70 Castle Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey terrace house and shop of possible mid 18th century construction with later shop front, renovated 1982 with roof reconstructed, return extended and internal space completely redesigned. The property is set within the mixed terrace on the N side of Castle Street, close to Ballycastle town centre.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces S. Much of the ground floor level (to left and centre) is taken up with the shop front which consists of a large window with recent timber frame, and panelled door to right. The door and window have simple pilaster jambs and over is a simple painted signboard with projecting cornice. To the right of the shop front is a panelled door leading to the house (this was originally the door leading into a passage connecting to the rear. To the first floor are three evenly spaced windows with plain (timber) sash frames. Bevelled base course. The front elevation is rendered and painted.

To the rear there is a large two storey gabled extension which appears to have been extended in recent years. This is plain cement rendered with modern windows. Wedged between the extension and a high boundary wall to E is a long narrow flat roofed section with a (modern) door to the N end. To the N gable of the extension there is a large lean-to shed. Only a small portion of the rear elevation of the main building is exposed (to the far left of the first floor), here there is a sash window, much as front.

The main gabled roof has a relatively steep pitch and is slated (with relatively large slates) to front; to the rear it appears to be covered in an artificial slate. Three Velux windows to front, at least one Velux window to rear (the rear of the roof could not be seen in its entirety). Rendered chimney stack to E with rendered coping and matching octagonal clay pots. The gable roof of the return appears to be covered in artificial ‘slate’ (though the roof could only be seen from a distance); to the W side of the roof there is a tall rendered chimney stack. Metal rw goods front, PVC to rear.

To the rear is a long garden with evidence (on the W wall) of one-time presence of a row of small dwellings.

Historical information

The first valuation of December 1834* records an old (grade ‘1C+’) house of similar dimensions to the present on this site, then occupied by a Dr O’Neill and David Wilson. As the later valuations do not record any major changes to the property (prior to the early 1980s that is) we can assume that the 1834 house is that we see today- albeit in a recently altered form. The building is undoubtedly one of the 127 two storey houses mentioned in the OS Memoirs of 1835, and like many of the properties within Castle Street may date from c.1740-70, when the town assumed much of its present form under improving landlord Hugh Boyd.

The first valuation also tells us that at that point there was a range of small ‘cottiers’’ dwellings in the yard / garden to the rear of the main house ‘let from week to week’. These dwellings are not mentioned in the 1859 valuation, by which time the main house, occupied by a James Kinney, included a ‘shop and parlour below, 2 rooms over and garrets’. Kinney remained in residence until 1872, when he was succeeded by John Whiteford (1872-84), Thomas McMullen (1886-88), William J. Craig (a watchmaker 1888-96) Thomas McMullen (1896-98), Ellen McConaghy (1898-1913), Patrick McAuley (1913-c.1921), James Campbell (c.1921-1955), Charles Campbell (1955-56) and James McKiernan (1956-?c.1975).

In latter years the shop was run as a grocers, but became a hairdressers in 1982 when the property was completely renovation (and the return practically rebuilt).

[*Note on primary sources- Though Ballycastle has its full compliment of valuation books dating back to 1834, the earliest extant valuation plan of the town (indeed the earliest large scale plan) is that dating from 1898. This means that though the first and second valuations (of 1834 and 1859 respectively) present the usual detailed accounts of properties throughout the town, bereft of their contemporary plans it is almost impossible to discover exactly to which buildings the valuers are referring. The writer has circumvented this problem however by adopting the somewhat involved method of reading the records backwards- i.e. taking the more recent (mid 20th century) valuations and tracing each building back from these, using the 1898 map as a marker along the way.]

References- Primary sources
1 ‘Pigot & Co’s City of Dublin and Hibernian Commercial Directory (Manchester 1824)
2 OS Memoirs, Parish of Ramoan, 1831-39, reprinted in ‘Ordnance Survey memoirs of Ireland…’ ed Angelique Day, Patrick McWilliams and Noirin Dobson (Belfast, QUB, 1994), p.92 etc
3 PRONI OS/6/1/8/1 OS map, Co Antrim, sh 8, 1832
4 PRONI VAL/1B/135 First valuation, Ramoan parish, 1834
5 Samuel Lewis, ‘Topographical history of Ireland’ (London, 1837)
6 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1846)
7 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1856)
8 PRONI OS/6/1/8/2 OS map, Co Antrim, sh 8, 1856
9 PRONI VAL/2B/1/28c Second valuation, Ramoan parish, 1859
10 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3a-g Annual valuation revision books, Ballycastle ED, 1864-1921
11 ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1870)
12 PRONI VAL/12E/8/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1898-c.1935
13 PRONI VAL/12E/8/2/1 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, c.1905
14 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5a-c Annual valuation revision books, Ballycastle UD, 1921-31
15 PRONI VAL/3G/6/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1934-50
16 PRONI VAL/3B/1/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD, 1935
17 PRONI VAL/3C/1/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, 1936-57
18 Information supplied by the owner (May 2003)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Two storey terrace house and shop of possible mid 18th century construction with later shop front, renovated 1982 with roof reconstructed, return extended and internal space redesigned. The front elevation -Velux windows notwithstanding- has maintained its traditional appearance and is of value to Castle Street. The building's exhibits style, proportion, and ornamentation of sufficient character to be regarded as special. It is of local historic interest.