23 - 25 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-bay three-storey mid-terrace commercial premises with traditional shop-front; built c.1910 to designs by Albert Clarke and located to the west side of Main Street in Portrush town centre. Rectangular plan with bow windows to front and full-height returns to rear.

Pitched natural slate roof with rendered chimneystack to gable. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on projecting bracketed eaves. Walling is stretcher and header-bonded polychrome brick with diamond pattern; decorative geometric raised brick and sandstone cornice below eaves. Windows are replacement timber casements to upper floor bays, with leaded-and-stained glass panels to upper lights; plate glass windows to three ground floor shop-fronts, each differently detailed.

The principal elevation faces east and comprises three shop-fronts to ground floor; bow bay windows to upper floors have painted rendered aprons between floors; motif in plaster relief with letter B to top of bays under eaves. To centre at ground floor is the only surviving traditional shop-front (The Spinnaker Restaurant); enclosed by channelled pilaster jambs , comprising plate glass window on polished granite stall riser, with carved timber frame and transoms, trigyph frieze, and recessed doorway to left. Porch has painted timber panels to left side and is fully glazed to right side; coloured mosaic tiles to floor and a timber-panelled ceiling with ornate lattice brackets. Original segmental-headed glazed timber door with low letter box surmounted by segmental-headed transom light. Plain fascia has moulded cornice and applied brass lettering reading “THE SPINNAKER RESTAURANT”; raised and decorated carved stop end to left side. Modern shop-front to left and right, of no interest.

The south elevation is abutted by adjoining building.

The west (rear) elevation is partially concealed from view by a full-height rendered parapet return,further abutted by a two-storey gable rendered return with chimneystack to gable and at left by a single storey ground floor rendered infill extension.

The north gable is almost entirely abutted by adjoining building (HB03/10/022); painted lettering to gable reads “CECIL/CAFE/EST 1860.”

Setting:
Street-fronted to the west side of Main Street. Boundary wall and timber gate enclose yard to rear.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Stretcher and header-bonded red brick
Windows: Replacement timber casements
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

Buildings are shown on the site on the first edition OS map of 1831-2 but underwent several phases of improvement and rebuilding under the ownership of John Bamford, most notably in 1894 and in 1911 to designs by Albert John Hamilton Clarke, town surveyor of Portrush from 1907 to 1940 (Coleraine Chronicle). Portrush began to flourish after the opening of a railway station in 1855 and Bamford’s premises which offered drapery, confectionery, stationery, grocer’s produce and baked goods, in addition to tea rooms, appears to have prospered in the late nineteenth century, judging by the continual improvements and expansions in the small row of shops he owned.

At the time of Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) there was a small two-storey house built on the site with a single-storey return and an outbuilding, for which dimensions are given in the fieldbook. The occupier was Captain James Massy and the house, office, yard and small garden were valued at £12 and leased from John Williamson. The premises was taken over by John Bamford in the 1870s and a slight improvement led to a small rise in valuation in 1871. In 1894 rebuilding took place and the valuation was increased to £24 with the premises being listed as two shops from this date.

John Bamford, draper, confectioner, grocer and stationer also leased the neighbouring premises, now number 27, from 1883, where he ran the drapery business. (1901 street directory) Bamford continued to live in the premises at the time of the 1901 census where he lists himself as a ‘Tobacco Merchant etc’ living with his wife and three adult children, the eldest two assisting him in the shop while the youngest is a baker. Four employees also live at the house, two shop assistants, a clerk and a general domestic. His shop has fourteen rooms, five outbuildings and is designated 1st class. Thomas Bamford took over the business in 1907 and a few years later in 1911 the whole building was remodelled with a consequent rise in valuation to £90. Valuer’s notes of the period shows a plan of the building that suggests only the front block was rebuilt and the valuer comments that the upper part of the premises consisted of large tea rooms which were only used during the 3-month summer season.

In the 1930s the shop remained the property of Thomas Bamford who had bought the premises for £8,000. Number 23 belonging to Thomas Bamford was a shop, offices, stores and bakehouse with a dwelling on the upper floors while the neighbouring premises at number 25 was sublet to William Thompson at £250 yearly and was a shop and café on the ground floor with WCs and a pantry to the rear, a café, kitchen and scullery on the first floor and a lounge and billiard room on the second floor.

In 1939 numbers 23 and 25 were amalgamated and it appears that there was no longer a dwelling house in the building from this date. By 1948 the café section occupied the whole of first floor with an entrance through the ground floor shop.

In the 1950s a portion of number 23 was partitioned off as an office for Messrs J R Watt and Son Ltd with a narrow street frontage, which may originally have been the entrance into the private house. This is currently in use as a separate clothing shop. Numbers 23 and 25 reverted to their former divisions downstairs with a grocer’s in one half while the former number 23 remained a café downstairs that extended up to the first floor. These divisions have been retained to the present day.

The premises remained in the Bamford family until at least the 1950s. By the time of Girvan’s survey of historic buildings in the area in the early 1970s, the café at number 23 was named the Stairway Restaurant, and Girvan notes the ‘delicate Art Nouveau shop-front on the ground floor, Beardsleyesque in the detail of its iron-work; especially notable is the charming brass-handled door’. (Girvan) A photograph taken by the Girvan survey shows that the doorway has since been altered by removal of the door handle and decorative panel above the door. A striped awning which folded away into a frame above the shop window has also gone.

The building was listed in 1977 and part of the first floor of number 23 was converted into a flat in the 1990s. The second floor of number 25 at the rear which had been demolished some years previously was reconstructed in the 1990s for use as an artist’s studio. In 2012 the owners repainted the faded ‘Cecil Café’ sign which had been painted on the north gable c1900. (HB file)

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/1/119 and122 – Valuer’s notes (1912)
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2A-E – Annual Revisions (1859-1895)
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/22A-D Annual Revisions (1895-1930)
11. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/30 First General Revaluation 1933-57
12. PRONI VAL/3/D/1/15/A/22 First General Revaluation 1933-57
13. HB File – 03/010/023
14. Street Directory 1901
15. Coleraine Chronicle 24th June 1911

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
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A two-bay three-storey mid-terrace commercial premises with traditional shop-front; built c.1910 to designs by Albert Clarke and located to the west side of Main Street in Portrush town centre. A building of some architectural distinction, a notable feature is the deep overhanging eaves line that reflects the curve of the bow windows. The building retains much of its original character and architectural detailing, despite some alterations to the main elevation. Although the interior has been modified as a response to the changing requirement of the buildings usage, some elements of a typical Edwardian interior survive. One of only a few shop fronts in the town that remains, reflecting the grandeur of the Edwardian period and commercial boom that took place in the town at the turn of the century. Number 23-25 continues to make a significant contribution to the historic interest and character of the town centre.

General comments

Additional listing criteria apply R - Age, S - Authenticity, T- Historic Importance