59-61 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three-storey two-bay terraced commercial premises with accommodation over, having traditional Art-Nouveau shop-front, built c.1900 and located to the west side of Main Street in Portrush town centre. Square on plan with two-storey return and extension to rear.

Pitched natural slate roof, hipped over canted bay, with angled-ridge tiles. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods on projecting eaves. Walling is painted smooth render. Windows are replacement uPVC to upper floors with projecting painted sills and continuous sill course to canted bays; plate glass windows to ground floor shop-front.

The principal elevation faces northeast and has two-storey canted bay at left and window to each floor at right over projecting double shop-front at ground floor. Shop-front has central recessed porch flanked by plate-glass windows framed by slender colonettes topped by ogee spandrels detailed with ivy leaves on painted render stall risers. Porch is fully glazed with printed geometric tiles to floor. Original timber door with large plate glass panel over timber panel, brass pull handle and surmounted by transom light. Modern timber fascia with painted lettering is topped by ornate cast-iron balustrade with consoled ends. Modern timber door with large plain transom light set back to left of shopfront with printed geometric tiles to floor.

The southeast elevation is abutted by adjoining building.

The southwest elevation is fully abutted by two-storey return, which is further abutted by a modern extension. Enclosed to alley to southwest by modern flat-roof garage.

The northwest elevation is abutted by adjoining building; HB03/10/014B.

Setting:

Street-fronted to the west side of Main Street, enclosed yard to rear accessed via Mark Street Lane.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Painted smooth render
Windows: uPVC and plate glass to shop-front
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

A building is first shown on the site on the second edition OS map of 1853 and it is possible that the current shop/dwelling retains some fabric from this early structure. However, the building had radically altered in plan form by the time of the first town plan in 1896 and was further altered in 1908 to give two separate shops. Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) describes the building as a house and outbuildings with a frontage of 32 feet, valued at £18, occupied by Miss Mary Morrow and leased from Patrick Black.

Number 59/61 was taken over by James W McCallum, a fruit and fowl dealer in 1905 and his property was converted into two shops valued at £19 and £12 in 1908, the smaller of which was temporarily sublet. At the time of the 1911 census, James W McCallum, fruiterer and poulterer lived at the five-room second-class shop and dwelling with his wife.

The shop/dwelling was purchased for £2500 by Peter G Ross in 1928 and £900 was spent on improving the premises leading to a large rise in valuation to £41 in 1929. The accommodation at this time comprised a confectionary and tobacconists shop, reception, kitchen and scullery on the ground floor and a drawing room, bathroom WC and servant’s bedroom on the first floor with three further bedrooms on the second floor. The building was listed in 1977 and the first survey image shows the shop as Ross’s tobacconists. The premises is now in use as a gift shop.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/2/1 First Edition OS Map 1831-2
2. PRONI OS/6/1/2/2 Second Edition OS map 1853
3. PRONI OS/6/1/2/3 Third Edition OS Map 1906
4. PRONI OS/6/1/2/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1921-31
5. PRONI OS/6/1/2/5 Fifth Edition OS Map 1946-50
6. PRONI OS/8/42/1-2 – Town Plans of Portrush (1895-6)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/30B – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
8. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/121 – Valuer’s Notes 1908
9. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/125 – Valuer’s Notes 1929
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2A-E Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/22A-D Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
12. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/30 First General Revaluation 1933-57
13. PRONI VAL/3/D/1/15/A/23 First General Revaluation 1933-57
14. 1901 census online
15. 1911 census online
16. HB file – 03/010/014A-D
17. Belfast and Ulster Street Directories 1900-1918

Secondary Sources

1. Girvan, W D “Historic Buildings, Groups of Buildings, Areas of Architectural Importance in North Antrim including the towns of Portrush, Ballymoney and Bushmills” Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1975

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance

Evaluation

A three-storey two-bay terraced commercial premises with accommodation over, having traditional Art-Nouveau shop-front, built c.1900 and located to the west side of Main Street in Portrush town centre. One of the few remaining traditional shop-fronts in the town, relatively well-preserved and of good quality, and an example of the more domestic scale of buildings that make up the architectural character of Main Street. Despite some modernisation to the upper floor flat, the building retains much of its original character. Reflecting the commercial boom in Portrush at the turn of the century, number 59-61 makes an important contribution to the historic character of Portrush.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance also apply.

HB03/10/014B has now been incorporated into this record.