31-35 Bridge Street, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT28 1XZ

A mid-terrace three-bay three-storey red-brick former dwelling, now subdivided into commercial premises, built around 1850 and located north of Bridge Street in Lisburn city centre. The building is situated within a conservation area but is recorded only, not listed.

The building is rectangular on plan with a full-height gabled return to the rear. The roof is pitched with natural slate and blue-black angled ridge tiles, topped with brick chimneystacks bearing four terracotta pots; the gable of the rear return has a rendered chimneystack. The walling is Flemish-bonded red brick with painted smooth render to the ground floor of numbers 31-33; number 35 and the rear elevation are painted smooth render throughout.

The principal elevation faces south and is five windows wide across the upper floors, unequally spaced. Windows are replacement two-over-two timber-framed sliding sash with horns to the first floor and diminished one-over-one to the second floor, all with brick flat arches and projecting sills. The ground floor has been heavily altered to accommodate commercial use. To the left is a shop-front with a panelled and glazed timber door flanked by bipartite plate-glass windows at sill level, surmounted by a full-length fascia with modern lettering and cornice. To the right is an integrated square-headed archway with modern cast-iron gates giving access to a cobbled yard. Number 35's shop-front comprises a tripartite plate-glass window to the right and a modern six-panelled timber door to the left, both surmounted by a corniced fascia.

The west elevation is abutted by an adjoining building. The north (rear) elevation features a full-height gabled return abutting the right side; above are windows to the upper floors and the square-headed archway to the yard. The return itself has a window to the second floor and two to the first floor at the gable. The east elevation has two asymmetrically arranged windows at second floor level, a window at first floor and two modern timber-sheeted doors at ground floor level. Number 35, which sits at the left, has a raised ground level with two windows at first floor, a window at ground floor left and a modern door to ground floor right. This elevation is abutted by an adjoining building.

The cobbled yard to the right of the building provides access via a set of masonry steps leading to a landscaped garden. This garden is enclosed by an early rubble stone and brick wall to the north, an English garden wall-bonded brick wall to the west and a modern timber fence to the east.

Historical Context

Houses on this part of Bridge Street were built in the second half of the nineteenth century and are first shown on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1902. The land was formerly the property of the Marquess of Hertford and, according to the memoirs of Mrs George Wilson, was in 1835 planted with "a fine row of chestnut trees with an old lawn which ran up to Castle Gardens. The lawn was called 'Heron's Folly' and there were a few stones and a little bit of wall where some man had begun to build but could not finish." The brick building comprising numbers 31 to 35 Bridge Street was the first nineteenth-century building to be constructed in the street.

The current building originally consisted of two separate premises, known as 31 and 33 Bridge Street. In 1901, number 31 was a saddlery occupied by Robert Baillie, a harness maker, who lived there with his wife, two sons (one a theology student, the other a draper) and Agnes Ellison, a shop assistant. By 1911, the shop had been taken over by Elizabeth Holland, a clothier and widow from London, who kept a domestic servant. In the 1930s and 40s, the premises operated as a second-hand furniture shop run by Joe and Dolly Lewis, who lived to the rear and above the shop with their daughter Norma.

In 1901, number 33 was the home of Charles McFadden, a master wood turner, who lived with his wife, three young children, a widow and her young daughter, and two servants (carpenters who presumably assisted in his business). The premises at this time had three windows to the front facade and comprised five rooms. By 1911, it was occupied by Minnie Hardy and her sixteen-year-old brother, both born in County Louth and Irish speakers; no occupation is listed for either. In the 1930s and 40s, the McClatcheys occupied the house. Mr McClatchey was a bricklayer and his wife was a dressmaker; their son repaired lambeg drums in his spare time.

The building was restored in 2006 by the Lisburn Buildings Preservation Trust. Prior to restoration, the building had separate entrances to both premises.

Rainwater goods are cast-iron. The building contributes to the historic character of Bridge Street, the most important thoroughfare in Lisburn city centre during the 17th and 18th centuries, although it is not considered of sufficient quality to merit listing.