64-66 Castle Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively plain two storey terrace shop –originally a house- of possible mid to later 18th century construction, now with modern shop front and extremely large 1950s gabled extension to rear. The property is set on the N side of Castle Street, close to Ballycastle town centre.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces S. To the centre / right is a large shop front which consists of a central partly glazed door with fanlight flanked by large single pane square windows with roller shutters over. Over all of this a traditional painted signboard. To left is a broad doorway with timber double door. To the first floor are three evenly spaced windows with plain sash frames; between the first and second window is a recent projecting metal signboard, whilst between the second and third is a neon Christmas decoration. The front elevation is finished in painted render.

The rear of the building is completely covered by an extremely large two storey gabled extension, added in the 1950s and originally used as a dance hall.

The gabled roof is slated to front at least (the rear of the roof could not be seen) and has two ‘flat’-roofed dormers with relatively recent casement windows and what appear to be painted timber sides. Rendered chimney stack to E. Metal rw goods to front.

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 Neil McNeill, Miss Hill and John Sharpe. As the later valuations do not record any major changes to the property (excluding internal changes) we can assume that the 1834 house is that we see today. The building is may have 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.

By 1859 the building had been split into two properties, that to east (no.66) slightly larger with a ‘shop and room off, 2 rooms over and garret- return two rooms’, that to west (no.64) with ‘shop and kitchen below, 2 rooms over and garret’, with the former occupied by a James Taylor and the latter by Jane Adams. Jane Adams was followed by a long line of tenants including John Lally (1865-74), Mary McCambridge (1874-76), James McMullen (1876), Mary McCoy (1879-80), Henry McAuley (1880-81), James Taylor (1881-92), John Bonar (1892-1902), Samuel McCausland (1902-21), Elizabeth McCaughan (1921-22), Thomas McFadden (1922-26), Rose McFadden (1926-?31), Charles McGoldrick (?c.1931-37), John Morton (1937-39) and Francis Coyles (1941-52), whilst James Taylor at no.66 was followed by Denis McAuley (1881-1906), Samuel McCausland (1906-15), James Doherty (1915-c.1921), and Elizabeth McCaughan (c.1922-52).

In 1952 both properties were acquired by a John Wilson who re-united them again as a restaurant, building the large rear extension as a dance hall. Wilson remained there until 1961, when the property was acquired by the present owner, who converted the restaurant to a shop. The shop was later integrated with the property to the east (no.68).

According to the present owner, one of the former occupants, (a Mr Chambers- ?the father of former leaseholder Elizabeth McCaughan), is buried in the rear yard!

[*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

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Relatively plain two storey terrace shop –originally a house- of possible mid to later 18th century construction, now with modern shop front and extremely large 1950s gabled extension to rear. A much altered property but still of value as part of the streetscape.