Robert French - Church Street, Ballymena, Co. Antrim

Today we go north to the fine town of Ballymena in Co. Antrim with an image from the Lawrence Collection. There's a fine mixture of transport on display with bicycles, horse transport and motors in the distance! Summer time I am guessing given the awnings out over the shop windows...Thanks in particular today to Vab2009 ( /photos/vab2009/ ) and Niall McAuley ( /photos/gnmcauley/ ) for the investigations into the likely date range and the businesses on Church Street in that period. Included are some of the businesses we can see: John McDowell's Boots and Shoes, John W Johnston's Watchmaker and Jewellers, Matthew Montgomery's Carriage and Motor Works, Henry Compton's Tailor and Drapers, and JH Denham's Hardware and Ironmongery. (The latter whose wares we see prominently displayed, and run per the 1911 census by Margaret Denham ( http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Ballymena__No__2__Urban__In_34_files_/Church_Street/117378/ ) , "hardware and ironmongery")...Photographer: Robert French..Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection ( http://catalogue.nli.ie/Collection/vtls000313414 ) ..Date: ca. 1865-1914 (possibly ca. 1907-1910)..NLI Ref: L_ROY_11241 ( vtls000316546 ) ..You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie ( http://catalogue.nli.ie )