10 Church Street, Banbridge, County Down, BT32 4AA

10 Church Street, Banbridge

An almost symmetrical two-storey four-bay Victorian end-terrace office, built circa 1860 and located on the north side of Church Street in Banbridge town centre. The building retains much of its original character and relatively well-preserved architectural detailing.

The roof is finished in rosemary tiles with rounded ridge tiles, raised stone verges, and rendered chimneystacks bearing tall terracotta pots. Rainwater goods are cast-iron half-round. The walling is painted smooth render on a contrasting plinth. Windows throughout are 2/2 timber sliding sash with horizontal glazing bars in moulded architraves. The principal south-west elevation contains six openings to each floor. At ground floor, to the left of centre, is a six-panelled timber door with brass door furniture and a square-headed overlight, flanked by pilasters and surmounted by a corniced canopy on carved console brackets.

The north-west elevation has a window to the first floor left. The north-east (rear) elevation displays asymmetrical fenestration: to the right of centre is a segmental-arched leaded-and-stained glass stairwell window and a modern half-glazed door to ground floor. The first floor has three windows and a diminutive window; the ground floor has two windows and two diminutive windows. The south-east elevation is abutted by the adjoining building.

The building stands street-fronted, forming part of an early nineteenth-century terrace opposite Seapatrick Parish Church. To the rear is a tarmacadamed car park shared with number 9, accessed via modern metal gates to the north-west. To the north-east is a mechanics garage.

Historical Development

The building dates from 1867 and was constructed as a rebuild or remodel of two previous dwellings on the site. The earlier houses appear on the 1833 Ordnance Survey map and are listed in the Townland Valuation (1828–40), each valued at £4 (later reduced to £3 10s). Both buildings were recorded as ten feet in height. Griffith's Valuation confirms the two buildings were one and a half storeys high; one was described as a "very neat little house" occupied by a shoemaker.

In 1867, the two houses were reconstructed and revalued at £15 and £16 respectively. One was occupied by Robert Davidson, a mill manager, and the other was let to a series of tenants: Mrs Murphy (1867), John F Mulligan (1871), Robert Robson (1874), Joseph Davidson (1875), William Raphael (1878), and Richard Linn (1880).

Richard Linn (1837–1911) was a native of Banbridge and son of one of the Town Commissioners. He was a founder of the Banbridge Literary and Mutual Improvement Society in 1853, a Town Council member, and a lieutenant in the Volunteer Fire Brigade. An enthusiastic antiquarian, he lived in Pennsylvania between 1867 and 1874, publishing a history of petroleum. Before his departure for New Zealand in 1880, Linn lived briefly in the present house. Throughout his life he collected materials for a history of Banbridge, but the volume remained unpublished until 1935, after his death, when it was edited and issued in print.

The two houses were united in the valuation record in 1881 at £31 15s, with Robert Davidson listed as the sole occupier from that date onwards. The 1901 census records him as a 65-year-old living with his wife on the proceeds of houses and dividends, supported by a domestic servant from Ballymacdermot, County Armagh. The house was of the first class with eight rooms. In 1911, Davidson described himself as a retired mill manager and continued to live with his wife and a servant from County Louth.

Thomas McDowell occupied the house from 1923 and was resident at the time of the First General Revaluation in the 1930s. McDowell leased the house from the Marquess of Downshire, and the buildings were revalued at £28.

Accommodation and Layout

The ground floor comprised a lobby and two reception rooms at the front, a kitchen and scullery (judged "very small for the size of house"), and a pantry cupboard. The first floor contained two large front bedrooms, one very small front bedroom, and one back bedroom, together with a bathroom fitted with bath, lavatory, and water closet. The attic was "very poor and used for storage only." The extensive outbuildings were not in use at the time of the 1930s revaluation. The valuer assessed the house as "badly planned" with "very poor" kitchen arrangements.

The house is part of a group demonstrating the architectural and social changes reflecting Banbridge's boom brought by growth in the worldwide linen trade and represents part of the town's earliest professional-class development. It stands within an area of historical and architectural significance centred on Church Street.