30 Bridge Street, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT28 1XY

30 Bridge Street is a vacant three-storey, two-bay mid-terrace commercial property in the centre of Lisburn, pre-dating 1730 and built most likely in the 1720s or 1730s. It sits on the south side of Bridge Street, one of the town's most historically significant commercial thoroughfares, and falls within the designated Conservation Area. Although the building contributes to the historic character of that area, much of its original architectural interest has been lost through later alterations, and it is not currently listed.

The building is rectangular on plan with a two-storey return to the rear. The roof is covered in natural slate with blue-black angled ridge tiles and retains one red-brick chimney stack, a second having been lost. Half-round cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout. The external walls of the main building are finished in painted ruled-and-lined render, while the rear return is roughcast render over red brick.

The windows are 6-over-6 timber-framed sliding sash, though they are only partially glazed and are in poor condition. The principal elevation faces north and has two openings across the upper floors. At ground floor level, a timber-sheeted door to the left gives access to a passage leading to the rear yard. To the right of centre is a 20th-century shopfront comprising central double-leaf replacement timber doors with a transom light (now boarded), fluted pilasters, and plate glass windows (also boarded).

The east elevation is abutted by the neighbouring building at No. 32 Bridge Street. The south elevation is almost entirely concealed by vegetative growth. An alleyway runs to the right of the building, with two windows serving the upper floors; to the left is a blind window fitted with metal bars. The west elevation is abutted by No. 28 Bridge Street.

To the rear is an overgrown yard bounded by a concrete block wall with metal railings, beyond which lies the car park of Lisburn Health Centre. The building sits centrally on Bridge Street, with Market Square to the west.

The interior and rear have suffered significant loss of historic fabric and detailing, and the overall character of the building has been further degraded by the addition of the 20th-century shopfront.

Bridge Street has a long history stretching back to the founding of the town. Lisburn — known as Lisnagarvey until the 1660s — was established in the early 17th century when James I granted Sir Fulke Conway the south Antrim manor of Killultagh. Sir Fulke made Lisburn the headquarters of his Killultagh estates and built a timber bridge at the foot of Bridge Street, which is shown on an early map of the town dating from 1640, with buildings lining both sides of the street at that time.

A disastrous fire in 1707 destroyed much of the town, but it was rapidly rebuilt to the same street plan using improved materials — brick replacing timber, and slates and tiles replacing shingles. Oak beams recovered from the nearby No. 34 Bridge Street have been dendrochronologically dated by the School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology at Queen's University Belfast, giving an estimated felling date of around 1710, suggesting these buildings were among the earliest constructed after the fire. The present building at No. 30 appears on Pattison's 1833 map of Lisburn.

In the early 19th century, the south side of Bridge Street was characterised largely by grocers' shops. In Griffith's Valuation, the property is recorded as a "house, small shop and garden" valued at £9, occupied by Joseph McNeight at a rent of £8 per year. At that time the building comprised a shop and kitchen at ground floor level with two rooms above, the top floor being let to lodgers.

In the later 1860s the property was taken over by John Fullerton and its valuation reduced to £6. The landlord was Hugh Seeds, and by the late 1870s an alleyway between Nos. 30 and 32 known as "Seed's Entry" led to a number of small houses at the rear, which remained inhabited into the 1960s.

By 1872 the occupier was George Sharpe, and the valuation was raised to £7 10s in that year — suggesting additions or improvements — with a cellar also noted in connection with the property. George Sharpe ran a fruit shop on the premises and lived there with his wife, son and two daughters, all of whom assisted in the business. Records show that Sharpe also operated a market stall in Market Square, where he had traded for over twenty years. In December 1890 he appeared before the local courts charged with causing an obstruction by leaving his covered stall — measuring eleven feet by three feet — in Market Square from 20 to 29 November 1890. The case was contested on the grounds that stall-holders had occupied the square for over a century, and Sharpe himself had traded there for thirty-seven years. The case was adjourned and subsequently resumed in February 1891, when Sharpe was fined five shillings, or in default one week's imprisonment. Contemporary commentators noted the apparent injustice of the outcome given the length of his established presence.

By 1911 George Sharpe senior had died and the shop was being managed by his son. The valuation was raised to £10 in 1914 and to £13 in 1918, indicating considerable improvements during this period. Following the death of George Sharpe junior, his sister Eleanor J. Sharpe became owner in fee in 1922.