The Lurig Inn

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Attached four-bay two-storey over concealed basement rendered public house with attached three-bay single-storey over concealed basement wing, built c.1880 with large two-storey over basement rendered extension spanning the rear, built c.1984. Irregular on plan facing southwest and terminating a terrace of buildings lining the northeast side of Bridge Street on the west bank of River Dall. Gutted by fire c.1983 and largely rebuilt.

Pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles to the two-storey section, pitched artificial slate roof with synthetic ridge tiles to the southeast wing. Red brick chimneystack to the southeast gable of the four-bay section. Replacement steel rainwater goods throughout. Painted rendered walling. Square-headed window openings with painted concrete sills, replacement timber casement windows to the ground floor and southeast wing with steel sill guards.

The two-storey section (SW) has a square-headed door opening to the left providing access to the upper floor and a further square-headed window opening providing access to the public bar, which is flanked by large openings with top-hung timber windows behind railings. Four replacement 1/1 timber sliding timber sash windows with angled horns to the first floor. Replacement sheeted hardwood doors throughout. Between floors is a painted panel stating; 'THE LURIG INN'.

The single storey section (SW) has applied architrave surrounds to the window openings. Three multi-pane casement windows to SW elevation with modern metal railings within each opening.

Northwest side is abutted by adjoining building No.7 Bridge Street (HB05/02/023C).

Rear elevation abutted by large gabled rendered two-storey over-basement extension.

Painted rough-cast render to blind gabled southeast side elevation to southeast wing with further painted panel (as above).

Setting:
Terminating a short terrace of varied buildings lining the northeast side of Bridge Street and overlooking River Dall adjacent to the bridge (HB05/02/024). Rear access lane runs along the rear elevation of the extension providing access to the basement.

Materials:
Roof Natural / artificial slate
RWG Replacement steel
Walling Painted render
Windows Replacement timber sliding sash / replacement timber casement

Historical information

Nos 1-5 Bridge Street, a two-storey four-bay public house possessing a single-storey south-eastern block, was originally constructed in c. 1880 but was largely reconstructed following a fire that razed the building in 1983. Nos 1-5 Bridge Street is one of a number of local commercial buildings that were established in Cushendall as a result of the village’s development into a popular seaside resort and stopping-off point (for tourists travelling along the Coastal Road) during the 19th century. The 1901 Ulster Town Directory noted that Cushendall’s hotels were ‘comfortable and well conducted’ with the village providing ‘an excellent centre for making excursions from to view the far-famed scenery of the Antrim Coast’ (UTD).

The valuation sources note that three earlier houses on the site were demolished in 1880 to make way for the construction of nos 1-5 Bridge Street. The new building was first recorded in the Annual Revisions which set its total rateable value at £17 and noted that the property was initially leased by the Turnly family to a Mr. James Kenny, a local farmer. Nos 1-5 Bridge Street appears to have been constructed as a private dwelling but had been converted into a public house by at least 1901. Following James Kenny’s death in 1900 the property was occupied by a Ms. Catherine Kane. The 1911 Census of Ireland described nos 1-5 Bridge Street as a 2nd class public house and dwelling that consisted of seven rooms and possessed extensive outbuildings to rear including two stables, two cow houses, a piggery, fowl house, a boiling house and a store. Nos 1-5 Bridge Street was known as the ‘Lurig Bar’ under the First General Revaluation of Property of Northern Ireland (1936-57) which increased the total value of the building to £46 and 15 shillings. The public house was occupied by Michael Anderson, a local publican who also operated a pair of shops in the single-storey south-eastern extension of the building. The Anderson family continued to reside at the site until 1965 when the Lurig Bar was briefly occupied by a Mr. Alexander Murray. By the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the public house had been further raised in value to £111 and 5 shillings and was operated by a Mr. S. Shields.

In 1972 the UAHS Guide for the Glens of Antrim noted that the shops located in the single-storey block of the ‘Lurig Inn’ was occupied by a post office and chemist’s shop. The guide described the entire ‘end block next to the bridge [as] poor quality, but unobtrusive’ (UAHS, p. 32). The buildings along Bridge Street were subsequently included in the Cushendall Conservation area in 1975, only the second conservation area in the province to have been designated at that time, ‘testimony itself to the special qualities of the village.’ In that year the village was also chosen as one of Northern Ireland’s four pilot schemes for conservation during the European Architectural Heritage Year. Nos 1-5 Bridge Street was subsequently listed in 1976. The NIEA HB Records note that nos 1-5 Bridge Street suffered major damage as a result of a fire that razed the building in 1983. The public house was subsequently rebuilt in 1983-84 along its earlier layout. The shopfront located at the south-eastern block was removed in c. 1988 when the single-storey building was incorporated into part of the public house. The Lurig Inn underwent a second renovation in c. 1998 which included the internal reorganisation of the building (NIEA HB Records; Cushendall Conservation Area Guides).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/20/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/20/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1921)
4. PRONI OS/8/84/1 – Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1903)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/7A-F – Annual Revisions (1864-1923)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/12A– Annual Revisions (1923-29)
7. PRONI VAL/12/E/24/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (1906-c. 1935)
8. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/14 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
9. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/10 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
10. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918)
11. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
12. PRONI Wills Catalogue (4 Apr 1900)
13. First Survey Record – HB05/02/023 (1971)
14. NIEA HB Record – HB05/02/023A-B

Secondary Sources
1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.
2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Co. Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1996.
3. Dallat, C., ‘The road to the Glens’ Belfast: The Friar’s Bush Press, 1989.
4. ‘Cushendall Village Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1975.
5. ‘Cushendall Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1993.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Attached four-bay two-storey over concealed basement rendered public house, built c.1880. Following a fire in 1983, most of the building has been reconstructed. There is therefore little historic fabric remaining, internally or externally. As such, the building does not have sufficient architectural and historic interest to be considered special.

General comments

Southeast wing formerly HB05/02/023A.