1A And 1B Portmore Road, Lisburn, Co.Antrim, (Aka Child'S Corner)

1A AND 1B PORTMORE ROAD, LOWER BALLINDERRY (ALSO KNOWN AS CHILD'S CORNER)

This is an early 19th century two-storey, four-bay former grain store, built around 1830 and converted around 1890, situated on the south side of Portmore Road at the crossroads of Lower Ballinderry. It is a rare and unusual grouping of early industrial buildings that serves as a tangible reminder of 19th century rural industry in the area, and makes a significant contribution to the architectural heritage of the locality. The property is included within the Lower Ballinderry Area of Village Character.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION

The main building is rectangular on plan, aligned east to west. To the rear (south) it is adjoined by a single-storey former house and modern single- and two-storey extensions built around 1855. To the west it is abutted by a double-height former grain store, also built around 1830.

The roof is pitched natural slate with raised verges. There are two corbelled chimney stacks in rendered brick; the west chimneystack, which abuts the former grain store, is a replacement in blockwork. Cast-iron u-profile rainwater goods are fitted to the raised eaves, with uPVC to the rear. The walls are painted roughcast render with a smooth rendered painted plinth and various exposed cast-metal wall ties. Windows throughout are 1/1 timber sliding sashes with exposed boxes and projecting painted masonry sills. The fenestration of the attached outbuildings and houses is an important element contributing to the overall character of the building.

The principal elevation faces north and is divided into two sections. To the right is the former house, which has a central replacement timber panelled door with a transom light, accessed by three masonry steps, with a single window to each side at ground floor and three equally spaced windows at first floor. To the left (the former public house) is a central double-leaf timber sheeted door accessed by two masonry steps, with a replacement timber casement window to each side at ground floor and a central 2/2 horizontally divided timber sliding sash window with exposed box at first floor. The east gable has a single central window opening at first floor, set lower than those on the principal elevation.

The rear south elevation is largely obscured by a series of modern single- and two-storey extensions of no architectural interest, together with a single-storey former house to the right built around 1820. Where the rear elevation is exposed, there is a single window to the left and two windows to the right, the far right being a metal casement.

To the west, the building is abutted by a two-storey former grain store built around 1830, whose floor heights and fenestration reflect its original early 19th century character. This western former grain store has, however, undergone considerable alteration: the roof has been re-covered with modern tiles and fitted with modern rooflights, the raised verge has been replaced in blockwork, and all internal structure and detail has been completely removed. The existing first-floor windows remain intact, but the ground-floor openings have been altered. The building is extended further to the west by a single-storey cottage that has been recently refurbished and is of no historical interest.

Attached to the south is a single-storey, two-bay former house, rectangular on plan and aligned north to south, divided into two rooms. Its pitched natural slate roof has raised verges and a single rendered brick chimney stack; the rainwater goods have been removed. The walls are rendered rubble stone with brick quoins and window surrounds, though most of the render has now been removed to expose the stonework, which indicates that the south bay has been altered on its east side. The east elevation has a painted timber-sheeted half-door with a timber lintel at the centre, two boarded window openings to the right and a single boarded window to the left. The connection between this building and the two-storey former grain store is aligned with the east gable of the two-storey block and is accessed through a square-headed opening containing a vertically sheeted timber door. The south gable is blank. The west elevation is abutted by a single-storey extension of no architectural interest, and has a single 6/6 timber sliding sash window to the right with cast-iron protective vertical bars.

SETTING

The former grain store sits at the crossroads of Lower Ballinderry and is enclosed by a timber fence to the north and east. The north forecourt is tarmac surfaced, with pedestrian access to the garden at the east through a cast-iron gate. The single-storey house to the west is accessed via two circular roughcast rendered piers with painted conical caps supporting a painted cast-iron gate; this entrance arrangement may represent the original main entrance to the building complex. A modern dwelling has been constructed abutting the west-facing gable of the former grain stores.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The building appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1832 as a lengthy oblong building with two small outbuildings that have since been demolished. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1832 to 1838, the building was originally constructed as a corn kiln and store in 1822 by a Mr Harden Byrne, a grain merchant, described as being built 'at a considerable expense.' The kilns stood two storeys high, and the stores were divided into two sections — one four storeys tall and the other three storeys — all slated. The building subsequently came into the possession of Mr Ralph Russell, who also dealt in the grain trade.

The Townland Valuation of around 1835 records the occupant as Mr Thomas Bell, who had replaced Ralph Russell. The property was classified as a 1C+ class dwelling measuring 52 feet by 22 feet and 18 feet in height, with attached outbuildings including stores, a barn kiln and a turf house, the total value of the site being recorded at £17 16s.

By the time of Griffith's Valuation in 1859, the property had been divided into two sections: a house, store and office valued at £21, and a house and office valued at £15, both occupied by Thomas Bell and held from the Marquis of Hertford. The property later passed to a Henry A. Bell, though by 1888 the site was occupied by Thomas McKeown, who converted part of the building into a public house in 1891, reducing the rateable value to £16. In 1898 a Miss Susana McCord occupied and purchased the property. By 1905 the public house was recorded as a 'Licensed house shop', with its value further reduced to £10, while the value of the adjoining storehouses was reduced to £5.

Edward Fletcher acquired the property in 1907 and occupied it until 1929, when it passed to Robert McGivern. The 1911 Census records Edward Fletcher (aged 35) as a publican operating the premises with his brother William Fletcher. The public house was then classified as a second-class building with a stable, cow house, fowl house and a number of stores among its outbuildings.

The building was listed in September 1977 when it was occupied by a J. C. Child, who presumably gave the building its present name of Child's Corner. In 1982 the property was converted from use as a dwelling, shop, store and office into a restaurant named La Gazell d'Or. By 2006 the part of the property operating as a post office had closed.