101 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey, three-bay end-terrace Georgian townhouse with return, L-shaped plan form, built c.1735, with attic, located at the northeast end of the principal thoroughfare through the town of Moira, adjacent to number 95 Main Street. The listing also includes the first floor room over number 95 Main Street.

The roofing is pitched natural slate finish with clay ridge tiles with a clipped verge to the left hand gable end. Cast iron rainwater goods with semi-circular guttering fixed to single brick corbelled eaves and circular down pipe painted black. One chimney to the left hand side gable, brick finish with no pots. The walling throughout is natural finished random rubble basalt with 1 ½ red brick flat arches over window openings. The gable end has been rendered with a fine stone roughcast. The windows are generally single glazed, 6/6 Georgian timber sliding box sash windows with horns, painted white, with large rectangular stone cills. The windows to the original rear elevation match the front; the return windows are single glazed timber casement arched windows with two high level single glazed timber fixed lights. The front entrance door is a six panelled timber door with cast iron ironmongery with a decoratively arranged horizontal lattice transom light over, common to the area.

The principal elevation faces north and is principally a symmetrical arrangement. The exception comes in the form of a tripartite window located to the left hand side of the centrally located front entrance(added since first survey) . Three windows are uniformly arranged to the first floor over 101 Main Street.

The left east gable is splayed at an angle and is adjacent to the grounds of St John's Parish Church with a single ground floor sliding sash window at the left hand side and additional smaller windows at high level. The east facing return façade runs flush with the gable with its original openings infilled.

The rear elevation faces south with a subservient 1 ½ storey single bay return to the right hand side. The original door of the rear elevation exists as an access into the rear return. The original ground floor window opening of the rear elevation survives and functions as a single glazed timber sliding sash which looks directly into the interior of the rear return.

The right hand gable faces west and abuts number 95 Main Street, Moira.

The building faces directly on to the principal road through Moira with direct entrance off the foot path. The large rear unfinished yard shared by multiple owners is accessed via the coach entrance located at number 95 Main Street. The end terrace building is the first terrace building on the left hand side of the Main Street on approach the town from the north. It is partly secluded by the vegetation and trees sited in the grounds of the adjacent church.

Roofing Natural slate
Walling Basalt random rubble with red brick surrounds
Windows 6/6 Timber sliding sash
RWG Cast-iron to front elevation only.

Historical information

Built c.1735 as part of the early development of Moira during the early 18th century, credited with the Rawdon family who owned the Moira Demense. A date stone located on the facade of the terrace opposite is widely accepted to indicate the completion of the village during this period.

This period of development saw the town's built stock change from agricultural mud and thatch buildings to locally quarried basalt and brick terraces which lined the Main Street. “Harris described in 1744 as a 'well laid out and thriving village consisting of one broad street inhabited by many traders many of whom carry on linen manufacture to good advantage'”. (Rudd) (Hearth)

The earliest OS map from 1833 shows the end terrace with a large return to the rear, although it is likely that these return buildings were a later addition, as evidence of original openings to the rear façade can still be found. The early maps also indicate large formal gardens to the rear.

The Annual Revision 1866-78 initially identify the buildings as two individual dwellings numbered as 138 & 139 town of Moira, however by 1876 they both came under the one occupancy when the Hammond family took up the tenancy, while only for a short period, for both buildings. The Cook family occupied the house in 1877, but John North became tenant in 1893.

The North family remained in the house for several decades, as the R.V.Binders valuations 1933-57 indicate by which time it was noted that the house was old, in bad repair and had no modern conveniences.

It is locally acknowledge that this building, along with many others adjacent, eventually fell into serious disrepair and lay vacant for a period before undergoing major renovation in the early 1990’s, which saw the building successfully converted into commercial premises.

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 – Field Maps: 1863-79
7. PRONI VAL/12D/3/13C – Field Maps: 1895-14
8. PRONI VAL/12D/3/13E – Field Maps: 1925-35
9. PRONI VAL/12E/109/1 – Town Map: 1906-35
9. PRONI OS/6/3/13 – OS Map: 1833
10. PRONI OS/6/3/13 – OS Map: 1858
11. PRONI OS/6/3/13 – OS Map: 1903
12. PRONI OS/6/3/13 – OS Map: 1916
13. PRONI VAL/3D/4/12F/4 – R.V.Binders: 1933-57
14. PRONI VAL/14A/183/12 – 3rd General Revision Lists: 1975
15. PRONI VAL/14B/256/11A - 3rd General Revision Lists: 1976 – 1987
16. PRONI VAL/14C/248 - 3rd General Revision Lists: 1987 – 1993

References – Secondary sources

17. Canon CRJ Rudd “Moira: A Historical Handbook” - Plantation Press Lisburn 674530 and Moira 619759, c.1992
18. Local informants

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

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A two-storey, three-bay end-terrace Georgian townhouse built c.1735, with early 19th century alterations, marking the entrance to the main street of the Georgian village of Moira. Originally symmetrical, before the addition of a new 'Wyatt' style window at ground level during the late 20th century, the building displays modest Georgian style and proportions in harmony with the neighbouring property at no. 95 Main St. (HB19/22/005K) with which it has group value. Although internally the building has lost most of its original fabric during restoration work in the early 1990s, the building, now functioning as a café, retains its essential character externally. The building features an 18th century rear return originally comprising of individual vernacular dwellings and now incorporating a seating area for the café and the 2 dwellings at no.99 Main St. (HB19/22/005M). The building forms the end block of and has group value with the historic terrace comprising nos. 77-101 Main St. (HB19/22/005A-M). It makes an important contribution to the architectural heritage of Moira.

General comments

This record previously related only to no. 97 Main St. and now includes record No. 101, previously HB19/22/005N.