5 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey/ two bay commercial premises on S side of Main Street.

Pitched artificial slate roof with central cement rendered chimney. Ground floor is filled by a late 19thC / early 20thC shop front, with door to left leading to first floor accommodation. This door is four panelled (raised and fielded, with top two glazed) and glazed transom over.

Shopfront has a modern timber door with transom (door may once have been recessed). Larger shop windows (plate glass) to L and R have fretted ventilators over. Moulded stucco cill. Flanking left and right of façade are raised panelled stucco pilasters with similar (but broader) one between the left door and shop window to its right. Over is a moulded stucco fascia painted “J.W.WARBURTON/ WATCHMAKER/ JEWELLER” with stucco consoles over to each end pilasters.

First floor wall is painted and lined rendered with four equally spaced 1/1 exposed box sliding sashes.

Left and right gables are abutted by larger building.

Rear elevation is abutted to right by a two storey return (see later). Wall of main block is rendered and painted at ground floor only. At centre of ground floor is a semi-elliptical headed door surround with a modern sheeted door with glazed overlight. To either side is a single modern casement window. To first floor there are three window openings, not in line with those below. To left is a modern timber casement window, to its right (centre) set slightly lower than the others to first floor is a 1/1 exposed box sliding sash window and to its right is a 6/6 sliding sash window.

Return (scullery) has a pitched natural slate roof and rendered walls. Its left cheek overhangs at first floor level. At ground floor (L) is sheeted and glazed timber door and to right is a 12-paned fixed window. To roughly centre of first floor is a timber 1/1 sash window. Right cheek is party wall with adjacent building. Rear gable of return is abutted by an outbuilding, that encloses the rear of the yard.

Outbuilding has a pitched roof and rendered walls. Ground floor right is abutted by a modern lean-to toilet (see later). To ground floor centre is timber sheeted door flanked by a two window openings. Left one is a 8/8 sliding sash (with bull’s eye pane) and right opening contains is a smaller modern uPVC unit. To first floor aligned over entrance door is a timber sheeted loading door and to the extreme left abutted by the overhanging portion of the rear return. The toilet block has a mono-pitched felt roof with painted render walls and a sheeted timber door on left cheek.

Historical information

Buildings are shown on this plot on the 1776 Meade Estate map. The building shown on the 1834 Valuation map is described in the accompanying Valuation book as a shop measuring 26ft 6in x 28ft x 17ft 6in. These dimensions broadly accord with those given in the c.1862 Valuation which splits the premises into two sections – a stationary shop (12ft x 29ft x 2.5 storeys) and a drapery (identical dimensions). This is probably the same structure as the present one, but its precise construction date is uncertain.

Primary Sources:
1. Meade Estate: A Map of the Town of Rathfriland (1776) Now in Norfolk and Norwich Record Office.
2. PRONI 1834 Valuation town map (1:1760), VAL 1D/3/3.
3. PRONI 1835 First Valuation book, VAL 1B/ 358A, p.133; /358B, p.40-41.
4. PRONI 1860 Valuation map (1:500), VAL 12E/114/1/2.
5. PRONI c.1862 Second Valuation book, VAL 2B/3/60B, p.1.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Although attractive, and of some townscape merit this building has few features of special architectural or historic merit.