Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB17/07/015

Address :
1 Church Square Banbridge Co Down BT32 4AS

Townland:
Tullyear

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:
25/10/1977 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:
08/01/2014 00:00:00

Current Use:
Office

Former Use
House

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:
J1268 4610

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

A two-storey three-bay former townhouse built in the early nineteenth century; now split into two commercial units; rectangular plan form with single-storey rear abutment. Located north of the River Bann adjacent to where Bridge Street meets Church Square. Pitched artificial slate with clay ridge tiles; replacement uPVC rainwater goods; ruled-and-lined rendered chimney with corbelled cap. Ruled-and-lined rendered walling with painted projected long-and-short quoins and plinth. 6/6 timber sliding sash with horns; painted masonry cills; plain reveals. Modern shop fronts comprising large single-paned glazing panel; replacement 6-panelled timber door with square-headed over light. The principal elevation faces north east and is asymmetrically arranged. The ground floor comprises two separate modern shop fronts; the right shop front has a historic fascia with moulded cornicing. The first floor comprises three windows. The left gable is; blank; largely abutted by the adjoining building 5 Church Square (HB17/07/014) The rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged; replacement uPVC and timber windows to the first floor; the ground floor is abutted by a modern single-storey lean-to extension comprising two doors with associated windows. The right gable is symmetrically arranged; single central first floor window; two diminutive attic windows, the left with a horizontal glazing bar. Setting The building forms part of a group of historic terraces to the north of the town centre. Attached to the left by a link block to the adjoining building. Paved public realm area addressing the principal elevation with landscape trees. The main bridge over the River Bann is immediately to the south. Yard to the rear of the site with a single-storey pitched natural slate roof with red-bricked walling, outbuilding incorporated into the bounding rubble masonry wall. Roofing: Artificial slate Walling: render Windows: Timber RWG: uPVC

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

No. 1 Church Square was first depicted on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map for Banbridge in 1833 where it is depicted as an L-shaped building situated next to the bridge spanning the river Bann. In 1833 the house was occupied by a Mr. Samuel Glass; the Townland Valuation for the area notes that Glass’s house was valued at £14 while a contemporary valuation map shows that the property possessed a single office located at the rear of the house. There was no discernible change to the site between 1833 and the second edition Ordnance Survey map in 1860; however the houses to the east of No. 1 Church Square (HB17/07/013; 014 A-B) had been constructed by the latter year. Samuel Glass, recorded as a publican in the Ulster Street Directories, had vacated No. 1 Church Square by at least 1852 when he was residing in a public house in Dromore Street. The next recorded occupant of the property was a Mr. John Browne who had come into possession of the house by c. 1862 when he was noted in Griffith’s Valuation of Banbridge. John Browne let No. 1 Church Square from a Mr. William Murphy. John Browne continued to reside at No. 1 Church Square until 1874 when a Mr. Robert [Jordan] came into possession. Jordan lived at the house until 1894 when ‘the misses [Carnarvon]’ were recorded as the sole occupants. By 1899 the property had once again changed hands when a Mr. Samuel Moorhead let the house from William Murphy. The 1901 Census records that Moorhead, who was employed as a car driver, resided at No. 1 Church Square with his wife Margaret; the census building return described the house as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of five inhabited rooms, and possessed three out offices, a stable, cow house and piggery, which were located in the outbuilding to the rear of the dwelling. Moorhead vacated the house in 1906 when William John Harris, a local grocer took possession of the property. Harris and his family continued to reside at No. 1 Church Square until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930; there was no visible change to the site on the 3rd edition of the Ordinance Survey map and the Annual Revisions continued to value the house at £12 until 1930. In 1969 Brett described the house as one of a number of ‘ordinary three-storey dwellings and shops, mostly c. 1830’ and noted that they were ‘dependent for their charm on the quality of the paintwork.’ In 1969 the building continued to be occupied by a member of the Harris family however at the time of the current survey the building has passed to other owners. No. 1 Church Square was listed in 1977 and is maintained as commercial premises. 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. Census of Ireland (1901 / 1911) 15. First Survey Record – HB17/07/015 (1977) 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.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A two-storey three-bay former townhouse built in the early nineteenth century located in the north of Banbridge. Externally the modern shop fronts detract from the overall historic character and appearance of the building, although the first floor has retained its proportions and some character. Internally, there have been extensive alterations resulting in significant loss of historic fabric. Although of some local significance as one of the older buildings in the town, its interest has been compromised and it no longer meets the statutory and policy tests as a building of special architectural or historic interest.

General Comments

Date of Survey

07 March 2012