60 Castle Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Plain, substantial three storey terrace shop / house of possible mid 18th century construction with small, simple 19th century shop front, carriage arch and plain (early 20th century) sash window frames. The property is set on the N side of Castle Street, close to Ballycastle town centre.

To the left hand side on the ground floor is the small shop front which consists of a panelled door with plain rectangular fanlight, with plain single light shop window to left. The door and window are encased with simple pilaster jambs with a painted signboard over with projecting cornice. To right of the shop front is a window with plain sash frame (all other windows to front are similar to this). To far right is a large segmental-headed carriage arch with timber (t & g) double door with wicket gate. To the first floor are five windows, with the space between the third and fourth window slightly greater than the rest. Small metal projecting shop sign next to second window. To the second floor are five shorter windows, directly in line with those below. The front façade is finished in painted lined render.

The rear elevation is in random basalt rubble. To left hand side of the ground floor is the rear end of the carriage arch, whose actual arch is formed in brick. Above this to first floor is a sash window with a large box and Georgian panes (6/6). An area around this window is patched in brick. Directly above to the second floor level is a broader squatter window with double (plain) sash frame. To the immediate right of this is a relatively large gabled return, also in basalt. This appears to have a window and doorway to its W face. Above the return (at half-landing level) is a small four-pane window (Georgian-like panes), whilst to the upper half-landing is a larger sash window with Georgian panes (6/6). Brick patching around the latter. Both these windows have panes with bull’s-eyes. To the right of the return there is a window sash window to the first and the second floors, as far left.

The walls within the carriage archway are rendered, with a t & g door to the centre of the wall to W. Flat timber ceiling to arch (broad boards).

The gabled roof is slated. The roof of the return is slated also. Rendered chimney stacks to W and right of centre of main roof, small rendered stack to gable of return. Metal rw goods.

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 east, then occupied by a John Kenny and Alexander McLean. As the later valuations do not record any major structural changes to the property we can assume that western half of the large dwelling of 1834 is that we see today. The (combined) property may have one of the nine three storey houses mentioned in the OS Memoirs of 1835, 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 Alexander McLean and containing ‘shop and kitchen and room below, one in return and 3 over shop and 3 garrets- not in good repair’. The valuers also tell us that the premises was licensed, suggesting that the ‘shop’ was a spirit grocers or public house; interestingly the present owner states that it was once an inn, however an Alexander McLean is listed as under ‘painters and glaziers’ in Slater’s Directories for 1846 and 1856. The McLean family appear to have retained the property until 1920, when it neither passed to (or the lease was acquired by) a Mary Anderson, who remained there until 1939 when it was acquired by James Barton, with whose descendants it remains.

[*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, 1995)

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, substantial three storey terrace shop / house of possible mid 18th century construction with small, simple 19th century shop front, carriage arch and plain (early 20th century) sash window frames. Largely intact both inside and out. The building contributes to the character of the surrounding street