15 Market Square East, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT28 1AE

15 Market Square East, Lisburn

A three-storey building over basement, four bays wide, forming part of a mid-terrace of Georgian townhouses. The building dates to the late 18th or early 19th century, most likely between 1800 and 1819. It now functions as commercial premises, having been substantially renovated in 2002.

The building has a rectangular plan with a modern three-storey rear return added at a later date. The roof is pitched with natural slate and clay ridge tiles. Red-brick chimneys with corbelled upper courses rise from the roofline without pots. Rainwater goods are of modern uPVC.

The principal elevation faces east onto Market Square. The walling is rendered in ruled-and-lined cement. The ground floor has been completely modernised with a modern timber and glazed frontage that opens directly onto the street. A full-width awning is fixed between ground and first floor level. Non-illuminated signage is displayed throughout the ground floor.

The first and second floors retain more of the original character. These floors are symmetrically arranged with four window openings each. The windows are replacement double-glazed timber sliding sashes with 6/6 glazing pattern, masonry cills, and moulded surrounds. A continuous cill course runs across at first floor level. The second-floor windows are diminished in scale and have individual cills.

The left gable is abutted by 11 and 13 Market Square (both heritage records HB19/16/25). The right gable is abutted by 17 Market Square. The rear elevation is dominated by a two-and-a-half storey gabled return spanning the full width of the site, containing a variety of window openings of no significant architectural interest.

The interior has been completely modernised and retains little historic fabric.

The building sits prominently in Lisburn city centre, facing directly onto Market Square as part of a terrace of similar three-storey buildings. To the rear lies the graveyard of Lisburn Cathedral (heritage record HB19/16/001).

Historical Context

Lisburn, formerly known as Lisnagarvey, was established in the early 17th century following a grant of the south Antrim manor of Killultagh by James I to Sir Fulke Conway. Sir Fulke established his headquarters here and began laying out the town's foundations in the early 1620s. By 1640, the town had been laid out substantially as it exists today, with a central market place and radiating streets.

The town suffered a disastrous fire in 1707, after which it was rapidly rebuilt to its original street plan using improved materials: brick replaced wood, and slates and tiles replaced shingles. Lord Conway encouraged rebuilding by granting forty-one year leases on waste holdings. A building at this location appears on Pattison's map of 1833, though the exact date of the current structure cannot be established. It could not be identified in Griffith's Valuation or census records, and nothing is known of its early history. The building currently operates as a bar.

The building makes a contribution to the adjoining historic terrace but is considered too altered to meet listing criteria, though it is located within a conservation area.