14 Bridge St., Rostrevor, Co.Down

14 Bridge Street, Rostrevor, County Down

This two-storey terraced building with two ground floor shopfronts was constructed around 1850, with the architect unknown. It sits on the north-east side of Bridge Street within the Rostrevor Conservation Area, forming part of a coherent terrace of shops with dwellings above, between No. 12 Bridge Street (the former Post Office) to the north-west and No. 16 Bridge Street to the south-east. The street runs from Rostrevor Square at its north-west end down to a triple-span bridge over the Rostrevor River at its south-east end. Although the building has been modified over time, it retains historic fabric and character and contributes importantly to the character of the conservation area.

The building has a rectangular plan form facing south-west, with a full-width, mono-pitched single-storey rear return to the north-east and a series of later extensions beyond. It is currently divided into two shops: a family butcher (Curran's) to the north-west and a delicatessen (Rooney's) to the south-east.

The roof is finished in fibre cement tiles with black clay ridge tiles. Eaves project with a cast iron rainwater system to the front elevation, comprising half-round guttering discharging to a polygonal hopper and a circular-section downpipe.

Principal (south-west) elevation

The main elevation faces south-west directly onto the public footpath along Bridge Street. At ground floor level there are two modern shopfronts. At first floor level, three square-headed timber casement windows each have two top-hung night vents over four fixed panes. The walling is painted lined cement render throughout.

Curran's shopfront to the north-west is timber-framed, with a two-panelled painted timber door to its south-east side — the upper half glazed — and a single rectangular shop window to the north-west with smaller top-hung night vents. The painted moulded timber signboard has a modern uPVC finish.

Rooney's shopfront to the south-east has a painted metal frame. It consists of a painted metal glazed double-leaf door to the north-west with a square-headed glazed fanlight above, and a large rectangular window to the south-east with a plain panel below the cill. Both the sign and the retractable awning are modern.

North-east (rear) elevation

The rear elevation is only partially visible. Where seen, it shows the full-width mono-pitched single-storey rear return to the two-storey original block, with further extensions attached beyond. Curran's shop has an L-plan extension to the north-east of the mono-pitched rear return, with a corrugated tin outbuilding beyond. Rooney's shop has a long rectangular extension running from the mono-pitched rear return along the south-east site boundary to the north-east, with a mono-pitched corrugated fibre cement roof, painted sheeted timber walling, and a similar timber door at its north-east end. Beyond this extension there is a covered area of paved yard and a series of similar timber outbuildings. The rear yard is laid to lawn and has a mono-pitched timber-framed outbuilding to the north-east with a corrugated Perspex roof and Perspex walling. The north-west side of the yard is bounded by a modern block wall topped by wire security fencing.

Materials

The roof is fibre cement. Rainwater goods are cast iron to the south-west elevation and uPVC to the north-east. Walling is rendered and painted. Windows to the south-west elevation are timber casement.

Historical background

The Rostrevor Conservation Area Guide records that in 1752 the village consisted of only a few cottages, but that by the early 19th century it had developed its present form, with a tree-lined square and a quay half a mile distant. Bridge Street — originally known as Post Office Street — was fully developed by the turn of the 19th century, with many of its current buildings already constructed. Population growth continued steadily throughout the century, coinciding with the arrival of the tramway from Warrenpoint in 1875 and the construction of the Rostrevor Hotel the following year.

A building on the site of Nos. 14–16 Bridge Street was recorded on the Townland Valuation Town Plan of around 1834, depicted as a simple rectangular structure with an outbuilding to the rear. The accompanying Townland Valuations of 1838 set its total rateable value at £7 and 8 shillings. This earlier structure is unlikely to be the present building, as it did not possess the same dimensions as the current buildings; it appears to have been replaced by two smaller buildings around 1850.

Griffith's Valuation of 1861 recorded the rateable value of No. 14 at £7 and noted that the building was initially leased to a Mr Owen Feran by the Ross family of Bladensburg House. Occupants changed frequently over the following four decades, and by the turn of the 20th century the building was occupied by Charlotte Malcolm, a local hat maker operating a shop from the premises. The 1901 Census of Ireland described it as a second-class shop and dwelling with a piggery and a turf house as its sole rear outbuildings. Post Office Street was renamed Bridge Street in the first decade of the 20th century.

Around 1907, No. 14 was occupied by James Irwin, a local grocer who remained at the address until the 1940s. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936–57) records that the building had by then been subdivided into two separate properties: a ground floor shop valued at £11 and 10 shillings, and a private dwelling occupying the remainder valued at £9, both continuing to be leased by the Ross family of Bladensburg. In 1959 ownership of both properties passed to David Linden, a local caretaker. By the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956–72), the combined rateable value stood at £21 and 10 shillings, with both properties occupied by Edward Sheery, a local artist who operated a gallery from the premises. The second ground floor shopfront had been installed by at least 1969, when it was first recorded in the First Survey Record. No. 14 Bridge Street was included within the Rostrevor Conservation Area in 1979 and was subsequently listed in 1981.