Market Yard, 2 Station Road, Larne, Co Antrim, BT40 3AA

Market Yard, 2 Station Road, Larne, County Antrim

This is an early Victorian market complex of handsome proportions, dating to the early 1850s and attributable to Charles Lanyon, County Surveyor for Antrim and an important local architect. It includes a house, flanking wings, open colonnaded sheds, boundary walls, gateways and a rectangular market yard. The complex has been added to over the years but retains much of its original appearance and fabric, and represents an uncommon example of an essentially Victorian working market complex that remains in active use. The listing covers the house, wings, gate piers and boundary walls, gates to the front entrances, the market yard and its sheds, but excludes the garages and sheds at the north-west corner.

Historical background

The precise date of erection is not recorded. The complex appears for the first time on the Ordnance Survey map of 1857, though a reference to "an excellent market" appears in the Belfast and Ulster Directory for 1854, suggesting an origin in the early 1850s. A date of 1864 given in the 1892 directory as the date of formation of the market may relate to the completion of a later stage of development — possibly a shed shown on the 1893 Ordnance Survey map in the north-east corner, now gone — and is clearly not the date of the original foundation. Stylistically, the house with its wings and the open colonnaded sheds to the south, including the central office projection, boundary walls and three gateways (all present on the 1857 map), appear to be the work of Charles Lanyon, and can be dated to the early 1850s. The open shed to the east does not appear until the 1921 Ordnance Survey map and so dates from the later 1890s or early 1900s. The open shed to the west does not appear until the Ordnance Survey map of the 1960s but was probably erected in the inter-war period. The 1893 Ordnance Survey map indicated a trough projecting from the street-front elevation of the east wing of the house, now gone. A track formerly ran from the south sheds out through the adjacent gateway to a turntable lying to the east of the market yard; this too has disappeared. Old photographs held by the Larne Historical Society show that the house was originally built of unrendered brick with stone dressings.

The house

The house is a two-storey, three-bay building in the Italianate style with a hipped roof and single-storey hipped wings to each side. The main entrance faces north.

The entrance front is three windows wide at first-floor level, with segmental-headed timber sliding sash windows, vertically hung, two over two panes with horns and horizontal glazing bars, set in smooth cement-rendered surrounds with painted sandstone cills. At ground floor, the windows are coupled and semi-circular headed, with timber sliding sashes matching those above; surrounds and cills are similarly treated. One pair of windows sits to each side of a central round-headed doorway containing the original vertical rectangular four-panel door with a plain fanlight of translucent glass. The walls are dry-dashed with pebbles. Smooth cement-rendered string courses run at cill level at both floors, and there are vertical rendered strips at the outer corners — these are not original features. The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with two centrally placed chimneys in red brick with a yellow brick dentil cornice. Cast iron guttering is fitted.

The rear elevation is also two storeys and three bays, with a hipped roof matching the front. The wall is rendered in the same dry-dash finish as the entrance front, with smooth cement-rendered vertical strips at the corners and similar string courses at cill level to both floors. Three first-floor windows match those on the entrance front, except that they have no rendered surrounds and the right-hand window is sashed one over one. Ground-floor windows are similar to the entrance front but without rendered surrounds. The central doorway is rectangular, fitted with a later replacement flush timber door with a glazed wired-glass panel and a modern chromium handle. Across the rear facade are small flower beds on each side of a modern iron-framed gate with similar railings and chicken wire infill. A PVC gutter runs along the rear. Both the east and west side elevations are two-storey blank walls rendered in dry-dash stone chippings, each with a hipped roof; the east elevation has a PVC gutter and a cast iron downpipe partially repaired, while the west has a PVC downpipe. Both side elevations are abutted at ground-floor level by the single-storey wings.

The wings

The wings to each side are set back slightly from the main block. Their walls are of basalt rubble and are otherwise blank, apart from a small window in the east wing — a later insertion with a four-pane metal bottom-hung casement in a timber subframe, with cement and brick jambs. The outlet for the original trough is still visible in the wall to the left of this small window. The roofs are finished similarly to the main house.

The west wing takes the form of a four-bay open-colonnaded shed with five circular cast iron columns — four across the south side and one to the north side — with shaped timber brackets and chamfered beams above. The extreme left-hand column on the south side is enclosed to the front and sides by timber boarding. The roof is hipped and slated to match the main house, with red terracotta ridge tiles, an iron upstand at the end of the angled ridge, a wooden fascia at the eaves, and PVC gutter and downpipe. The west wall of the wing is tongued-and-grooved sheeted, with four fixed-light windows across the front of the supporting columns, with PVC gutter and downpipe. Inside, the back wall is of whitened basalt; the enclosed gable of the house is of white-painted brickwork; the ceiling is sheeted in painted plywood panelling and the floor is concrete. A timber stud-walled room containing sinks, fitted with a flush door, has been added in the right-hand corner — a poor-quality addition.

The east wing is similar in roof form but with closed walls. Its south elevation runs from left to right as follows: a small lean-to projection in the angle with the house, a later poor-quality addition, with a cement-rendered wall containing a modern fixed-light timber window with a side-hung casement to each side, PVC gutter, PVC downpipe, and a roof of asbestos slates. To the right, set back, is a cement-rendered wall with a flush glazed door; to the right of that, horizontal timber boarding containing two ledged timber doors and one metal garage door, with a timber fascia and cast iron gutter. The flush door leads into the kitchen extension of the house. The first ledged door leads to a coal house, where the left-hand wall is red brick, the right-hand wall is timber boards, and an original cast iron column with part of its shaped bracket remains near the door; the floor is of red brick. The second ledged door and the garage door beyond lead into a garage and workshop in poor repair, created within what was originally an open shed, with an original cast iron column still in position. The east elevation of the wing is clad in broad vertical timber boarding partially covered in steel sheeting, with PVC gutter and cast iron downpipe.

The gateways and boundary walls

Extending to each side from the wings are twin gateways with square piers of regularly coursed sandstone surmounted by concrete capstones — the easternmost pier of the eastern gateway is missing its capstone. Both gateways have similar wrought iron double gates with spike finials arranged in two tiers.

Extending beyond each gateway, the front boundary walling is of coursed basalt rubble, returning at its ends to the east and west boundaries. The east end has a sandstone coping; the west end has an inappropriate later painted fascia.

The exterior face of the boundary wall to the east is plain basalt rubble with a weathered sandstone coping. At the left-hand end, the wall is raised to form one end of the toilet block, with a timber fascia and PVC gutter. To the right of that is a gateway with a pair of square basalt piers with weathered sandstone capstones, now closed by corrugated iron. In the centre section, the wall coping is of concrete along the extent of the east shelter behind; above this the shelter wall is red brick, with a timber fascia and cast iron rainwater goods; the shelter roof beyond is of corrugated asbestos sheets.

The exterior of the south boundary wall is of basalt rubble in rough courses. A long section to the left is surmounted by a cement coping on which iron angle posts support wire fencing, with a corrugated asbestos shelter roof behind. The long section to the right has a timber fascia with PVC gutter and a slated shelter roof behind. Near the right-hand end is a small rectangular window with firebrick jambs, a cement-rendered cill, a concrete lintel, and a four-pane bottom-hung iron casement in a timber subframe. Abutting the wall to the right of this window is a new rustic brick screen wall forming part of an entrance screen to a modern housing development to the south of the market yard.

The exterior face of the west boundary wall is of firebrick with a rough cement coping, above which is PVC guttering and a corrugated asbestos roof to the west shelter. The ground level outside is raised and partly obscures the lower basalt courses beneath the red firebricks.

The market yard sheds

East shed

The shed on the east side of the yard is open-sided and built against the boundary wall. It is gabled with a segmental roof profile carried on six Belfast trusses of the McTear type, with a rise of approximately 1.8 metres. The trusses are supported at the east end on the raised basalt boundary wall — later rendered on the inside and raised by some courses of brickwork — and at the west and along the central axis on circular cast iron columns, most of which have octagonal flanges at the top. The roof is of corrugated asbestos sheets, with two triangular gabled rooflights of corrugated perspex, which are later replacements. The end trusses are clad in tongued-and-grooved timber boarding; there is a timber fascia to the west side with cast iron gutter and downpipe. No manufacturer's marks are visible on any of the trusses. The shed measures approximately 13.8 metres by 11.4 metres.

Inside the east shed is a low flat-roofed office of poor overall quality, partially clad in steel sheeting, with two small two-light windows and one ledged timber door with steel sheeting on the exterior. The interior contains ornamentally treated cast iron weighbridge scales. Set into the ground outside is a cast iron weighbridge inscribed "H. Pooley & Son Ltd, Liverpool and Glasgow". Animal pens occupy part of the shed and extend beyond it to the north; these have iron posts with rounded tops and circular-section rails, supplemented by later Kee Klamp additions.

South shelter

A hipped-roof single-storey shelter runs along the south boundary wall, with a gabled block projecting northwards at the centre.

At the left-hand end of the shelter is a red brick toilet block, a later insertion, cement-rendered to half the window height. From left to right it contains: a ledged timber door partially covered in iron sheet, set in a flat brick arch; a timber sliding sash window, vertically hung, two over two panes, with the lower sash obscured; a rectangular doorway fitted with a smaller modern hinged three-quarter door open at top and bottom, set in a timber frame with a similar arched head to the window; another similarly obscured window. The interior walls are faced with white glazed tiles and the internal doors are four-panel timber. The west end of the toilet block has brickwork painted above a later render; in the right-hand corner is an open doorway to a toilet.

The open shelter to the left of the central block is carried on circular-section cast iron posts with square bases bolted to original stone padstones of sandstone and schist. The capitals are of bell form with square plates on top carrying shaped timber brackets with a chamfered timber beam above. There is a wooden fascia, cast iron gutter and downpipe, and a roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. The colonnade is partially closed by cast iron gates and rails that appear to be original, with new Kee Klamp railings and cement-rendered concrete walling, all to mid-height. The ceiling inside is of later chipboard panels in poor condition.

To the right of the central block, the shelter continues with the same colonnading, partially closed by later flat-iron gates clamped around columns and later circular railings. The ground is finished in concrete and no original padstones are visible here. There is a PVC gutter, cast iron downpipe, and a roof of corrugated asbestos sheets on open timber trusses consisting of principal rafters, tie beam and braces. The back wall of the shelter is of painted basalt rubble with the lower portion later cement-rendered. At the right-hand end, painted brick walling — rendered at the lower part — runs up to the bottom of the trusses, with a room beyond; the gable end is of modern concrete block above rendered stonework.

The central block projecting northwards from the south shelter has a hipped roof to the rear and a gabled front, covered in Bangor blue slates in regular courses. To the west side there is an open roof vent fitted with later corrugated perspex, and a larger dormer-like construction projecting from the roof with tongued-and-grooved cheeks and a ledged front access panel. Cast iron columns around three sides are detailed as in the south shelter, but the open colonnade is confined to the north-east corner; the remainder is closed in with later tongued-and-grooved sheeting partially clad in thin steel sheets, wooden boarding similarly clad to the west side, and timber boarding to the east side with a later lean-to addition of rendered concrete wall and corrugated asbestos roof. The north gable is clad in timber boards with curved ends; the right-hand portion below is filled with tongued-and-grooved horizontal wooden cladding containing a ten-pane wooden window of fixed lights with one opening hatch. In the apex of the gable is a gabled canopy with a cusped and trefoil-fretted front, surmounting a bell; the canopy roof is of asbestos slates with a tongued-and-grooved underside. The iron bell on its iron mount, with rope pull, is fully functioning and still used to signal the start of the market. The ground around and within the enclosed colonnade area is finished in concrete, with column bases buried in the concrete except for two on the east side. Across the front of the north gable is a large iron weighbridge inscribed on two panels: "S. Parsons & Co Ltd, Makers, Bradford. To weigh 20 tons", with a ramped cobbled approach to each side.

Looking into the interior of the block from the north, open timber Queen post trusses are visible above the flat roofs of later insertions within the original shelter. These insertions include a tongued-and-grooved sheeted office raised above ground level on concrete block and brick base walls, partially enclosing the bottom of the trusses. The ceiling area is closed off with chipboard sheets in rotting condition at the north end. The front office has tongued-and-grooved sheeted walls and ceiling. The main office to the south has tongued-and-grooved sheeting to the walls and a panelled ceiling. Behind the main office is the sale ring, approached by a ledged door facing north within the open colonnade, with access for animals from the pens on the east side through a modern steel-framed passageway containing a weighbridge. The sale ring interior has three open Queen post trusses with two rooflights above; the walls are timber-boarded on timber studding; the floor is concrete; and at the centre is a pen with a low concrete bounding wall surrounded by modern Kee Klamp railings, with two rows of crudely constructed timber seating around the perimeter.

West shed

The shed on the west side is a long colonnaded twelve-bay structure in two compartments, a later addition probably from the inter-war period. It measures approximately 44 metres by 10.2 metres. Thirteen circular-section cast iron columns with circular flanged tops carry thirteen Belfast trusses of the Anderson type, with a rise of approximately 1.6 metres, supported at the opposite end of the span by the west boundary wall of roughly coursed basalt rubble raised in height by painted brickwork with brick piers. No manufacturer's marks are visible on any of the trusses. The south gable is smooth cement-rendered on its outer face with tongued-and-grooved sheeting cladding the end truss. A party wall in red brick, partially painted, runs between the third and fourth bays from the south end up to the underside of the truss. The north end is mainly open, partially closed by a smooth rendered concrete block wall, with tongued-and-grooved sheeting cladding the end truss. Fluorescent lights are fitted to the interior. At the fifth truss from the north end, set in the east boundary wall, is a semi-circular brick-arched recess with a brick back and cill; this appears originally to have been a fountain, probably from the original foundation of the market yard, though no trough remains; the brickwork is all painted. The floor throughout is concrete.

At the left-hand end of the west shed, a lean-to roof of corrugated iron and asbestos covers the area linking with the south shelter. At the right-hand end are two later single-storey sheds with rendered, lined and blocked walls, ledged double doors, PVC guttering, and low-pitched corrugated perspex roofs, together with a further two garages in the same walling but with a pitched corrugated asbestos roof and four corrugated perspex rooflights and iron sheet covering to the ridges.

The inner faces of the boundary walling to the north and east are smooth cement-rendered.

Setting

The market yard stands within the built-up area of the town on the angle of two roads, with the associated house and flanking gateways facing directly onto the street. On one side it is adjoined by a Victorian public house and a terrace of Victorian houses; to the rear it adjoins a development of modern houses.