62 Castle Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Plain, traditional style three storey shop / house of possible mid to later 18th century construction, renovated c.1882 when present shop front and window frames were probably added. The property is set on the N side of Castle Street, Close to Ballycastle town centre.

The symmetrical front elevation faces S. To the ground floor is a traditional 19th century shop front with central panelled double door flanked by two large windows (with recent single-pane glazing), rendered stall-risers, reeded timber pilaster jambs with simple capitals and painted timber signboard with projecting cornice. Traditional timber shutters placed over windows when shop is shut. To the first floor are three (roughly) evenly spaced windows with sash frames (2/2- vertical glazing bars). To the second floor are three similar, but much shorter windows. The front elevation is finished in painted lined render. Projecting street land to left at second floor level (no doubt installed as part of CA scheme).

The E gable is exposed at second floor level. The gable is cement rendered with a very small sash window to left and to right (both 2/2- vertical glazing bars).

To the right hand side at the rear there is a narrow and relatively shallow two storey lean-to painted brick. This may have been added in c.1882 when sources suggest the property underwent major renovation, however, (especially as it contains a bathroom), it may well be early 20th century. To ground floor of there is a window with sash frame (4/2- Vertical and horizontal glazing bars). To right of this window there extends a tall rubble wall which encloses the rear yard. To the first floor of the N face there is a sash window (1/2- vertical glazing bar). To the ground floor level of the W face there is a panelled and glazed door. The rear façade of the main building (left of the lean-to), could not be seen from the outside, however internal evidence suggests there is a window to each floor, with that to the second floor much shorter. This portion of the façade appears to be cement rendered.

The gabled roof is slated. Rendered chimney stack to E. Metal rw goods to front. Metal and PVC to rear.

Historical information

The first valuation of December 1834* records that a large old (grade ‘1C+’) house of similar dimensions to the present nos.60 and 62, on the site of this and its neighbour to the west, then occupied by a John Kenny and Alexander McLean. As the later valuations do not record any major structural changes to the property (excluding renovations) we can assume that eastern half of the large dwelling of 1834 is that we see today. The (combined) property may have one of the 9 three storey houses mentioned in the OS Memoirs of 1831, and like much of the structures within Castle Street may date from c.1740-70, when the town assumed much of its present form under improving landlord Hugh Boyd; significant sections of the internal detailing suggests that it does indeed date from the 18th century.

By 1859 the large house had been split into two properties (it may originally have been so), with the present no.62 occupied by Margaret McBride and containing ‘shop and room off, 2 over and 2 above’ but in ‘bad order [and with] an inferior finish’. The building appears to have remained in a relatively poor state until c.1882 when a note in the valuation book states that the building had [been] improved since valued’ and that it had been a ‘ruin in 1860 and rebuilt since’. The valuers’ use word ‘rebuilt’ does not mean that the house was demolished and a new one built in its stead, but rather that it underwent a major renovation (for demolitions they usually use the phrase ‘house down’). This renovation probably entailed the insertion of a new shop front and the fitting out of the shop as well as new window frames throughout, however -as has been detailed above- much of the original detailing was retained. It is possible that the lean-to was also added in 1882 or it may be early 20th century, however the post 1882 valuations appear to make any reference to any extensions.

Margaret McBride was followed as tenant by Alexander McCollum (1864-79), Mr B. Black (1879), David and Margaret Kennedy (1881-1908 [it was the Kennedy’s who appear to have carried out the renovations- a Miss M. Kennedy is listed as a grocer in Bassett’s 1888 directory]), Neal McCambridge (1908-12), William Scally (1912-c.1931-5) and a series of (apparently) relatively short term tenants up until 1972 at least. In the latter half of the 20th century the shop appears to have been a grocery and then a woollen / drapers shop. It was acquired by the present owner in 2001.

[*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)

Secondary sources
1 Francis Price, ‘British Carpenter’ (?London, 1735)
2 Abraham Swan, ‘The British Architect or Builders’ Treasury of Staircases’ (1745)
3 Dan Cruickshank & Neil Burton, ‘Life in the Georgian City’ (London, 1990)
4 Steven Parissien, ‘The Georgian House’ (London, 1996)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Plain, traditional style three storey shop / house of possible mid to later 18th century construction, renovated c.1882 when present shop front and window frames were probably added. A well preserved property whose understated shop front adds to its effectiveness and the to character of the surrounding street.