Church Street Coleraine, South Side, 1900s [Nos. 11-18 on Griffith's Map]
The building beside the man and the lady with the hat is at the corner of Society Street and Kingsgate Street, is now occupied by Starbucks Coffee, but is still known by many locals as Fairley's corner. The bottom right-hand corner of this photograph shows [No. 11] and a glimpse of [No. 8]. [Nos. 9 & 10], which were much lower than [Nos. 8 & 11] and slightly inset as shown in the previous photo, are hidden from view. [No. 11] had been rebuilt around 1863 and was divided into [Nos. 11 & 11a]. No. 11 was occupied by John Caldwell in 1906. He was listed in the 1911 Census Returns as a Wallpaper, Paint & Glass Merchant. No. 11a was occupied by W. A. Hughes (Butcher) in 1905, then by the McGrath Bros. (Butchers) in 1907. By the early 1930s [Nos. 11 & 11a] had been taken over by Woolworths. They later took over [No.10] and as I write this today, 10th January 2009, Woolworths has just closed down after some eighty years of trading in Coleraine.[No. 12] sees an increase in the height of the buildings in the street. It had been occupied since 1877 by Wm. J. Baxter (Chemist, etc.). [No. 13] was being rebuilt at the time of the 1859 Valuation. Again we see an increase in the height of the buildings. Various people held the ground and upper floors between 1865 and 1921. For example, in 1889 the upper floors were held by Coleraine YMCA. From 1902 the ground floor was held by Wm. J. McKenney (Grain & Flour Merchant) who lived on the Lodge Road. In 1921 Wm. J. Baxter took over the entire building. He was replaced c.1924 by Richard McDermott (Grocer). By 1930 Dixon & Co. (Tailors) had moved in from Railway Road. The firm is still trading there today. [No. 14], which along with [No. 15] was rebuilt around 1870, had been occupied by J. B. Stewart (Boot, Shoe & Leather Warehouse) since 1883. The Census Returns show that he was living here in 1901. The 1911 Census Returns show that he had retired to Lodge Road. Johnston & Armstrong (Drapers) were listed as living here in the 1911 Census Returns. They also occupied [No. 15] from this date. [No. 15] had been occupied by James Reynolds (Draper) from 1883. The Census Returns show that he was living here in 1901. The 1911 Census Returns show that he had retired to Lodge Road where he was living with his brother-in-law J. B. Stewart. The shop was taken over along with [No. 14] by Johnston & Armstrong (Drapers). Both shops were taken over by R. McIntosh & Co. in 1952. Today this building is occupied by the Woolwich, now Barclay's Bank. [No. 16] was rebuilt around 1870 and was divided into [Nos. 16 & 16a]. The first occupant of the new [No. 16] was John H. Woods (Grocer) and the first occupant of the new [No. 16a] was Thomas Collins (Bookseller, Stationer, & Fancy Warehouseman). By 1884 the Woods family occupied both [Nos. 16 & 16a]. [No. 16a] became the well known Miss Woods (Newsagents) which is now part of Easons today. [No. 16] remained in the hands of the Woods' family until 1927 when it was taken over by Richard W. Scott (Grocer). By the 1940s it was in the hands of H. W. G. Weir (Grocer). By the 1960s it was the Scotch wool House. Today it is part of Easons. [No. 17], which was of a similar height to [No. 11], was the wine store of Anderson & Stewart. Hugh Anderson, who lived at Tieve Tara on the Castlerock Road, died in 1899. John Stewart lived on the Lodge Road and was listed in both the 1901 Census Returns. His widow was listed in the 1911 Census Returns. The wine store was still there in the 1960s. Today it is Barratt's Shoe Shop.[No. 18] was in the hands of Mary Milliken (Publican) and John Blair (Greengrocer) in 1901, but they lived elsewhere. [Click here - for a photo of this shop which will open in a separate window.] |
