30 Main Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Terraced two-storey three-bay late 18th century roughcast house located to the east side of Main Street. The plan is rectangular with extension to east side. (Rear)

The roof is pitched and slated with timber eaves board. Roughcast chimney at division of left bays at ridge with 3 pots. The walls are roughcast with smooth rendered banded plinth to base. The replacement windows are timber sliding sash 2/2 with horns and exposed boxes, with smooth rendered surrounds and painted masonry cills.

The principal elevation faces west. The bay to north is extended and contains entrance door surmounted by window. There are two windows to ground floor and three to first floor, diminished in size. Replacement hardwood entrance door is surmounted by rectangular fanlight and flanked by rectangular sidelights, each containing double glazed patterned glass. There is a smooth rendered painted surround to lights terminated at cill level by painted masonry cill (the wall is continuous beneath to door itself).

The east elevation is abutted to south-east corner by two-storey flat-roof extension attached to extension of 32 Main Street. The east elevation of main house has replacement timber casement windows to ground floor and smaller timber casement windows with patterned glass to first floor, each with concrete cill. The extension contains rear timber panelled entrance door to north elevation with timber windows to ground and first floor on east elevation.

Site is bounded to rear at north and south by random rubble stone walling. There is a derelict single-storey masonry pitched-roof outhouse to east of site abutting south wall, to rear of No.32. Building abutted to north by Toals bookmakers (HB20/01/008A).

Roof covering Slate
Walling Roughcast render
Windows Timber sliding sash 2/2 with exposed boxes.
Rainwater goods Replacement cast metal half-round guttering and round downpipes. (uPVC to rear)

Historical information

Shown on the 1st Edition map of 1833, the house appears enlarged by the 2nd edition map of 1857. The return is shared with 32 Main Street (HB20/01/008C). The Townland Valuation, dated 1836, states that the building was the house and offices of Andrew Mann.

The OS Memoir for the area states that in 1836, Toome consisted of 26 buildings - 2 three-storey, 11 two-storey (which includes this building) the rest cottages (pg 112). According to the OS memoirs, the adjacent market house (HB20/01/008A) was built in 1786 (p.112). The proportions and styles of the block of buildings HB20/01/008A-E suggest that they are of similar date, forming part of the historic core of the village of Toome, 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 (OS memoirs, 116).

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 Field book, 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
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A late-eighteenth-century terraced two-storey three-bay house with exposed box sliding sash windows. The house is of simple layout and is plainly detailed. It contributes to the historic character of Toome Main Street.