Portballintrae Boat House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached single-cell stone boat house, built c.1880. Rectangular on plan facing south onto a stone slipway at the east side of Portballintrae Harbour.

Pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles and tall red brick chimneystack rising from the east side elevation. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Painted coursed rubblestone walling with cement pointing and squared stone quoins.

Gabled front elevation with a segmental-headed opening having rendered surround and sheeted double-leaf timber doors on iron hinges.

Single-segmental-headed window opening to the west side elevation having a red brick surround, iron bars and concrete sill.

Rear gable abutted by a rubblestone lean-to with corrugated iron roof and a single sheeted timber door.

East side elevation as per west side elevation.

Setting
Located at the eastern entrance to the harbour facing onto a rubblestone slipway flanked by rubblestone retaining walls.

Roof Natural slate
RWG Cast-iron
Walling Coursed rubblestone
Windows Boarded up

Historical information

The former Lifeboat House dates from c1885 and is first shown, captioned, on the third edition OS map of 1904. The boathouse replaced a former coast guards’ boat house shown on the second edition of 1855.

A new coastguard station, a row of small cottages to the south of the present building, was constructed in Portballintrae c1875 (HB03/05/005A-C), the sheltered harbour offering an ideal location for an upgraded station (Parkhill & Pollock). Some years after the new station was erected, the old boat house was replaced but this event is only tangentially referred to in valuation records which note the ‘site of boat house’ in 1886. The boathouse should have been valued but was mistakenly omitted from records until the sale of the coastguard station and associated buildings by the Admiralty in 1912.

The coastguard station and boathouse were purchased by James McNeill and in 1913 the boat house was valued for the first time at £1.15s. McNeill sold the coastguard cottages and the boathouse to Margaretta McMullen c1920 and valuer’s notes of the 1930s record that the ‘boat house’ was being let in the summer months as a holiday home comprising a kitchen and two bedrooms. An attached plan shows that the lean-to privy (still present) to the north had been added by this time and the chimney and two windows (since bricked up) can be assumed to date from this period.

Interior access was not obtained but field inspection suggests that the building has reverted to use as a boat house.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/3/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1855
2. PRONI OS/6/1/3/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1904
3. PRONI OS/6/1/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1921
4. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/57 Valuer’s Notes 1913
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2A-E – Annual Revisions 1859-1895
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/21A-B – Annual Revisions 1896-1921
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/13A – Annual Revisions 1923-1929
8. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/14 First General Revaluation (1933-57)
9. PRONI VAL/3/D/1/8/L/5 First General Revaluation (1933-57)

Secondary Sources

1. Girvan, W., ‘North Antrim: Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in North Antrim including towns of Portrush, Ballymoney and Bushmills’ Belfast, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.
2. Parkhill, W; Pollock, T., ‘Coleraine & the causeway coast’ London: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance

Evaluation

Detached single-cell stone boat house, built c.1880, facing south onto a stone slipway at the east side of Portballintrae Harbour. A relatively rare stone structure which replaced an earlier boat house was constructed some years after the listed coastguard cottages (HB03.05.005A - C) but has group value with them. An important little changed maritime structure located in a good setting beside the harbour.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance also apply.