9 Atlantic Avenue

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively small two-storey terrace shop of c.1855-60 with shopfront of 1909-10. To the rear is a slightly lower, two-storey return. The building is street fronted, facing into Atlantic Avenue, a short street that traverses the narrow peninsula on which the town centre of Portrush is located. Originally the shop was positioned within the centre of a continuous two-storey terrace, however, the bulk of the terrace to the east has been demolished, with this property now actually semi-detached.

The ground floor has a full width shopfront which is framed with decorative pilasters. Each of these are set on a small projecting base and has a tiled shaft and a decorative console bracket capital. The tiles are Art Nouveau Style. The capitals form stop ends to the framed fascia. The fascia tilts forward slightly and has a glazed surface protecting the guilded shop-name lettering; to the centre this has decorative italicised lettering spelling out the name of the proprietor ‘Thomas Cameron’ and a decorative cartouche at either side containing the words ‘Family’ and ‘Butcher’ in serif capitals. To the left side are paired timber glazed panelled doors with a boarded overlight, whilst the large shop window is set on a low stall riser. The shop window and glazed panels to the doors are all boarded. To first floor there are two-evenly spaced flat-headed windows openings each with 2/2 timber sash frames. These openings have plain reveals and painted stone sills. Between the windows there is a projecting sign of probable late 20th century date.

The now exposed eastern gable is blank The eastern face and the south gable of the return are also blank

The returns to nos. 9 and 11 are linked with a two-storey yard wall. There appears to be a narrow land-locked yard between the returns.

The roofs are slated with blue/black fireclay ridge tiles to the main roof and fibre cement slate to the return roof. There are shallow projecting eaves courses to both roofs. Rainwater goods remain on the front façade only and these are galvanised metal. There is a cast-iron rooflight to the eastern side of the return roof. Walls are finished in render, ruled and lined to the front and plain elsewhere. Window frames are timber as is the shop window and fascia; console brackets appear to be moulded plaster.

Historical information

Atlantic Avenue was laid out sometime between 1832 and 1853 as ‘Church Pass’, a name still retained by the Street directly opposite to the north-east. No.9 is located on a plot that originally belonged to the recently demolished property that fronted on to Main Street (the former no.37). The latter was in place by 1853, with what appears to have been an outbuilding occupying part of its land to the rear, on a site to the immediate east of the of the present shop. Between 1853 and 1866, (probably before 1859), the rest of the plot was developed, a development which included no.9.

From 1866 to c.1890 the building acted as a dispensary. In 1891 it was leased to Thomas Cameron, a butcher, who in 1909-10, according to the valuers, ‘extensively decorated the shop…very handsomely’, tiling 'the walls and floor', and installing a ‘new window etc.’. Clearly the present shopfront, complete with fashionable Art Nouveau tiles, dates from this time.

The shop appears to have remained in Cameron family up until its closure at some point before 2007.

References- Primary sources
1 OSNI OS6-1-2-2 (1853)
2 PRONI VAL2B/1/30A-B (1856)
3 PRONI VAL12E/46/1-2 (1859-[95])
4 PRONI VAL12B/6/2A-D (1859-95)
5 PRONI VAL12B/4/22A-D (1895-1930)
6 OSNI OS8-42-3B (1896)
7 PRONI VAL12A/1/121 p.101 (1910)
8 PRONI VAL12F/1/15 (1931-35)
9 PRONI VAL3B/1/16 (1935)
10 PRONI VAL3C/1/30 (1936-57)
11 PRONI VAL4B/1/64 (1956-72)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Externally largely original, (and in this setting, relatively scarce), example of a mid-19th century shop with memorable Edwardian shopfront which includes Art Noveau style ceramic detailing.