33 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

No. 33 Main Street, Bushmills was built as part of a pair with No. 31. The pair (31-33) of terraced houses were the last to be constructed along the west side of Main Street between 1834 and 1855.They were described as "a pair of two-storey rendered houses with modern fenestration and elliptical arched coach entrance. Maintains eaves and ridge levels. Slated roof, rendered chimneys" on the first survey card of October 1972.

The pair of buildings were demolished c. 2001. At the time of survey, the vacant site was a construction site with concrete blockwork to first floor level. The site was concealed to the NE side by plywood hoarding.

The South-east side consists of an exposed stone and red brick gable-end to adjoining properties No's 35-41 Lower Main Street (HB05/08/064).

The South-west and North-west sides are enclosed by a high metal fence.

At the time of the survey the construction work appeared to have ceased.

Historical information

Nos 31-33 Main Street, a pair of two-storey terraced houses located on the west side of Main Street in Bushmills, were constructed between 1834 and 1855; the mid-19th century houses were demolished in c. 2001. Nos 31-33 Main Street were amongst the last buildings to be constructed along the west side of Main Street as part of the general rebuilding 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). Nos 31 and 33 Main Street were not recorded on the Townland Valuation Town Plan or the contemporary Townland Valuations (c. 1834-35) but the row did appear on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1855.

Contemporary valuation maps and an early-20th century photograph of Main Street shows that nos 31 and 33 Main Street were both two-storey three-bay buildings, although No. 31 possessed a coach arch. Griffith’s Valuation (1859) notes that both houses were leased by a Mr. John Kilpatrick. No. 31 Main Street was initially valued at £6 and 10 shillings and was occupied by a Ms. Mary Gault whilst the adjoining No. 33 was valued at £5 and 10 shillings and was inhabited by a Ms. Barbara Huey. The occupants of nos 31-33 Main Street changed with frequency over the following decades. The Annual Revisions notes that in c. 1896 the separate buildings were combined into a single dwelling which was revalued at £10 and was occupied by James Sinclair, a local national schoolteacher.

The 1911 Census of Ireland noted that Sinclair resided at Main Street with his wife Eliza and their six children. The accompanying census building return described nos 31-33 Main Street as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of ten rooms and possessed a turf-house and potato house as its sole out offices. The contemporary Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1902) recorded the building along its original terraced layout and also depicted two small outbuildings to rear. The Sinclair family continued to reside at nos 31-33 Main Street until the mid-20th century. The value of the house was increased to £14 and 10 shillings under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) at which time the valuer recorded the MacNaghten family as owners. The Sinclair family vacated the site in c. 1960 and by 1965 ownership of the building passed to a Mr. Daniel Cochrane who subdivided the property (into its original layout as two dwellings) and leased the site out new tenants. By the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the rateable values of both No. 31 and No. 33 Main Street stood at £17 and 10 shillings each.

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 31-33 Main Street were individually listed in 1980 and were 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.
In March 2001 planning permission was granted for the demolition of No’s 31 & 33 Main Street and erection of a housing development. The NIEA HB Records note that nos 31-33 Main Street were completely demolished in c. 2001 in order to facilitate the construction of new residential units to rear (Bushmills Conservation Area Guide; NIEA HB Records).

References
Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/3/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/3/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1855)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/3/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1904)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1921)
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 – HB05/08/065
15. NIEA HB Record – HB05/08/065

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.

Evaluation

No's 31-33 Main Street, Bushmills, a pair of two-storey terraced houses were the last to be constructed along the west side of Main Street between 1834 and 1855. At the time of the survey the pair of houses had already been demolished (c. 2001) and construction work on the site appeared to have started but ceased. The current site is concealed on all three sides by plywood hoarding to the SE side and a metal fence to the SW and NW sides.