3 The Square

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively narrow, three-storey ‘Georgian vernacular’ house with shop, of probable pre-1834 construction, but with the shop front of the mid to later 19th century. The building is set in a mixed terrace on the south side of The Square in the centre of Ballynahinch.

The main body of the property is three-storey with a slated double-pitch roof and rendered façade- painted to front and unpainted at the rear. To the eastern side of the rear elevation there is a two-storey gabled return with a further two single-storey returns with lean-to roofs, all arranged in linear fashion. A narrow communal alleyway cuts through the ground floor of no.2 The Square (to the west) giving access to a small-enclosed yard.

The front (roughly north-facing) façade is asymmetrical. The ground floor level is taken up with a simple traditional timber shopfront. The shop door and window are flanked with plain timber pilasters, each has a corbelled cap with a plain frieze, however all of the bases have been removed. The shop doorway is flat-headed with a plain overlight above a timber panelled double door. A plain rendered stall riser supports a (replacement) single-light shop window. Above is a plain timber fascia with a traditional painted sign; this is surmounted by a projecting timber cornice that is protected with lead capping. The window openings to the upper floors are all flat-headed, with two to each floor; there is slight 'Georgian reduction' to the second floor openings. Sills appear to be cut stone and are painted. Frames are 2/2 painted timber sash.

The rear façade of the three-storey section is mainly obscured by the two-storey return. There are two flat-headed window openings to the return, one to the first floor of the south face and one to the ground floor of the west face; each is 1/1 painted timber sash with wire security grill. Sills appear to be painted cut stone.

To the west façade of the first return there is a door opening with a timber sheeted door and two flat-headed window openings. Window openings are quite wide and each has a modern painted timber two-light frame. To the east side is the second return; this is slightly wider and accessed externally; it has no windows.

The roof of the first return is covered with corrugated-iron while the second return roof is slated. Rainwater goods are uPVC and are fixed to timber fascia boards.

Historical information

This site is shown developed Taylor’s and Skinner’s map of 1777 and on William Byers c.1790 map of the Ballynahinch vicinity. Following the Battle of Ballynahinch in 1798, in which ‘sixty-three houses were left gutted, including all the best houses’, the town was redeveloped, the agent for the Rawdon estate commenting in 1803 that ‘within these last few years there have been about twenty elegant new houses built in the different streets…many of them three stories high. It is possible that this particular property was one of these three-storied dwellings, for the valuers who compiled the first valuation survey in 1836, record a building of similar dimensions to the present (12½ft x 23½ x 23, with return measuring 12 x 11½ x 14, and ‘office’ of 14 x 11½ x 6½) which they graded as ‘not new’. ‘Not new’ in their terms usually referred to a building of 25-30 years or more, so it possible that the present property is indeed of c.1800, a date not inconsistent with its ‘Georgian vernacular’ appearance.

The occupant in 1836 is noted as Thomas George, who paid £8 in rent per annum for the house and garden, but had ‘no lease’. By 1862 the property was in the hands of Sarah Bailie, with the lease (from the Ker estate) held by John Bailie. The next occupant was Mary J. Davis, who is listed as resident in 1899. It may have been at this point that the interior of the building was refurbished, as much of the present detailing is late Victorian. In 1919 the property is recorded as vacant, remaining so until 1924 when Matthew Martin took up the tenancy. Mr. Martin was succeeded in c.1932 by the Mack brothers. The property was still in Mack family hands in February 2010, although vacant and up for sale.

In 1935 the building is specifically noted by valuers as containing a ‘shop’ for the first time. The present shop front, however, appears mid to later 19th century, and it should be noted that Sarah Bailie, the occupant from at least 1862 to 1899, is listed as a grocer ‘of Market Square’ in directories from 1852 to 1866. A Samuel George of Market Square is noted as a tallow chandler (ie candlemaker) in Slater's 1846 directory; if he occupied the property after the Thomas George noted in the first valuation, then this could mean that the building may have contained a shop some time before 1852.

Around 28.07.2010 the interior was almost entirely removed. (NIEA Site inspection)

References- Primary sources
1 ‘Taylor’s and Skinner’s maps of the roads of Ireland’ (Dublin 1777) map 284
2 PRONI D.272/41 MS map of Ballynahinch by William Byers, c.1790
3 PRONI VAL1B/388A-B First valuation, Magheraldrool `parish, 1836(-38)
4 PRONI VAL/1D/3/19 Valuation town plan, Ballynahinch, 1838
5 'Slater's National Commercial Directory of Ireland 1846', (Manchester, 1846)
6 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory 1852’ (Belfast, 1852), p.495
7 PRONI OS/9/41/1 OS Town plan of Ballynahinch, 1860
8 William McComb ‘Guide to Belfast and adjoining districts’ (Belfast 1861)
9 PRONI VAL2B/3/28B Second valuation, Magherdrool parish, 1862
10 Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory 1863-64’ (Belfast, 1864), p.640
11 PRONI VAL12E/83/1-6 Valuation town plan of Ballynahinch, c.1864-1905
12 PRONI VAL12B/18/3A Annual valuation revision book, Ballynahinch ED, 1864-76
13 Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory 1865’ (Belfast, 1865), p.682
14 Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory 1852’ (Belfast, 1866), p.258
15 PRONI VAL12B/18/3B Annual valuation revision book, Ballynahinch ED, 1877-84
16 PRONI VAL12B/18/3C Annual valuation revision book, Ballynahinch ED, 1885-96
17 PRONI VAL12B/18/3D Annual valuation revision book, Ballynahinch ED, 1897-1907
18 PRONI VAL/12E/83/2 Valuation town plans, Ballynahinch, 1905-35
19 PRONI VAL12B/18/3E Annual valuation revision book, Ballynahinch ED, 1908-18
20 PRONI VAL12B/18/3F Annual valuation revision book, Ballynahinch ED, 1919-29
21 PRONI OS/8/3/2 OS town plan of Ballynahinch, 1920
22 PRONI VAL12F/4/7/2 Annual valuation revision book, Ballynahinch RD, 1930-35
23 PRONI VAL3B/4/5 First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballynahinch ED, 1935
24 PRONI VAL3C/4/12 First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballynahinch ED, 1936-57
25 PRONI VAL4B/3/34 Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballynahinch ED, 1957-72

Secondary sources
1 Brett, C.E.B., ‘Historic Buildings…of Mid Down…’ (Belfast, 1974), p.34

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Evaluation 06.08.2010
The interior of this building was largely removed around 28.07.2010 and hence its architectural worth was substantially reduced to the level where listing was not appropriate. The original evaluation was based on a complete building with interest both externally and internally.

Evaluation March 2010
This building, which appears to date from c.1800, is a well preserved example of what might be termed ‘Georgian vernacular’, a particular type of terrace dwelling once common to many urban areas throughout Northern Ireland, but becoming much more scarce in recent years. The property incorporates a shop, whose timber shopfront detailing is now also rare and appears to date from the mid to later 19th century, and as such adds to the worth of the building and to the surrounding streetscape. It is largely intact both externally with exposed sash boxes to the front elevation windows and internally, and represents an important link to the late Georgian period.