Hickey's

Corner-sited four-bay three-storey house and retail outlet, built 1921, having canted single-bay entrance bay to south-east corner and wrap around render shopfront. Hipped slate roof with render ridge cresting having wrought-iron finial, red brick and rendered chimneystacks. Moulded rendered eaves course surmounted by rendered parapet wall, having metal clad coping, concealed rainwater goods and cast-iron down pipes. Flemish bond red brick walls having channelled render pilasters. Cast-iron street sign to side (east) elevation. Diminishing square-headed window openings with render sills throughout, having red-brick voussoirs, timber-framed bipartite windows with timber colonette mullions and one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows. Wrap around render shopfront comprising panelled pilasters, architrave, frieze and cornice with splayed porch to entrance bay. Square-headed window openings having fixed timber-framed display windows over panelled rendered stall risers. Square-headed door openings to entrance bay and side (south) elevation. Double-leaf glazed timber doors surmounted by multiple-pane overlight to entrance bay flanked by bowed sidelights having tiled approach. Timber panelled door to side (south) elevation surmounted by multiple-pane overlight.

A fine building occupying a prominent corner site. It is associated with the Hickey family, a prominent Bandon family who owned many public houses, a bottling store for whiskey, a bicycle factory and ran the Gas Works until 1920. Built by the British Army in 1921, the earlier building on the site was burnt by the Black and Tans in October 1920. It was apparently one of the first buildings with gas lighting. Its early twentieth century design contrasts with the nineteenth century character of the buildings in the town centre, and is a delightfully colour addition to the streetscape.