Former Market House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Attached end terrace two-storey five-bay former market house, built 1786, located to the east side of Main Street at the corner of Roguery Road. The plan is rectangular with a single-storey addition with mono-pitched corrugated roof to east side at the rear.

The roof is pitched and slated with overhanging eaves to gable end, simple rendered stepped cornice to main elevation with smooth rendered chimneys to north and south at ridge. The walls are roughcast to main elevations except gable-end which is ruled-and-lined smooth render. The windows are timber-framed with round-headed segmented fanlight to ground floor, and square-headed to first floor.

The principal elevation faces west. Each round-headed-arch opening to ground floor is surmounted by centrally placed window to first floor. The arch to the extreme right on the elevation has been replaced by a timber-sheeted entrance door and square headed window. The arch to the extreme left is a segmental-headed arch containing a replacement window divided in thirds. The segmental-headed arch to centre bay contains main entrance door, a replacement door with solid sidelights. The bays to left and right of centre contain replacement windows (to the left, divided into thirds.)

The north gable has a single replacement window to first floor level on the right side and ventilation grilles to ground floor. The timber casement window is horizontally divided in four.

The east elevation is abutted to south-east by an extension. There are four windows to first floor level, two to the right and two to the left; no window to central bay. Each window is timber casement horizontally divided in four. There is a modern steel balcony structure to the extreme left window.

The building is directly accessed from the street to the west, and abuts the street to the north. The rear is enclosed by random rubble stone walling to south and a house to east. The entrance gates abut gable-end to north-east corner.

Roof covering Slate
Walling Rendered (roughcast to main elevation, smooth to gable end)
Windows Timber-framed sliding-sash 6/6.
Rainwater goods Replacement cast metal half-round guttering and round downpipes.

Historical information

The building appears on the 1st Edition map of 1833 and appears enlarged by the 2nd edition map of 1857. The Townland Valuation, dated 1836, shows that the market house was owned by Earl O'Neill and was at the time used as a storehouse, valued at £6.4s.0d. According to the OS Memoirs, the Market house was built at the expense of Lord O'Neill (who provided half the funds) and the Manor of Mullaghgawn (pp.116). The manor court was held once a month in an upstairs room and the seneschal was Major Higgison.

The OS Memoir for the area states that in 1836, Toome consisted of 26 buildings - 2 three-storey, 11 two-storey, the rest cottages (pg 112). The market house is one of the oldest buildings, noted as being built in 1786 along with the Inn and the police barracks (OS memoirs, p.112). In the 1833 OS map, Toome is recorded as small village, with the majority of the buildings lying on the east side of a road running southwards from Toome bridge. Toome was historically an important crossing point between Antrim and Tyrone and Londonderry. Previous to the construction of Toome Bridge in 1792, a ferry would have been used to pass the River Bann (OS memoirs p.99). The market house formed part of the original core of the village, situated east of a quay recorded on the 1833 OS.

Materials for the construction of houses in Toome were locally sourced; Stone was from nearby Carn rock, the lime was sourced from Magherafelt, slates from Ballyronan and Belfast and timber from Belfast.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/42/1, 1st Edition OS Map, Co. Antrim, sheet no.42, 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/1/42/2, 2nd Edition OS Map, Co. Antrim, sheet no.42, 1857
3. PRONI VAL/1A/1/42, Townland Valuation Map, 1836
4. PRONI VAL/1B/185, Townland Valuation Fieldbook, 1836
5. OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of Co Antrim VI 1830, 1833, 1835-38 (South west Antrim) Vol 19

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

This two-storey five-bay early eighteenth century former market house has been substantially modernised for commercial use in recent years. Despite the resulting loss of interior features, the original use of the building as a market house is still evident externally through the arched bays to ground floor. It has a prominent location on Main Street and is a major civic building making a positive contribution to the village of Toome.