26-32 High Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A 3-storey group of former terrace houses now combined into one shop, brick built with gabled dormers and a shopped ground floor. Main entrance faces south.

South elevation: roofs of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with red terracotta ridges; dormer roofs are similar, with moulded terracotta finials and open barge boards in black painted timber. Moulded cast iron gutters between dormers, with cast iron downpipes, some discharging into moulded guttering to second storey. Chimneys are of red brick with red stub pots. Walling is of red brick with yellow brick block dressings to windows in upper storeys. Windows to upper storeys are coupled segmental arched timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1, with horns, set in stop-chamfered reveals, but all upper windows currently boarded up. Ground floor contains a later 3-bay shop front, of unequal bay divisions, comprising a recessed shop front to the left, a blind panelled shop front to the centre containing a rectangular window, and a blind panelled bay to the right containing an automatic cash machine. Shop fronts constructed of timber, painted.

West elevation: a gable of new red brick with yellow brick quoins to extremities, blind except for the modern shop front returning from the front elevation at the ground floor, constructed as previous to south elevation: shop front contains one window, rectangular fixed lights. Timber barge boards to gable. One chimney on apex of gable, red brick with yellow brick corbel course; two stub pots. Extending to the left and set back slightly is a modern single storey rear return with slated roof and rendered walls; segmental arched windows with modern timber fixed light glazing.

Rear elevation: roof slated as previous; walling dash rendered with yellow brick quoins to right-hand extremity. PVC downpipes. Five windows to first floor, modern rectangular fixed lights with top-hung vents. Projecting from the ground floor is a long modern single storey rear return, with slated roof, dash rendered walling, segmental arched modern windows, and pvc rainwater goods. To left-hand extremity of rear elevation, is a doorway, containing a modern rectangular flush metal door with plain fanlight.

East elevation within ground floor alleyway is a smooth cement rendered wall containing a rectangular steel plated door.

SETTING: the buildings stand at the end of a larger terrace, facing the main street of the town and opening directly onto the pavement. Broad pavement along west side; alleyway along east side, paved in concrete bricks. To the rear of the rear return is an enclosure bounded to the east by modern steel fencing.

Historical information

Precise date of buildings not recorded but stylistically they may be dated to the late Victorian era.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 50 (indicates building on the site but precise date indeterminate).

Secondary Sources
1. UAHS, Antrim and Ballymena (Belfast, 1969), p 9.
2. J. Hanna, Old Antrim (Catrine, Ayrshire, 2002), p 6.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a group of late Victorian buildings with an attractive upper façade but that is otherwise of little architectural or historic interest.

General comments

This record now covers Nos 30 and 32 High Street which were previously separate records (HB20/08/015E & F)