51 Bridge Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three-storey two-bay mid-terrace commercial premises erected c.1860. Square floor plan, largely extended to the rear. Located on the east side of Bridge Street in the centre of Banbridge.

Pitched artificial slate roofing; smooth render chimney with corbel course; uPVC rainwater goods. Masonry balustrade parapet removed c.1990. Stucco moulded walling with three double height pilasters to first and second floor; decorative capitals and foliated ornaments; moulded string course between first and second floor; ground floor shop front is polished granite c.2010. Round-arched ground floor windows; moulded archivolt with decorative key block and impost moulding; replacement glazing. Segmental-arched first floor windows with moulded key block; chamfered surrounds; painted masonry cill; replacement uPVC top hung casement windows; square-headed second floor windows; stop chamfered surrounds; painted masonry cill with moulded aprons; replacement uPVC top hung casement windows.

The principal elevation faces east and is symmetrically arranged. Three ground floor windows with two first and second floor windows over.

The north gable is abutted by adjoining building 49 Bridge Street.

The rear elevation is abutted by a double-height flat roofed extension. Single door to left at second floor.

The south gable is abutted by adjoining building 53 Bridge Street.

Setting

The building forms part of the two and three storey terraces which line the centre of the town. Formerly as an individual building, it now forms part of a larger commercial block which extends to the adjoining buildings to the south. The rear of the building comprises various modern extensions beyond which is a large car park.

Roofing: artificial slate
Walling: Stucco
Windows: uPVC
RWG: uPVC

Historical information

Brett states that the Victorian public-house facade of No. 51 Bridge Street dates from c.1875, however the three-storey house was constructed sometime before 1860 first appearing on the second edition of the Ordnance Survey map in that year (Brett, p. 14). In 1863 Daniel Geoghegan, a spirit dealer and seed merchant, resided at the site which he let from a Mr. Jacob Culbert; No. 51 Bridge Street (which was not described as a public house at that time) was valued at £18 (Griffith’s Valuation). Daniel Geoghegan died in 1864 leaving his property to his widow Anne (PRONI Wills).

Anne continued to reside at No. 51 Bridge Street and operated the public house on the site until 1881 when a Mr. Daniel O’Callaghan came into possession of the site. Between 1874 and 1884 ownership of the public house passed to Thomas Crozier, who was an agent of the Northern Fire and Life Insurance Office which had offices on Church Square (for more on Thomas Crozier see Crozier House – HB17/07/009). Upon occupying the site, O’Callaghan renovated the public house (adding the current Victorian facade) thus raising the value of the building to £19 10s.

The 1901 Census records that O’Callaghan (40, Roman Catholic) was a widower and lived with his son Patrick; the census building return described No. 51 Bridge Street as a 1st class private dwelling that consisted of seven rooms and possessed a number of out offices to the rear of the building which included two stables, a cow house and a store. Daniel O’Callaghan remarried c.1903 and in 1911 lived at the public house with his wife Alice; the census of that year described little change to the property, however in 1903 the value of the site had been greatly increased to £28. The Annual Revisions do not note the reason for this increase in value, although it is likely that further renovations to the public house were carried out at that time.

Daniel O’Callaghan vacated No. 51 Bridge Street in 1920 when a Mr. Patrick Bell came into possession of the site, briefly residing there until 1927 when his relative Harper Bell took possession. The Bell’s continued to operate a public house from the site and after Harper Bell’s death in 1928 his widow Rachel became sole occupant of the house and the last recorded in the valuation sources (PRONI Wills).

No. 51 Bridge Street continued to be used as a public house until the 1970s; in 1969 Brett described the pub (then known as the Iveagh Inn) as ‘a very good public-house... With three tall pilasters and a high balustrade at the eaves; some pretty floral ornament, the ground floor triple-arched, rather ecclesiastical in feeling’ (Brett, p. 14). No. 51, as well as the adjoining No. 49 Bridge Street, are now occupied by J. A. Lyttle, a homeware and furniture store which has operated from the site since 1972 (J. A. Lyttle website). Since the First Survey, and Brett’s description, the Iveagh Inn has been altered with the removal of the balustrade c. 1990, and c.2010 the ground floor was renovated with the addition of polished granite shop front.

NIEA records indicate that planning history before this building was listed permitted demolition and replacement, which limited the control of changes to the property, and that further planning applications relating to changes to the façade were acceptable.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/27/1 – First edition Ordnance Survey map 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/3/27/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1860
3. PRONI OS/6/3/27/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1903-1918
4. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/64B – Griffith’s Valuation 1863
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/A – Annual Revisions 1864-1874
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/B – Annual Revisions 1874-1884
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/D – Annual Revisions 1885-1894
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/8/A – Annual Revisions 1894-1898
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/8/B – Annual Revisions 1899-1910
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/8/C – Annual Revisions 1911-1922
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/8/D – Annual Revisions 1922-1930
12. PRONI Wills Catalogue (1 Jan 1864; 19 Apr 1928)
13. Ulster Street Directories (1843-1918)
14. Census of Ireland (1901/1911)
15. Ordnance Survey map 220-8 (1969-70)
16. First Survey Record – HB17/07/018 (1969)

Secondary Sources

1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the Borough of Banbridge’
Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1969.

Online Resources

1. J. A. Lyttle Website - http://www.jalyttle.com

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A three-storey two-bay mid-terrace commercial premises erected c.1860. The exterior has been significantly altered with the removal of some of the key features of interest. Internally there is very little evidence of historic fabric remaining. Although of some local significance, its interest has been compromised and it no longer meets the statutory and policy tests as a building of special architectural or historic interest.