101 - 103 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey two-bay painted rendered end-of-terrace house with a large modern two-storey extension to the rear. Rectangular plan-form with a replacement slated pitched roof (original chimney stack has been removed); set within a terrace row along Main Street Bushmills. Built between 1834 and 1857. The current structure was previously occupied as two separate dwellings and underwent a major refurbishment in c. 1926 which resulted in the installation of a ground floor shop front. Situated on the west side of Main Street and located on the southern side of the village centre with the Bush River to the west. At the time of the survey the building appeared to be occupied as a single private dwelling.

Walling is of painted rendered finish to front elevation; two entrance doorways to the right of a timber shop front window on ground floor level, right side doorway not in use. 1/1 replacement timber sliding sash windows (with exposed sash boxes) on first floor to front elevation; timber-effect uPVC windows to rear elevation and rear return; all set on a painted rendered plinth; painted corner quoins either side of elevation; pitched slate roof has black clay ridge tiles; half-round uPVC guttering to front elevation discharges to a cast-iron circular downpipe; uPVC rainwater goods to rear elevation and rear return.

Principal elevation faces north-east accessed directly off paved footpath on Main Street; three bays wide on ground floor and two bays on first floor above (not aligned); all set on a painted rendered plinth; elevation of each property along the terrace row is divided by painted rendered quoins (except between No's 95-97); slightly recessed doorways, not centred on elevation, left side doorway contains a timber panelled door with glazed top pane, right side opening contains a timber four panelled door with an integrated side light having a glazed top pane; timber shop front has a large timber frame window divided by vertical and horizontal glazing bars with semicircular arched heads to top panes; 1/1 timber sliding sash windows on first floor above have moulded horns.

South-east side elevation (gable) is blank; walling is of smooth re-rendered painted finish.

South-west elevation to the rear is abutted by a modern rendered two-storey pitched roof extension; main elevation walling is of smooth re-rendered painted finish having a single uPVC window on first floor level to the right side and a lean-to extension below abutting two-storey rear return. Entrance doorway (two steps up) to SW side of rear return having a vertically sheeted painted timber door. All windows to the rear are timber-effect uPVC.

North-west side is adjoined to neighbouring property No. 99 Main Street [HB05/08/041].

Setting:
The terrace row is situated on the west side of Main Street in Bushmills and located on the southern side of the village centre with the Bush River to the west. To the rear is located a single-storey rubble stone wall outbuilding with brick surrounds to the doorway and window opening. Door and window are replacement timber. Replacement pvc rainwater goods. Small painted stone lean-to to rear.

Materials:
Roof: Replacement natural slate
RWGs: uPVC & cast-iron (front); uPVC (rear)
Walling: Smooth rendered
Windows: Timber sliding sash (front); uPVC (rear).

Historical information

Nos 101-103 Main Street, a two-storey two-bay building with shopfront located on the west side of Main Street in Bushmills, was originally constructed between 1834 and 1857 but underwent a major refurbishment (or complete reconstruction) in c. 1926 which resulted in the appearance of the current building. The original structure on the site was contemporary with the reconstruction of the village of Bushmills in the early-19th century. The Bushmills Conservation Area Guide records that Bushmills was a significant settlement before the end of the 18th century but from the 1820s the village was extensively rebuilt by the MacNaghten family of Bushmills House (who had acquired the estate in 1787). The detailed Townland Valuation Town Plan (c. 1834) and Townland Valuations (1835) record that a 1C class structure (that is a slated building that was old and out of repair) stood on the site of nos 97-103 Main Street in the early-19th century, however this building was subsequently demolished and replaced with the current houses, which were first depicted on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857.

The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1859) set the total rateable value of nos 101-103 Main Street at £3 and 10 shillings and noted that the building was initially leased by Hugh McNaul, a prominent local landowner, to a Mr. Patrick McKay. The occupants of the house changed with frequency over the following four decades and by the turn of the 20th century nos 101-103 Main Street was leased by a Mr. Samuel McIlheny to James Allen, a local car driver. The 1901 Census of Ireland described the building as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of seven rooms and possessed a stable, shed and a store as its outbuildings to rear. The contemporary Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1902) continued to depict nos 101-103 Main Street along its original layout. The Annual Revisions record that the original building on the site underwent a major refurbishment (or possibly a complete reconstruction) in c. 1926. The refurbishment included the installation of a ground floor shopfront and resulted in an increase in the value of nos 101-103 Main Street to £10. The value of the property was further raised to £15 under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which also noted that the building was occupied by a Mr. Thomas McAlister. By the 1950s nos 101-103 Main Street had been purchased outright by a Ms. Anne McCullough who remained at the address until at least the 1970s. By the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the total rateable value of nos 101-103 Main Street stood at £27.

In 1972 the UAHS Guide for North Antrim described the buildings along Main Street in Bushmills in the following general terms: ‘A well-scaled street. Many good doorways and shopfronts remain, although there is the usual profusion of signs. While no building apart from the former Courthouse is worthy of individual mention, the unity of the street frontages must be maintained’ (UAHS Guide, p. 16). Nos 101-103 Main Street was listed in 1980 and was subsequently included in the Bushmills Conservation Area. The conservation area was designated in 1992 in order to preserve the built heritage of the village which possesses the highest number of listed buildings in the North East of Northern Ireland. The NIEA HB Records notes that nos 101-103 Main Street underwent a renovation in c. 1991 which included the reslating of its roof and the re-rendering of the building’s façade (Bushmills Conservation Area Guide; NIEA HB Records).
In 2013 planning approval was granted for the refurbishment of the existing building, restoration of the shopfront, replacement of rear extension to provide shop unit and residential accommodation. The current two-storey extension was constructed in c. 2013-2014.

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/7/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/7/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/7/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1904)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/7/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1922)
5. PRONI VAL/1D/1/7 – Townland Valuation Town Plan (c. 1834)
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/132 – Townland Valuations (1835)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/25A – Griffith’s Valuation (1859)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/8A-D – Annual Revisions (1859-94)
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/6A-C – Annual Revisions (1895-1929)
10. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/13 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
11. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/22 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
12. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918)
13. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
14. First Survey Record – HB05/08/040
15. NIEA HB Record – HB05/08/040

Secondary Sources
1. ‘Bushmills Conservation Area Guide’ Belfast: Department of the Environment (N. I.), 1983 – including the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1902.
2. Girvan, W. D., ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in North Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two-storey two-bay end-of-terrace house built between 1834–1857, situated on the west side of Main Street, located on the southern side of Bushmills village centre with the Bush River to the west. The current structure was previously occupied as two separate dwellings and underwent a major refurbishment in c.1926 which resulted in the installation of a ground floor shop front. The front facade shopfront and windows and doors are replacement timber while the large modern two-storey extension to the rear has uPVC windows and doors. The original chimney stack has been removed. Overall there has been much alteration to the external fabric resulting in the loss of original historic character. The building therefore has insufficient architectural and historic interest to be considered special.