10 Ann Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three storey commercial red brick building sitting on the north side of Ann Street. Built 1907 with some Arts and Crafts movement influence.

The roof is natural slate behind a stone coped solid parapet. Rainwater goods are concealed. The walls are primarily red brick, English garden wall bond; brick pilasters define arched bays, painted rendered decoration and panels; projecting moulded cornice with large dentils and coffers to soffit. The windows to the second floor are round-arched springing from painted moulded cornice, painted rendered keystones and transitional voussoirs connect to adjacent arch, concrete and terracotta cill; the first floor windows are square headed with rendered panels to lintels, concrete cills; the ground floor has a modern shop front. The second floor windows are 22 paned timber casements; the first floor are 6 paned timber casements.

The front south elevation is 3 windows wide with access to Crown Entry to the west.

The side west elevation is abutted by a modern building.

The rear north elevation is abutted by a building. Over Crown Entry access is one window wide with a flat arched 2 pane 1/1 timber sash window to the second floor. The elevation to Crown Entry is rendered to the ground floor, brick over. The flat arched window opening are mainly blocked with concrete blocks with the exception of a first floor opening with a replacement 2 paned window.

The side east elevation is abutted by a building.

Setting

10 Ann Street sits hard on the north side of narrow pedestrianised Ann Street with Crown Entry running along the west side. On the opposite side of Ann Street is the Masonic Hall (HB26/50/039B).

Schedule:
Roof: Unseen.
Walls: Brick
Windows: Timber
RWGs: Concealed.

Historical information

The current building was constructed as licensed premises to designs by John Joseph McDonnell in 1907-8 on the site of a previous public house, and is first shown on the sixth edition OS map of 1931 (www.dia.ie). The publican was Owen McMahon, who remained the proprietor until c1930 when the pub was taken over by his wife.

Valuer’s notes of 1907 record second floor joists being laid on a new building for Owen McMahon. The building enters valuation lists in 1908 as a licensed shop, store and small yard valued at £85. Part of the building was divided off to form a second shop (10a Ann Street) which was sub-let to James Nelson & Son, butchers. The cost of construction was £1400 including shop fittings and a plan is given showing the public bar, a store to the rear and WCs in a small yard to the rear of the building on the right-hand-side. The first and second floors of the building were initially let out as billiard rooms to Andrew Moore.

Valuation records note some complaints from the publican over the years with regard to the valuation of his premises. In 1910, McMahon complained that his receipts were down £3 weekly owing to early closing and that trams to the Queen’s Island (an electrified tram network had been introduced in 1905) had ‘affected him £4 weekly’.

In 1922 the bar was enlarged by removing the wall between numbers 10 and 10a and knocking the two premises into one. Additonally, a new door was inserted in the centre of the Ann Street front, the contract for the work being estimated by valuers at £775. The valuation of the building was more than doubled as a result. The building was taken over by Mary Taylor and was the Capstan Bar from c1950 to the 1990s.

Patton notes that in 1840 a building on the site was the office of the Vindicator newspaper whose editor, Gavan Duffy, emigrated to Australia and became Premier of Victoria. The site has been occupied by spirit dealers since the 1850s and was Mrs Young’s Circus hotel in 1860 (Patton). The building is currentl y in use as a restaurant with a bar on the upper floors.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1901-2
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/6 – Sixth Edition OS Map 1931
3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/7 – Seventh Edition OS map of 1938
4. PRONI VAL/12/A/7/L40-87 – Valuers’ notebooks (1907-1922)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/C/1-44 – Annual Revisions (1862-1930)
6. Street Directories (1907-1995)

Secondary Sources

1. Patton, M “Central Belfast: An Historical Gazetteer” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993
2. www.dia.ie – Dictionary of Irish Architects online

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A three storey commercial red brick building sitting on the north side of Ann Street. Built 1907 it shows some Arts and Crafts movement influence with its heavy cornice over arched multi-paned windows with painted detailing. The alterations to the ground floor and the loss of historic interiors compromise its architectural and historic interest.