (1830)
2. PRONI OS/6/5/27/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (1853)
3. PRONI OS/6/5/27/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map (1905)
4. PRONI OS/6/5/27/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1925-33)
5. PRONI OS/10/5/27/5/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey County map (1905)
6. PRONI OS/10/5/27/5/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey County map (1905)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/40A – Griffith’s Valuation (1857)
8. PRONI VAL/2/D/5/5 – Griffith’s Valuation Map (1859)
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/29/3A – Annual Revisions (1864)
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/29/3B – Annual Revisions (1865-78)
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/29/2C – Annual Revisions (1879-85)
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/29/3D – Annual Revisions (1886-94)
13. PRONI VAL/12/B/29/3E – Annual Revisions (1895-1910)
14. PRONI VAL/12/B/29/3F – Annual Revisions (1911-29)
15. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/2 – First General Revaluations (1935)
16. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/6 – Second General Revaluations (1956-72)

17. Census of Ireland (1901-1911)
18. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918)

Secondary Sources

1. Lewis, Samuel ‘A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’ S. Lewis & Co, London (1837)
2. ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs; The Parishes of Co. Londonderry, VIII [Vol. 27] - Desertoghill, Errigal, Killelagh and Kilrea, 1830-39’ Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast (1994)
3. Curl, James.S. ‘The Londonderry Plantation 1609-1914’ Phillimore & Co, Chichester (1986)
4. Kernohan, J.W. ‘The Parishes of Kilrea and Tamlaght O'Crilly A sketch of their history, with an account of the Boveedy Congregation’ Coleraine, (1912)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
U. Historic Associations
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A freestanding, three-storey symmetrical Georgian style building, built during the mid 19th century, located within an urban setting, to the northern side of Bridge Street. Formerly comprising two adjoining houses with shops on the ground floor the building has been substantially remodelled and refurbished in recent decades. Despite extensive alterations and additions much of the character of the restrained principal elevation remains, largely through the retention of the timber-sash windows and stonework. The building continues to dominate the streetscape of Bridge Street, and is a representation of the ambitious and coherent development of Kilrea, instigated by the Mercers’ Company during the mid 19th century.

General comments

Additional listing criteria apply-R-Age, S- Authenticity, U-Historic Associations.