Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB17/07/045

Address :
McSherry's Off-Licence 39-41 Church Square Banbridge Co Down BT32 4AP

Townland:
Ballyvally

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
18/12/2013 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Shop - Terrace

Former Use
Shop - Terrace

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
220/8

IG Ref:
J1277 4620

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A rendered three-bay three-storey terraced commercial premises, built c.1830 and located to the east side of Church Square north of Banbridge town centre. Rectangular plan with single-storey gabled return and slated lean-to extension to rear. Pitched natural slate roof with terracotta angle ridge tiles and a rendered chimneystack to either gable. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods on projecting eaves. Walling is painted smooth render on a smooth rendered plinth. Windows are original 3/6 to second floor and 6/6 to first floor; 6/6 window to ground floor left and multi-paned tripartite window with dividing timber pilasters to ground floor right; all with projecting sills. The principal elevation faces west and is four windows wide to upper floors. To left of centre at ground floor is a replacement panelled-and-glazed timber door. Modern fascia above ground floor reads “McSherry’s Off-Licence” with numbering “41” and “39” to either side. The north elevation is abutted by an adjoining building. The east (rear) elevation has four windows to second floor and three to first floor; abutted at ground floor left by the gabled return and to right by the slated lean-to, which is further abutted by a gabled two-storey extension parallel with main block. The west elevation is abutted by an adjoining building. Setting: Fronting the street and forming a terrace facing Seapatrick Parish Church (HB17/04/001). To rear is a large car-park. Modern metal gates enclose a paved rear yard. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Smooth render Windows: Timber RWG: Cast iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Nos. 39-41 Church Square, now known as McSherry’s Off-Licence, was originally two three-storey Georgian houses which were constructed c.1830. The terrace, incorporating Nos 37-41 Church Square, can first be seen from the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map along the south side of Church Square. The Townland Valuations (c.1830) note that No. 39 Church Square was occupied by a Mr. John McMullan and the house was valued at £5 8s; No. 41 however was occupied by Matthew Moore and was valued at £9 12s. In c.1863 Griffiths Valuation noted that Nos 39-41 Church Square were owned by a Ms. Jane Bittle whom the 1877 Ulster Street Directory records owned a bakery business in Dromore Street. The occupant of No. 39 Church Square c.1863 was a Mr. John Noble, whilst the occupant of No. 41 was a Ms. Esther Finlay. The valuer noted that No. 39 was valued at £9 and that No. 41 was £8; these values remained at these levels until the end of the Annual Revisions and there appears to have been little or no discernible alterations to either site during the intervening period. However over four decade’s Nos 39 and 41 Church Square were occupied by a large number of tenants, between c. 1863 and 1901 No. 39 was home to at least 14 different occupants whilst at least 12 occupants resided at No. 41 during the same period. Ownership of Nos 39-41, as well as No. 37, Church Square passed to Thomas Ferguson of Edenderry House (HB17/04/014) after Jane Bittle’s death in 1879 (PRONI Wills Catalogue). In 1900 a Mr. John Hynes came into possession of No. 39 Church Square and continued to reside there until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930; the 1901 Census noted that Hynes (32, Roman Catholic) was employed as an Assistant Clerk and described the house as a 2nd class dwelling that possessed three rooms. By 1911 the census recorded that the house consisted of four rooms and possessed a shed as its sole out office. The only other change to the property occurred in 1924 when a Mr. William James English took over ownership of No. 39 Church Square from Thomas Ferguson. No. 41 Church Square was occupied by a Mr. Thomas Bull from 1896; the 1901 Census noted that Bull (48, Presbyterian) was employed as a Linen worker and recorded that his house was a 2nd class dwelling consisting of three rooms, identical to No. 39. No. 41 fell vacant in 1910 however a Mr. John Savage, who was also employed as a linen worker, took over possession of the site in 1911. The census of that year noted that, like No. 39, the house consisted of four rooms and possessed a shed as its sole out office. In 1969 Brett described Nos 37-41 Church Square as ‘pleasant three-storey houses of c.1830, stucco, with glazing bars, in some need of decoration’ (Brett, p. 7). Nos 39-41 Church Square were still separate dwellings when Brett was writing in 1969; however the houses were joined in, or before, 1989 when the site was converted into an off-licence by the current owners (Judicial Studies Board for Northern Ireland). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/27/1 – First edition Ordnance Survey map 1833 2. PRONI OS/6/3/27/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1860 3. PRONI OS/6/3/27/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1903-1918 4. PRONI VAL/1/B/348/A – Townland Valuations c. 1830 5. PRONI VAL/1/D/3/3 – Banbridge Town Plan c. 1830 6. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/64/C – Griffith’s Valuation c. 1863 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/A – Annual Revisions 1864-1874 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/B – Annual Revisions 1874-1884 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/D – Annual Revisions 1885-1894 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/A – Annual Revisions 1899-1910 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/B – Annual Revisions 1911-1922 12. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/C – Annual Revisions 1921-1930 13. Ulster Street Directories (1843-1918) 14. PRONI Wills Catalogue (12 Jan 1879) 15. Census of Ireland (1901) Secondary Sources 1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the Borough of Banbridge’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1969. Online Resources 1. Judicial Studies Board for Northern Ireland website - www.jsbni.com

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A late-Georgian three-bay three-storey terraced commercial premises located to the east side of Church Square north of Banbridge town centre. Architectural detailing is largely intact, including original fenestration to upper floors and much of the original character has survived. As a relatively well-preserved example of late-Georgian architecture in the town, it is a good example of the type of small townhouses that developed with the town.

General Comments

Date of Survey

22 November 2011