Former Courthouse

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey three-bay late Georgian former Courthouse/market house built c.1810. Originally L-shaped in plan form, with modern extensions to the rear. Located centrally in the town of Moira on the south side of the main thoroughfare, at the junction of Main Street and Meeting Street, adjacent to number 75 Main Street.

A pitched asbestos roof with a small capped vent located centrally. The original roof was a pitched slated roof and was raised and replaced with asbestos c.1960. uPVC semi-circular gutter with cast-iron downpipes. The walling is rubble coursed basalt with decorative galletting, with painted stone plinth, surrounds and banding. No existing windows remaining. Large modern single-glazed infill to the ground floor arched openings, with single glazed timber top-hung casement to the first floor; large rectangular stone cills. Modern timber entrance with glazed panels; sympathetic ironmongery and fanlight over.

The principal elevation faces north and is symmetrically arranged with a centrally located projecting bay flanked by two similarly proportioned and arranged bays. Three large arched openings uniformly arranged across the ground floor with first floor windows over. The ‘Bateson’ crest centrally located within the parapet over the central bay, (originally centred within the pediments).

The east elevation abuts the adjoining building 75 Main Street.

The south facing (rear) elevation has been radically altered with a series of infill structures and additions. Originally rendered with a fine dash, large areas of the right hand side are clad in various corrugated materials.

The west facing elevation matches the principal elevation.

The courthouse is adjacent to the historic terraces of Main Street. Along Meeting Street the buildings are of modern construction. There is a very small yard enclosed to the rear with further modern dwellings erected behind.

Roofing Asbestos
Walling Rubble coursed with decorative galletting
Windows Timber fixed lights and top hung casement
RWG PVC guttering and cast-iron downpipes

Historical information

Built c.1810 by the Bateson family who purchased the Moira Demesne from the Rawdon family, who are credited with the development of Moira in the early 18th Century. The courthouse still bears the ‘Bateson’ crest on the north and west elevations.

The 1833 and 1858 OS maps show the building captioned as a ‘Market House’, located centrally within the town centre. As with many of these buildings the ground floor was an open arched market house with the court houses occupying the upper floor. The Court of Petty Sessions if first recorded in the Annual Revisions from 1866, was leased from Sir Robert Bateson’s son, Sir Thomas Bateson who succeeded to the Baronetcy after his father’s death in 1863.

The first major change to the buildings occupancy is identified in the Annual Revisions when in 1909 the ground floor became a workshop with the tenancy being taken up in 1929 by J Ruddell & Son where it remained a garage and filling station until 1979.

The R.V. Binders Valuation 1933-57 records the building as: “Building old and in bad repair/ situation is good on main thoroughfare and accessible. Small oil engine of little value as power is attained for regional scheme”

Following an appeal from Lord Deramore regarding the over valuation of the property, the valuer commented as follows about the ground floor.

“Inspected 13/6/35: The windows having been restored by tenant while the landlord put in new ceiling necessitated by repairs to courtroom over head and rear door. There is a small yard at rear which goes with the garage except that an emergency stairway from the courtroom also leads into this yard. There are two 500 gallon petrol tanks to the property of the tenant.”

During the 1960’s after the Court of Petty Sessions left the building, the upper floor became used as the ‘Tempo Ballroom’ (Brett p.71). It is during this time that it may be assumed that it underwent the major alterations internally, to the rear and to the roof, which are still apparent today. The whole building has since functioned as a the Moira Pentecostal Church, since it original inception in 1980 when it was acquired by the ‘Trustees of Leslie Hale Evangelistic Association’ (General Revision Lists 1987 – 1993)

References – Primary sources

1 PRONI VAL/12B/21/7A - Annual Revisions 1866-78
2 PRONI VAL/12B/21/7B – Annual Revisions 1878-93
3 PRONI VAL/12B/21/7C – Annual Revisions 1894-08
4 PRONI VAL/12B/21/7D – Annual Revisions 1909-20
5 PRONI VAL/12B/21/7E – Annual Revisions 1920-29
6 PRONI VAL/12D/3/13A – Annual Revisions Map 1863-79
7 PRONI VAL/12D/3/13C– Annual Revisions Map 1895-14
8 PRONI VAL/12D/3/13E– Annual Revisions Map 1925-35
9 PRONI VAL/12E – Annual Revisions Map 1906-35
10 PRONI OS/6/3/13 - OS Map 1833
11 PRONI OS/6/3/13 - OS Map 1858
12 PRONI OS/6/3/13 - OS Map 1904
13 PRONI OS/6/3/13 - OS Map 1916
14 PRONI VAL/3D/4/12F/4 - RV Binders Val. 1933-57
15 PRONI VAL/14A/183/12 - 3RD General Revaluation Lists 1975
16 PRONI VAL/14B/256/11A - 3RD General Revaluation Lists 1976 – 1987
17 PRONI VAL/14C/248- 3RD General Revaluation Lists 1987 – 1993

Reference - Secondary source

18 CEB Brett - Court house and market houses: of the province of Ulster - UAHS 1973
19 Canon CRJ Rudd – Moira: A Historical Handbook - Plantation Press Lisburn 674530 and Moira 619759 c.1992
20 Local informant

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This large Georgian-styled courthouse/market house built c.1810 displays good style and proprtions and two symmetrical facades with large arched openings at ground level. Despite the loss of the interior and alterations to the rear, it displays original walling on the two main elevations with much of the galetting on the masonry still intact. The facades bearing the ‘Bateson’ family crest, retain the character of a market house with a court house over, and illustrate a good example of this type of building, once common through the province. The building occupies a prominent corner on the Main Street and is a significant architectural element in Moira. It has group value with buildings on the adjoining terrace (HB19/22/005A-M) and with its historical connections to the Bateson family makes a positive contribution to the heritage of Moira.