11 Bridge St., Cushendall, Co.Antrim

A substantial three-storey rendered corner building of six bays, built around 1890 at the central crossroads of Cushendall, at the junction of Bridge Street and Shore Street. Originally constructed as a Temperance Hotel, replacing three earlier buildings demolished in 1887, it stands prominently opposite Turnly's Tower and forms part of a group with the adjoining No. 9 Bridge Street.

The building is rectangular on plan, turning the corner with a chamfered entrance bay. The principal southwest elevation presents three bays to Bridge Street, with a large fixed-pane timber-framed display window to the left and a square-headed door opening to the right fitted with a replacement timber panelled door, overlight, and two concrete steps. The chamfered corner entrance bay has a square-headed opening with a glazed timber door. The secondary northwest elevation presents two bays to Shore Street with a further shop display window. The southeast elevation abuts No. 9 Bridge Street, with a full-height stepped section projecting beyond the adjoining building at the rear; this elevation has unpainted cement-rendered walling and replacement horizontally-glazed top-hung timber casement windows. The northeast side is abutted by No. 1 Shore Street.

The roof is natural slate, hipped at the corner, with black clay ridge tiles and three large rendered chimneystacks without pots. Rainwater goods are replacement metal guttering supported on a corbelled eaves course with steel downpipes. The walling is painted ruled-and-lined cement render with a projecting rendered plinth course. Window openings are square-headed throughout, with replacement concrete sills and replacement horizontally-glazed one-over-two timber sliding sash windows with ogee horns and secondary internal glazing. The rear entrance opens onto a flight of concrete steps and a passageway enclosed by a rubblestone wall.

Much of the interior has been modernised, though the exterior retains historic fabric. Notably, an extensive renovation carried out in 2005 included the installation of modern ground-floor retail units, conversion of the upper floors into apartments, restoration of the roof, and replacement of the rainwater goods. The renovation resulted in the loss of the original Regency-style glazing bars, which were recorded in 1972 as still intact and which were replaced at that time with the current sliding sash window frames.

The building has a rich social history. It was constructed by around 1890 on a site leased from the Turnly family by Henry Chard, a retired English Naval pensioner, who ran it as a Temperance Hotel. Around 1895 the hotel was extended to take in the adjoining No. 9 Bridge Street. By 1911, the combined premises were recorded under the Census of Ireland as a first-class hotel of 21 rooms, administered by Henry's daughter Catherine Chard, and included a number of rear outbuildings: a stable, two cow houses, a piggery, a boiling house, and a store. Henry Chard died in 1904, leaving the property to his wife Mary; Catherine Chard died in 1922, and the hotel ceased operating as such during the 1920s. By the 1930s the building was occupied by Joseph Spence, who converted it into a café and entertainment hall. In 1956 Patrick McCambridge converted No. 11 into a dwelling and shop, purchasing the building outright from the Turnly estate in 1967. The Annual Revisions maintained the rateable value of No. 11 at £16 from 1890 until 1929, when Nos. 9–11 were combined at £50 under the First General Revaluation. Following the 1956 division the value of No. 11 was set at £32, where it remained through the Second General Revaluation period ending in 1972.

The 1901 Ulster Town Directory described Cushendall's hotels as "comfortable and well conducted," noting the village as an excellent centre for excursions to view the scenery of the Antrim Coast. The hotel was one of several commercial buildings erected in Cushendall as the village developed during the 19th century into a popular seaside resort and stopping-off point for tourists travelling the coast road. Bridge Street, including this building, was included in the Cushendall Conservation Area in 1975 — only the second conservation area to be designated in the province — and the village was simultaneously chosen as one of Northern Ireland's four pilot schemes for conservation during the European Architectural Heritage Year. No. 11 Bridge Street was listed in 1976. It retains group value with No. 9 Bridge Street by virtue of their shared history as a single hotel, and its varied social history, particularly its origins as a Temperance Hotel, adds to its interest within the historic setting of Cushendall village centre.