County: Antrim Site name: 65 Main Street, Clogher North, Bushmills
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/2023/097
Author: Stephen Gilmore / NAC Ltd
Site type: Listed building
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 635975m, N 833888m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.252564, -7.447950
The archaeological watching brief was undertaken from 29 September 2023 to 12 October 2023 at 65 Main Street, Bushmills, County Antrim.
The site is located in the south-western corner of the town square and was a derelict listed building (HB05/08/054 Grade B2). The renovation involved demolition of the unstable portions of the building, clearing of the interior and excavation of the foundations of a new extension at the rear. In total these foundations measured less than 15m.
The building was constructed mostly using rubble stone with brick details and interior walls. It had a slate roof and had a rendered and pebble-dashed facing at the front. Much of the interior had collapsed and the rear wall and return were very unstable. Bricks used within the main body of the building were locally hand made and were consistent with the presupposed early to mid-19th-century date of construction. Those used elsewhere in the building were late 19th-century machine-made and point to work being carried out at that time.
No archaeological material of any sort, other than the building fabric and foundations, was uncovered within the investigation area.
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