McAlpine Estate Agents, 10 Railway Street, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT28 1XG

McAlpine Estate Agents, 10 Railway Street, Lisburn

A mid-terrace three-storey rendered former house, built around 1830, forming part of one of the earliest terraces constructed on Railway Street in the historic heart of Lisburn. The building retains most of its original fabric both internally and externally, contributing significantly to the integrity of this relatively intact Georgian terrace. It has group value with numbers 4–6, 8, and 12 Railway Street.

The building is a two-bay composition with a pitched natural slate roof featuring black clay ridge tiles. The south chimney is rebuilt in redbrick with clay pot, while the north chimney is rendered, also with clay pot. Cast-iron guttering on iron brackets with cast-iron hopper and downpipe serves the roof.

The front elevation is rendered with painted ruled and lined finish, featuring three windows. Square-headed window openings have painted masonry sills and original timber sash windows retaining some cylinder glass. The ground floor contains a modern hardwood shopfront, while the first floor has 6/6 timber sash windows and the second floor has 6/3 windows. A central square-headed door opening provides access to the upper floors, with an original flat-panelled timber door, rectangular overlight, and two stone steps. To the left bay is a segmental-headed carriage arch opening with original vertically-sheeted timber doors and a pair of wheel-guard stones.

The north side elevation is abutted by the adjoining building at No. 12. The rear elevation is constructed of rubblestone with redbrick linings to window openings, original timber sash windows, and cast-iron downpipes with decorative brackets. A two-storey redbrick gable-ended return abuts the rear, with a first half-landing lit by a timber sash window featuring coloured glass to the margin lights. The south side elevation is abutted by the adjoining building at No. 8.

The building forms part of a terrace of four similar former houses lining the east side of Railway Street, with a small rear yard enclosed by a redbrick wall. The former rear plot has been converted to a car park.

History

The street was formerly known as Jackson's Lane but was renamed Railway Street around 1840 following the arrival of the first railway line between Lisburn and Belfast. According to Thomas Pattison's detailed map of the town centre dating to around 1830, numbers 4 to 12 were the earliest buildings constructed along this street toward the railway line. Field research supports a construction date of around 1830, consistent with the Georgian design of the building. The terrace appeared on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833.

In 1901, the house was occupied by William Drake, a local butcher, who lived there with his wife Elizabeth and four sons and two daughters until 1914. The 1911 Census described the property as a first-class dwelling comprising nine rooms with a slate roof. Drake's four sons were also employed in the butchering trade at that time. The 1910 Ulster Towns Directory records No. 10 as Drake's residence but does not clarify whether he operated a shop at the address.

Dr. James G. Jefferson is recorded as commencing his medical career at No. 10 in 1914, though confusion exists in the historical record, as another Dr. James G. Jefferson operated Lisburn's Dispensary at No. 16 prior to 1910. It is possible these were father and son, though this cannot be confirmed without access to valuation records. In 1920, the property passed to H. B. Williamson, a merchant tailor.

The architectural historian C. E. B. Brett described the houses on this terrace (numbers 4 to 24) as "good three-storey Georgian brick or stucco houses with glazing bars intact... the backs of [which] are of stone." Field research has confirmed the survival of Georgian window glazing and an original interior Georgian staircase. The upper floors are now converted to office premises.