33 Bridge Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three-storey two-bay mid-terrace commercial premises erected c.1860. Rectangular plan form with lean-to abutments to the rear. Located on the east side of Bridge Street in the centre of the town adjacent to “The Cut”.

Replacement pitched mineral fibre slate roof; chimney removed; moulded corbelled eaves removed; replacement uPVC rainwater goods. Stucco moulded facade; vermiculated flush quoins; clock face with painted surrounds; dentilled moulded hood moulding with label stops between first and second floor. Stop chamfered window surrounds; replacement timber top-hung casement windows. Ground floor timber sheeted and panelled shop-front with display window with awning over; replacement timber sheeted door.

The principal elevation faces east and is asymmetrically arrange. Shop front at ground floor with paired windows to the first and second floor. The clock is located centrally between first and second floor with the wording, “THE CLOCK. BANBRIDGE”.

The left gable is abutted by adjoining building 35 Bridge Street; single window left of centre located within the gable head.

The rear elevation is abutted by a lean-to roof. Single centrally position second floor window.

The right gable is abutted by adjoining building 31 Bridge Street.

Setting

Adjoining either side are modern buildings. Small timber shed to the rear with a further masonry outbuilding (no access); beyond which are overgrown grounds with a car park beyond.

Roofing: Mineral fibre slate
Walling: Stucco
Windows: Timber
RWG: uPVC

Historical information

No. 33 Bridge Street was constructed prior to 1860, first appearing on the second edition of the Ordnance Survey map for Banbridge as a small building along the east side of Bridge Street near to ‘the cut.’ In c. 1863 Griffiths Valuation recorded that the house was valued at £12 and occupied by a Mr. Hugh Brownlow who was employed as a writing clerk; Brownlow let the house from the Marquis of Downshire and resided there until his death in 1869 (PRONI Wills Catalogue).

With Brownlow’s death No. 33 Bridge Street came into the possession of a Mr. William Mann. Mann and his brother were the first to establish a watch-making and jewellery business from the premises and operated under the name ‘Mann Brothers.’ The Mann brothers continued to work at the site until 1900 when the property came into the possession of Henry D. Fleming who maintained a jewellery and watch shop from the site, changing the name of the business to ‘Fleming Bros.’

The 1901 Census records that Fleming resided at the site with his family and his brother Frederick, both brothers were described as watchmakers by trade. The Census Building return described the building as a 1st class shop and dwelling which consisted of six rooms and possessed a stable, piggery and a shed and store as its out offices, located to the rear of the building. By 1911 Henry Fleming was the sole brother still working at the site, although the business continued to be referred to as ‘Fleming Bros;’ the 1911 Census downgraded Fleming’s shop to a 2nd class dwelling, although the reason for this is not known. There was no further alteration to the site by the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930.

In 1969 Brett described No. 33 as a ‘small thin 3-storey jewellers shop squeezed between two squatter ones ... [possessing] vermiculated quoins and a nice stucco eyebrow moulding over the clock set between the first-floor windows.’ No. 33 Bridge Street was listed in 1977 and the building abutting the north side has now been replaced with the modern Northern Bank (see HB17/07/020). No. 33 Bridge Street continues to be utilised as a Jewellery shop, now operating under the name ‘George Armstrong Jeweller’ which a sign on the shop front states was established in 1964. The First Survey record notes that the clock was first installed by Fleming who used instruments to set the correct time from solar observations; Fleming fired a cannon at midnight as part of a time keeping routine demonstrating the accuracy of his observations.

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/3/64/B – Griffith’s Valuation c. 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/16/7/A – Annual Revisions 1899-1910
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/B – Annual Revisions 1911-1922
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/C – Annual Revisions 1921-1930
11. PRONI VAL/12/E/119/4 + 6 – Annual Revisions Banbridge Town Plan c. 1864 – c. 1902
12. PRONI Wills Catalogue (5 Apr 1869)
13. Census of Ireland (1901 / 1911)
14. Ulster Street Directories (1843-1918)
15. First Survey Record – HB17/07/021 (1977)

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.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A three-storey two-bay mid-terrace commercial premises erected c.1860. Externally the facade has retained much of its character. The survival of its clock gives the building a distinctive feature of note. Although much historic fabric has been lost, the building is of interest for its history and it represents the ongoing commercial development of the town.