47-49 Lower Main Street, Bushmills, Co. Antrim, BT57 8QB

47–49 Lower Main Street, Bushmills, is a two-storey, three-bay, smooth-rendered former dwelling and shop, built in around 1834. It stands in the northern section of Bushmills village on the west side of Lower Main Street, within the Bushmills Conservation Area, set within a terrace row with views south towards the Market Square. The street runs parallel with the Bush River to the west.

The building has a rectangular plan with a re-slated pitched roof carrying two shared chimney stacks — one in unpainted smooth render to the south-east and one in rough-cast render to the north-west, both centred on the ridge. Two flat-roofed dormers with lead roof covering sit on the front slope. All walling is in smooth-rendered painted finish, set on a painted rendered plinth. Cast-iron half-round guttering and circular downpipes serve the front elevation; uPVC rainwater goods are used to the rear.

The principal north-east elevation faces directly onto the Main Street footpath. At ground floor level, a replacement timber shop front occupies the right side, comprising a single entrance doorway fitted with a modern timber panelled door with glazed top panels, and a large display window divided vertically into three single panes, with modern signage to the frieze above. To the left of the shop front, a large archway with a band surround and keystone contains a pair of vertically sheeted timber gates, giving access to the rear yard. The first floor presents three equally spaced square-headed window bays; all windows are 1/1 timber sliding sash set within plaster band surrounds painted in a contrasting colour, all on painted sills.

The south-west rear elevation overlooks a shared courtyard and is finished in painted rough-cast render, with three timber casement windows at first floor level. The south-east wall of the archway passage contains a series of vertically sheeted timber doors. The building adjoins No. 51 to the south-east and No. 45 to the north-west.

To the rear courtyard, a modern two-storey youth hostel has been constructed. Its walling is in painted rough-cast render with timber sheeting to a central circulation and foyer area; its fenestration is irregular, consisting of windows of various sizes and styles, all timber casements. The overall scale and massing of this rear building detracts from the historic character of the site.

Historically, the building formed part of the early 19th-century reconstruction of Bushmills carried out by the MacNaghten family of Bushmills House, who acquired the estate in 1787. The Townland Valuation Town Plan of around 1834 depicts the building, and the Townland Valuation of 1835 describes it as a first-class dwelling and shop — defined as a new or nearly new slated building — measuring 35 feet by 27.6 feet and standing 20 feet in height, initially occupied by a Mr William McMullen and valued at £10.

By the Griffith's Valuation of 1859, the building had increased in value to £16 and was leased by the MacNaghten estate to Robert Hopkins, a local spirit dealer who established a public house on the site. Hopkins remained until around 1869, when the site was briefly occupied by Charles McNeill. Around 1879 the public house passed to Alexander Halliday, whose family remained at the address until the 1930s. The Census of Ireland of 1901 recorded Annie Halliday as occupant and described the building as a first-class public house of 11 rooms, with a stable, coach house, and store among its rear outbuildings, all accessible via the building's coach arch. The Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1902 recorded the building in its then-current layout, with a rectangular outbuilding to the rear, now demolished. The Halliday family had purchased the property outright from the MacNaghten estate by the time of the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland, which raised the value to £25 and recorded the premises as the White Horse Hotel.

A Ms Annie Dobbins was recorded as occupant from around 1942 until around 1964, when Mr John Cochrane became the new proprietor. By the end of the Second General Revaluation of 1956–72, the total rateable value had risen considerably to £84 and 10 shillings. In 1972, the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society's guide to 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."

The building was listed in 1980 and included in the Bushmills Conservation Area, designated in 1992 to preserve the built heritage of a village that possesses the highest number of listed buildings in the north-east of Northern Ireland. A renovation in 1995 included the re-slating of the roof in natural slate. Planning permission granted in 2000 allowed for the demolition and rebuilding of the derelict shop and domestic premises and for the construction of a new 19-bedroom youth hostel to the rear; the interior of the listed building was also refurbished at that time. As a result of these modern renovations, the original floor plan and internal historic fabric and detailing no longer survive. The building was delisted on 2 June 2017 on the grounds that it no longer retains sufficient architectural and historic interest to be considered special.