Ballycastle Credit Union

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Three storey terrace bank premises with typical institutional pilastered bank front and unusual [?altered] small first floor windows, which appears to be the result of a c.1918-20 remodelling of a 19th century dwelling house. The property is now occupied by the local Credit Union and much extended to the rear. The building is set on the NW side of The Diamond close to the SW end of Ann Street.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces SE. To right on the ground floor is a relatively large panelled door with segmental-headed fanlight. To left of this is a large window with mullioned and transomed timber frame with segmental heads to the upper lights and etched glazing to the lower lights (with Credit Union logos). The doorway and window are flanked by panelled pilasters with dentilled capitals. The pilasters are of varying widths. The rest of the ground floor façade is finished in rusticated render with bank front topped with a laminated signboard with raised uncial lettering with projecting cornice above. Recent projecting lights to cornice. Bevelled base course.

To the first floor are three evenly-spaced windows with [?c.1960s] mullioned and transomed frames and moulded cornice-like shallow ‘hoods’ above supported on decorative brackets. To the second floor are three slightly narrower but taller windows with plain sash frames and moulded hoods as before. The first and second floors are finished in plain render with in-out bevelled quoins.

The exposed (second floor) levels of the SW and NE gables are blank and finished in plain render. The rear elevation consists solely of a large two storey [flat-roofed] extension. To the left on the ground floor is a large porch recess within which is a small window (with modern frame) and a metal sheeted door (to the SW side). To the right of the porch recess are two windows with modern frames. To the first floor are three evenly spaced windows with similar frames. The rear façade is finished in unpainted cement render.

The gabled roof of the main section is finished in asbestos ‘slates’ and has a slight overhang with plain barges. No chimney stacks. PVC rw goods.

Historical information

This building was originally a branch of the Belfast Banking Company and dates from 1918-20, however it appears to be a remodelling of an mid 19th century house which was occupied by a family named Thompson, (who had a tannery to the rear), from at least 1859. Photographic evidence dating from c.1900 shows the house in its original state.

According to the present manager, Ballycastle Credit Union acquired the building in 1965, however it is more likely to have been 1970, when the Belfast Banking Co. merged with the Northern Banking Co. to form the Northern Bank, with the Ballycastle branch moving into newly-built premises within Ann Street.

Since 1970 (probably in the 1980s) a large extension has been added to the rear of the property.

[*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

Three storey terrace bank premises with typical institutional pilastered bank front and unusual small first floor windows, which appears to be the result of a c.1918-20 remodelling of a mid 19th century dwelling house. An altered example of an early 20th century bank which is not of special architectural or historic interest. It does however make a material contribution to the streetscape.