Fisherman's House, Carrick-a-Rede, Ballintoy, Ballycastle, Co antrim

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached single-storey rendered and limewashed former fisherman’s house and store, built c.1830, on sloped south-east side of Carrickarade Island, accessed solely via Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (IHR 03740) (owned by the National Trust). Stepped path provides access to former dwelling which overlooks bay and north coast of mainland; formerly used as a fishery with machinery reflective of this use in situ at front (east) on cliff edge, now occasionally used by the National Trust for educational purposes.

Roofing is replacement pitched natural slate with angled ridge tiles and masonry coping. No rainwater goods. Single rendered chimneystack to west gable wall. Walling is limewashed render over rubble and brick with tar-covered plinth course. Replacement timber window frames, doors and door frames, all covered in tar to provide protection from coastal weather.

Asymmetrical principal elevation faces east. Single four-paned fixed timber casement window to left side with timber lintel above and masonry sill. Two square-headed door openings with sheeted timber doors to centre over granite step.

South elevation has limewashed render walling. Not accessible due to fencing and proximity to cliff edge.

Rear (west) elevation entirely abuts modern concrete walling up to eaves.

North elevation partially abuts slope of island and stepped concrete path. Visible walling has limewashed render with single four-paned fixed timber casement window at apex of gable.

Setting:
Modern corrugated outbuilding located to rear of dwelling atop concrete platform. Remnants of former rubble and brick structure to north east. Mixture of original and replica fishery equipment including anchors and winch crane (technically called a ‘derrick’) to front. Located on sloped south-east side of Carrickarade Island, accessed solely via Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge with cliff edge to east and south. The ice-house (MRA002:013), which served Carrick-a-rade salmon fishery is a scheduled monument located approximately 500m south on the mainland.

Materials:
Roof: Natural slate (replacement)
Walling: Limewashed render over rubble and brick
Windows: Timber (replacement)
RWG: N/A

Historical information

Accessed via the famous Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, Carrickarade Island is thought to have been used by salmon fishermen for around 400 years. From the Irish Carraig a' Ráid, meaning "rock of the casting" or “rock in the road”, the island is located off the north coast of Northern Ireland, thus proving an ideal, if not precarious spot for fishermen seeking to catch salmon returning to spawn in the Bush and Bann rivers. Described as “one of the lions” of the north coast in the Ordnance Survey memoir for the parish of Ballintoy, the rope bridge was once a treacherous crossing point connecting the island to the mainland. Although Atlantic salmon has been fished at Carrick-a-Rede and Larrybane since 1620, it was supposedly Alexander Stewart, the last in a 200-year line of the Stewarts on the north Antrim coast, who provided the means to make the crossing c.1755 to reduce reliance on a boat to reach the island.

Historical maps attest to the existence of a fishery on the island going back to the OSNI Historical First Edition (1832), and likely around a century before. Labelled ‘Fishery’, there was one singular dwelling on the island which has been there ever since, as shown on all subsequent OS maps.

In the 19th century more than 80 fishers, 21 salmon fishers and 10 fish carriers were working in the parish of Ballintoy. It is presumed that the island and fishery dwelling were in continuous use by the workers tending the fishery up to 2002 when the last occupant of the dwelling, Achi Colgan, ceased work and left Carrickarade. According to an article from the Northern Whig in 1927, the fishermen and clerk occupied the cottage only during the summer months, with the men doing the fishing while women and boys carried the catch across the bridge. In the 1960s, almost 300 fish were caught each day, but by 2002, the same number was being caught over the whole season due to number depletion provoked by water pollution. The Salmon Fishery and dwelling are some of the few surviving pieces of a once thriving industry in that part of the province.

The National Trust started managing the rock-island in 1967 and the site continues to flourish as a major tourist destination. Although the house was left in disuse for a number of years following Achi Colgan’s departure, it was refurbished in 2011 by a partnership between the National Trust and DARD/North East Region (NER) Local Action Group, with funding from the EU Rural Development programme. It was then reopened in 2012 with presentations and stories of the history surrounding the salmon fishing activities of the island’s former occupants.

Views of Rathlin Island and Scotland can be enjoyed from Carrickarade, and the site and surrounding area is designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest due to its unique geology, flora, and fauna. Underneath there are large caves, which once served as home for boat builders and as shelter during stormy weather.

References:

Primary sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/4/1 Ordnance Survey County Series First Edition map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/4/2 Ordnance Survey County Series Second Edition map (1855)

Secondary sources:
1. Anna Groves, Larrybane and Carrick-a-Rede (National Trust, 2016)

Online sources
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrick-a-Rede_Rope_Bridge [accessed19/12/19]
2. http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=15416 [accessed19/12/19]
3. https://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/25611 [accessed19/12/19]
4. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/carrick-a-rede/features/fishing-heritage-preserved-at-carrick-a-rede [accessed19/12/19]
5. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/carrick-a-rede/features/history-at-carrick-a-rede [accessed19/12/19]
6. Northern Whig, Monday 21 November 1927, p.5:
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001542/19271121/094/0005 [accessed 09/03/20]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
Z. Rarity
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

Although rudimentary in construction, the former salmon fisherman’s dwelling (c.1830s) located on Carrickarade Island, east of Ballintoy, Co Antrim, is reflective of an important industrial and cultural tradition along the north coast. Its basic plan-form perfectly fulfilled the purpose of providing a space for workers to work and shelter, with further accommodation to store equipment. While some exterior historic fabric has been replaced, this is sympathetic and appropriate. The setting is of special note; the former dwelling is accessed solely via Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (IHR 03740) and is perched on the cliff edge with spectacular views over the bay and along the rugged north coast. Although this is not the original dwelling on the site, it has however existed on site since the 1830s. The associated ice-house (MRA002:013) is a scheduled monument located approximately 500m south on the mainland. Comparatively, this former fisherman’s dwelling was not alone in the north coast’s salmon fishing industry; another at Kinbane (IHR 0373:001), for example, was in use for the same purpose but has not survived to the same degree. The special interest of this rare surviving example is augmented by its setting; the rope bridge and the fisherman’s house are inextricably linked, contributing to social, cultural and economic importance within the context of Northern Ireland.