Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB05/08/032

Address :
125 Main Street Bushmills Co. Antrim BT57 8QB

Townland:
Magheraboy or Bushmills

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:
02/12/1980 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:
02/06/2017 00:00:00

Current Use:
Shop

Former Use
Shop

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
7/9NW

IG Ref:
C9406 4068

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Two-storey two-bay painted rough-cast rendered mid-terrace house (now end of terrace due to adjacent demolition). Rectangular plan-form with artificial slates to pitched roof having an unpainted rendered chimney stack to the NW side. Built c. 1834; the name of the architect is unknown. Located within the village of Bushmills, on Main Street, which is aligned parallel to the Bush River. Set on the West side of the street, due South of Market Square. Artificial slate to duo-pitched roof with black clay ridge tiles; rendered chimney stack has corbelled cap and four clay pots; modern roof-lights and dormer to rear (SW) slope. Walls have painted rough-cast render finish to front and rear elevation; shop-front on ground floor is accessed directly from the footpath on the Main Street. All remaining windows are uPVC casements on painted masonry sills; all set on a painted rendered plinth; moulded uPVC guttering to front that discharges to a circular painted cast-iron downpipe. Principal elevation faces North-east; replacement timber shop-front on ground floor comprised of solid timber framed door glass entrance door with fixed transom light in the middle of paired windows to each side on masonry cills; shop-front flanked by timber moulded pilasters with painted timber signboard running full length of fascia above, which reads 'THE VILLAGE BISTRO'. Two bays on first floor above contain uPVC top-hung casement windows on painted masonry cills. South-east side is adjoined to neighbouring property No. 127 Main Street [HB05/08/031]. South-west elevation to the rear is enclosed by a high rubble-stone (basalt) wall. Where visible, walling is of white painted render finish with a pedimented 'wall head' dormer window to the left side and two small modern roof lights to the rear slope of artificial slate roof; stained timber eaves board to rear that supports uPVC rainwater goods to rear elevation. Windows, where seen, are uPVC and there is a single-storey gabled return that spans almost the full width of the rear. North-west side elevation is of exposed uncoursed stone - adjoining property No. 121-123 [HB05/08/033] has been demolished. Materials: Roof: Artificial slate RWGs: uPVC, with cast-iron downpipe to NE only Walling: Painted render. Windows: uPVC casements (NE) Setting: Set in a terraced row of similar scaled buildings on the West side of Main Street within the Bushmills Conservation Area, between No.121-123 Main Street (HB05.08.033) to the right (now demolished) and No.127 Main St (HB05.08.031) to the right.

Architects

Historical Information

No. 125 Main Street, a two-storey two-bay building with shopfront located on the west side of Main Street in Bushmills, was originally constructed in c. 1834 as part of the redevelopment of the village of Bushmills in the early-19th century. The Bushmills Conservation Area Guide records that Bushmills was a significant settlement before the end of the 18th century but from the 1820s the village was extensively rebuilt by the MacNaghten family of Bushmills House (who had acquired the estate in 1787). No. 125 Main Street was first depicted on the Townland Valuation Town Plan (c. 1834) as a simple terraced structure. The building was not recorded in the contemporary Townland Valuations (1835) suggesting either that the building lay unfinished at that time, or that it was not worth the £3 minimum required for inclusion in the source. In 1859 Griffith’s Valuation recorded that No. 125 Main Street was valued at £4 and 15 shillings and was initially leased by John Hill, a local national schoolmaster, to a Mr. John Taylor. The occupants of the house changed with frequency over the following four decades and by the turn of the 20th century No. 125 Main Street was occupied by James Simpson, a local saddle maker who operated a saddler’s shop from the premises. The Ordnance Survey Town Plan of Bushmills (1902) depicted the house along its current layout with a small outbuilding to rear. The contemporary 1911 Census of Ireland described No. 125 Main Street as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of six rooms and possessed a stable as its sole out office. The Simpson family continued to reside at the address until c. 1935 at which time the building was valued at £6 and 15 shillings and was leased out by the Dinsmore family (occupants of the public house at nos 135-137 Main Street). The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) records that No. 125 Main Street was purchased outright by a Mr. Alexander Laverty in c. 1952. Laverty resided at the adjoining No. 127 Main Street and converted the former private dwelling and shop into commercial premises (with extensive stores to rear) resulting in an increase in its value to £24. The Laverty family continued to hold the shop and stores at No. 125 Main Street until at least the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the total rateable value of the building stood at £32. In 1972 the UAHS Guide for North Antrim described the buildings along Main Street in Bushmills in the following general terms: ‘A well-scaled street. Many good doorways and shopfronts remain, although there is the usual profusion of signs. While no building apart from the former Courthouse is worthy of individual mention, the unity of the street frontages must be maintained’ (UAHS Guide, p. 16). No. 125 Main Street was listed in 1980 and was subsequently included in the Bushmills Conservation Area. The conservation area was designated in 1992 in order to preserve the built heritage of the village which possesses the highest number of listed buildings in the North East of Northern Ireland. The NIEA HB Records note that No. 125 Main Street was converted from an art gallery into its current use as a café in c. 1993; the current shopfront was added to the building in c. 1999 (Bushmills Conservation Area Guide; NIEA HB Records). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/7/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/7/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/7/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1904) 4. PRONI OS/6/1/7/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1922) 5. PRONI VAL/1D/1/7 – Townland Valuation Town Plan (c. 1834) 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/132 – Townland Valuations (1835) 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/25A – Griffith’s Valuation (1859) 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/8A-D – Annual Revisions (1859-94) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/6A-C – Annual Revisions (1895-1929) 10. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/13 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 11. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/22 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 12. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918) 13. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 14. First Survey Record – HB05/08/032 15. NIEA HB Record – HB05/08/032 Secondary Sources 1. ‘Bushmills Conservation Area Guide’ Belfast: Department of the Environment (N. I.), 1983 – including the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1902. 2. Girvan, W. D., ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in North Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Historic Interest

Evaluation

Two-storey two-bay painted rough-cast rendered former mid-terrace house, set within a terrace row along Main Street in the Bushmills Conservation Area and built c.1834; the name of the architect is unknown. Rectangular plan-form with artificial slates to pitched roof having an unpainted rendered chimney stack to the NW side; the building is now used as a cafe and has been substantially modernised inside. The exterior retains very little original detailing; the current shop-front was installed in c.1999 and the dominant signage has an adverse effect on the overall character of the building; the uPVC windows also detract. The building is of insufficient architectural and historic interest to be considered as special.

General Comments

Date of Survey

10 April 2015