Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB05/03/010

Address :
Mc Brides 2 Main Street Cushendun Co. Antrim BT44 0PH

Townland:
Cushendun

---

Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
23/10/1980 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Public House

Former Use
Public House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

---

OS Map No:
17/14NW

IG Ref:
D2490 3265

---

Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Two-storey four-bay white painted rendered house; rectangular plan-form with a pitched slate roof, occupying a corner site at the junction of the Main Street and Knocknacarry Road. Adjoined to neighbouring property No.4 Main Street [HB05.03.011] situated immediately facing the Main Street. Built c. 1849 (Architect unknown). No. 2 consists of a large two-storey rear return leading to a rough-cast rendered outbuilding and rear yard, all enclosed by a high white painted wall accessed from the SE side. The building continues to be utilised as a public house, however in 1995 it was closed for interior renovations which included the conversion of further living quarters into additional bar space. The building was reopened in 1997 and continued to be utilised as a public house. Situated to the north of the River Dun within the heart of the Village of Cushendun. The rear of the house directly overlooks the North Sea with panoramic views of the coastline. At the time of the survey the pub was closed for the winter months and the upper floors of the building were occupied as a private dwelling. White painted rendered walling, set on a plinth painted in contrasting colour stepping down a gentle slope along the Main Street towards the Glendun River; small-pane 'Georgian Style' timber sliding sash windows with horns and exposed box frames painted in contrasting colour incorporating a 'cottage' style expressed within the design of the facade; first floor bays have moulded architrave surrounds; pitched slate roof has black ridge tiles and two white painted rendered chimney-stacks at mid-ridge having terracotta clay pots; stepped eaves with out-and-up iron brackets supporting a half round cast-iron guttering discharging to a circular section downpipes. SE gable end has a concrete coping stone. Principal elevation faces North-east onto the Main Street, accessed via a tarmac footpath leading to a single storey gabled entrance porch, off-centre of elevation containing a pitched slate roof, a vertically sheeted painted timber door to the SE side and a 2/2 timber sliding sash window to the NE side. The fenestration pattern is irregular, there is a single vertically sheeted painted timber entrance door to the right side of the elevation not aligned with first floor bays; mix of 6/6, 2/2 and 1/1 timber sliding sash windows; shop signage above left side bay on ground floor spells 'M. McBride's'. South-east side elevation extends the full length of the site, including a two-storey rear return, rear yard and single storey outbuilding. Main gable is blank topped by a rendered chimney stack; rear return has a vertically sheeted painted timber door with glazed top panes on ground floor and a small 1/1 timber sliding sash window on first floor above; walling is of roughcast render, white painted finish. To the left of the rear return there is a high rough-cast rendered wall with a recessed doorway having a vertically sheeted painted timber door leading to rear yard. Rough-cast rendered outbuilding elevation is blank with concrete copings. South-west elevation to the rear overlooks a modest rear yard; where visible, consists of a 1/1 timber sliding sash window to the left side and rear return abuts elevation to the right side; there are two 1/1 timber sliding sash windows on first floor to NE elevation of rear return. North-west is adjoined to neighbouring property No. 4 Main Street [HB05.03.011]. Setting: Situated immediately adjacent North of the River Dun within the heart of the Village of Cushendun. No. 2 is adjoined to neighbouring property No.4 Main Street; both properties immediately face out onto the Main Street and within close proximity to 'The Square' and directly overlook the North Sea with panoramic views of the coastline to the NE side. Located within a Conservation Area and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Materials: Roof: Natural Slate RWGs: Cast-iron painted Walling: White rendered Windows: Timber sliding sash.

Architects

Historical Information

No. 2 Main Street, a two-storey four-bay mid-19th century building located in the village of Cushendun, was constructed in c. 1849. The village of Cushendun, located along the River Dun, was developed from the early-19th century when travel across mainland Europe was cut off by the Napoleonic wars. Ireland became a popular destination for British tourists during this period, necessitating the development of new routes and hotels between Belfast and the picturesque sites along the Antrim Coast such as Dunluce Castle and the Giants Causeway. The previously isolated Glens of Antrim at once became accessible with the development of the Coastal Road between 1832 and 1842. Villages along the coast such as Cushendall and Cushendun were transformed from minor settlements into popular seaside resorts that soon became thronged with seasonal visitors. A number of summer houses (or ‘Bathing Lodges’) were constructed along the coast by city-based professionals and merchants, including the impressive residences of Glenmona Lodge and Glendun Lodge at Cushendun. No. 2 Main Street was constructed following (or contemporary to) the laying out of the coastal road and the initial development of Cushendun (Lewis; Bassett, p. 137; Cushendun Conservation Area Guides). The National Inventory of Historic Pubs Interiors records that No. 2 Main Street has been utilised as a public house since 1849 when the building was licenced. The building was first depicted on the second edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857) and was included in the contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1859). The valuer noted that the building was initially valued at £7 and was leased by Edmund McNeill, a prominent local landowner who resided at Cushendun House (now demolished), to John McBride, a local publican whose family remained at the address until c. 1983. The Ordnance Survey Town Plan of Cushendun (1904) depicted No. 2 Main Street along its current layout and suggests that the two-storey rear return is an original feature of the building. John McBride continued to operate the public house and resided at the site until his death in 1902 at which time the building passed to his daughter Elizabeth McBride. The 1911 Census Building Return described No. 2 Main Street as a 1st class public house and dwelling that consisted of nine rooms and possessed a stable, a cow house, a piggery and a fowl house amongst its outbuildings. Elizabeth McBride continued to be recorded as occupant of the building under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which increased the value of the public house to £18. Ownership of No. 2 Main Street passed from the McNeill family to the National Trust in 1954. The Second General Revaluation (1956-72) further raised the value of the public house to £27 and recorded a Ms. Mary McBride as occupant from 1969. In 1972 the UAHS Guide for the Glens of Antrim described No. 2 Main Street as ‘Mary McBride’s pub, a pleasant two-storey building of about 1850 with quoins and architraves’ (UAHS Guide, p. 42). No. 2 Main Street was listed in 1980. In that year the building was included in the Cushendun Conservation Area which was designated as a means of ‘protecting and enhancing the special qualities of the village.’ The National Inventory of Historic Pubs Interiors notes that Mary McBride continued to operate the public house until her death in 1983 after which time the pub was administered by the National Trust. In 1995 the public house was closed during a renovation of its interior (which cost £100,000 and included the conversion of the building’s living quarters into additional bar space). The inventory notes that before its conversion, the original public area of the bar amounted to a single tiny bar, 5ft by 9ft 6 inches, meaning it was one of the smallest pubs in Ireland. Mary McBride’s Pub was reopened in 1997 and continued to be utilised as a public house at the time of the Second Survey (NIEA HB Records; Cushendall Conservation Area Guide; National Inventory of Historic Pubs Interiors website). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/15/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/15/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/15/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903-04) 4. PRONI OS/6/1/15/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1922) 5. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/15 – Townland Valuations Map (c. 1830) 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/133 – Townland Valuations (1834) 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/27B – Griffith’s Valuation (1859) 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/8A-D – Annual Revisions (1864-1923) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/15D – Annual Revisions (1909-30) 10. PRONI VAL/12/E/25/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1909-c. 1935) 11. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/5 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 12. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/11 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 13. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) 14. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918) 15. Bassett’s County Antrim: A guide and directory (1888) 16. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 17. First Survey Record – HB05/03/010 (1971) 18. NIEA HB Record – HB05/03/010 Secondary Sources 1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972. 2. ‘Cushendun Village Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1980. 3. ‘Cushendun Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1996 – includes Ordnance Survey Town Plans of 1904 and 1922. Online Resources 1. National Inventory of Historic Pubs Interiors website - http:// www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/historic-pub-interior-entry.asp?pubid=5007

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A modest two-storey four-bay white painted rendered house; built c. 1849 (Architect unknown). No. 2 is adjoined to neighbouring property No.4 Main Street [HB05.03.011]. Rectangular plan-form with a pitched slate roof, facing North-east directly onto the Main Street. No.2 has substantial group value with many other buildings of similar style within its immediate setting. The building was reopened in 1997 and continued to be utilised as a public house. Situated within the heart of the Village of Cushendun with panoramic views of the coastline to the NE side, the building is of special interest.

General Comments

Date of Survey

19 January 2012