12 Ann Street ('The Central Bar')

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Much altered two to two and a half storey terrace public house of pre 1834 construction, practically raised a storey in recent years with the addition of dominating full width dormer, and greatly extended to the rear. The property is set on the NW side of Ann Street, within Ballycastle town centre.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces roughly SE. Roughly to the centre of the ground floor is a panelled door encased with simple pilasters. The fanlight area above the door has been boarded over. To the left of this doorway is another panelled door with a simple (and somewhat narrower) pilaster to the right hand side only. To far left is a plain sash window with moulded surround and fake (and completely unsuitable lourvered shutters. To far right is a large single light pub window with etched glazing. Above the pub window and doorways there stretches a painted signboard with dilapidated projecting cornice.

To the first floor are three unevenly spaced plain sash windows, with surrounds as shutters as that to the ground floor. Internally illuminated projecting pub signs to first floor level. The front façade is finiahed in painted render.

Nothing of the original rear elevation can be seen due to the presence of very large modern-looking single to two storey extensions flat-roofed extensions, all with modern windows doors etc. The rear extensions are largely finished in painted roughcast.

The front of the (formerly) gabled roof is now dominated by a large full width flat-roofed (or shallow pitched roof) dormer with modern windows and artificial ‘slate’ cladding. The rear of the roof is partly cut into by one of the flat roofed extensions but much of it is still visible and is covered in slate. Rendered chimney stacks to both ends of roof. The RW goods are mainly PVC with a mixture of PVC and metal to front.

Historical information

The first valuation of December 1834* records an relatively old (grade ‘1B-’) house of similar dimensions to the present on this site, then occupied by a James McAlin and John McKinley. As the later valuations do not record any major changes to the property (excluding recent changes) we can assume that the 1834 house is that we see today- albeit in a somewhat altered form. The building is (or was) probably one of the 127 two storey houses mentioned in the OS Memoirs of 1835 and judging from the valuers comments, may have been built c.1800.

By 1859 the property, whose ‘internal finish [was] untidy’ was occupied by a Robert McHenry and included a ‘4 rooms below, 4 over and 4 above’. The descendants of Robert appear to still hold the lease (or more likely- the freehold) of the property, though the premises appear to have had tenants at certain points including James McBride (c.1870s), Charles Kelly and James O’Kane (c.1950s-?60s).

The building was listed in 1981 with a large dormer extension across the front façade but an intact traditional shopfront and colour scheme.

In the 1990s the property was much altered with the addition of large extensions to the rear and interior alterations. The orginal etched plate glass window was lost. Timber shutters added to the front and a bright colour scheme have combined to obscure the remaining historic detail.

[*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 VAL/1B/135 First valuation, Ramoan parish, 1834
4 Samuel Lewis, ‘Topographical history of Ireland’ (London, 1837)
5 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1846)
6 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1856)
7 PRONI VAL/2B/1/28c Second valuation, Ramoan parish, 1859
8 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3a-g Annual valuation revision books, Ballycastle ED, 1864-1921
9 ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1870)
10 PRONI VAL/12E/8/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1898-c.1935
11 PRONI VAL/12E/8/2/1 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, c.1905
12 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5a-c Annual valuation revision books, Ballycastle UD, 1921-31
13 PRONI VAL/3G/6/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1934-50
14 PRONI VAL/3B/1/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD, 1935
15 PRONI VAL/3C/1/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, 1936-57

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Much altered two to two and a half storey terrace public house of pre 1834 construction, The cumulative changes to this property have reduced its architectural and historic interest.