27-29 Castle Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Ttwo small plain two-storey houses, which assumed much of their present form in 1907 when a pre 1835 structure (which also contained two dwellings) was lifted a storey. The building is set on the south side of Castle Street, to the west of Ballycastle town centre.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces N. To the left of centre is a flat-arched doorway with modern panelled timber and glazed door (belonging to No.29). To the left of this is a flat-arched window with modern timber frame (with awning opening). To the right of the doorway there is a smaller flat-arch window with a one over one timber sash frame (belonging to No.27). To the right again is another doorway (No.27) also with a modern panelled timber and glazed door. The latter doorway was inserted relatively recently (post 1972), its position was formerly occupied by a window, with the previously mentioned window occupying the place of the original doorway. To far right is a flat-arch carriage entrance with timber sheeted double door. To the first floor are four unevenly-spaced windows. That to far left is roughly as that to the far left on the ground floor, whilst the middle two windows are similar to the other ground floor window, whilst that to far right is similar but larger. The whole front elevation is finished in a relatively recently applied lined (unpainted) cement render.

To the rear of the property there are three large extensions. That to left (W) is an upper floor flat-roofed projection, (belonging to No.27), which spans over the carriage entrance, and at ground level joins to a large single-storey shed / carport which is completely open to the E side. According to the present owner, this whole section was added ‘just before the War’ [?c.1939]. The extension is finished in unpainted roughcast and has a single first floor window to the S face with a modern timber frame.

To far right (E) there is a much larger two-storey projection (No.29) with a single-pitch roof (which ‘leans-to’ the return of the neighbouring property to the E. To the S end of the projection there is a lower, narrower, single-storey section, which itself appears to have been built in two phases (its ‘lean-to’ roof has two differing levels). This whole extension is finished in plain unpainted cement render, with one ground floor and two first floor windows to the S face of the two-storey section, and two windows, and a doorway win between, to the W face of the single-storey section. The windows are of differing size but all have similar modern timber frames, whilst the doorway has a modern half-glazed timber door.

Sandwiched between both these extensions is a central single-storey addition with a lean-to roof. This extension is finished in unpainted lined cement render and has two windows with modern timber frames to its S face. There is a small central area of the original rear façade of the main front portion of the property still exposed above this addition. This exposed portion is finished in unpainted roughcast and has a small window with modern timber casement frame.

The gabled roof of the main section of the block is partly covered in slate and partly in an artificial slate-like tile. The roof of the central extension is covered in a similar artificial ‘slate’, but the covering of the roofs of the ‘outer’ extensions could not be seen (presumably the flat roof belonging to that to the W is covered in asphalt). The main block has an off centre rendered ridge chimneystack with two small skylights and a small Velux window to the S side of the roof. The central extension has a Velux window. The rainwater goods are a mixture of PVC-u and cast-iron.

Historical information

In the 1835 valuation* this site is recorded as taken up by an old, but well-maintained, single-storey thatched dwelling measuring 30½ft x 20½, and occupied by a George Robinson. To the rear there was an equally elderly thatched outbuilding of 18 x 15 x 6. By 1859, George Robinson (or a son / relative of the same name) had sublet the dwelling to a James Blair, but still retained the ‘use of half the office and a haggard’. Robinson is also recorded as holding a, very small, recently-built single-storey slated ‘house’ of 2yrds 2ft x 8yrds 1ft, this appears to have been sited to the east end of the present site.

By 1867 the buildings formerly directly held by Robinson were in ‘ruins’ and by 1870 the lease of the main house had come into the hands of an Arthur McPeak, who sublet it to a Patrick Doohy [?or Dooley]. Archibald Curry is recorded as the leaseholder and tenant in 1876, his family remaining there until 1902, when the lease –which included the house as well as a forge and garden- was acquired by William Graham.

In 1907 two ‘new’ houses are recorded on the site, both apparently built by William Graham. This ties in with information supplied by the present owner of No.27, (a descendant of William Graham), who stated that his grandfather ‘added a storey to an old single-storey house in the early 1900s’. The valuers’ office notebook of 1908 records the two new dwellings as measuring 13½ft x 20½ x 19 and 17 x 20½ x 19 along with a third ‘old’ one measuring 8 x 20½ x 9, indicating that this last building was situated on the site of the present vehicle entrance. In this case this ‘old’ house may correspond to the slated dwelling recorded in 1859, but which was recorded as being in ‘ruins’ in 1870.

The present No.27 has remained with the descendants of William Graham, whilst the present No.29 has witnessed a long succession of tenants since 1907, including an Archibald McAleese (to 1911), Samuel Douthart (1911-12), Alexander Dickson (1912-?46), Elizabeth Roy (?1946), James McKiernan (1946-56) and a Hugh Simpson in the 1960s. The fate of the small third property is somewhat less clear. If the present owner of No.27 is correct it would seem to have been demolished ‘just before the War’ when the vehicle entrance and the extension over it were created, however, strangely, it is present in the valuation books up until 1969!

The doorway of No.27 was moved further to the east at some point after 1972, swapping places with the window; the large single-storey extension to the rear of the property appears to date from the 1990s. The large two-storey extension to the rear of No.29 is slightly more difficult to date as its construction does not appear to be referred to in the valuations, however, judging from map information it appears to date from the mid to later 1950s.

[*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 which buildings the valuers are referring. The writer has circumvented this problem however by adopting the somewhat involving 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 Taylor, George, and Skinner, Andrew, ‘Taylor and Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed 1777’ (Dublin, 1778), Map 20 etc.
2 Linen Hall Library, Belfast, ‘A Map of County Antrim…by J. Lendrick’ (1780)
3 ‘Pigot & Co’s City of Dublin and Hibernian Commercial Directory (Manchester 1824)
4 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
5 PRONI OS/6/1/8/1 OS map, Co Antrim, sheet 8 (1832)
6 PRONI VAL/1B/135 First valuation, Ramoan parish (1834)
7 Lewis, Samuel, ‘Topographical history of Ireland’ (London, 1837)
8 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1846)
9 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1856)
10 PRONI OS/6/1/8/2 OS map, Co Antrim, sheet 8 (1856)
11 PRONI VAL/2B/1/28c Second valuation, Ramoan parish (1859)
12 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3a Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1862-64)
13 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3b Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1865-76)
14 Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1870)
15 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3c Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1876-84)
16 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3d Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1884-93)
17 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3e Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1892/3-98)
18 Bassett, George Henry, ‘The Book of County Antrim’ (Dublin, 1888), pp.92-102
19 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3f Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1898-1907)
20 PRONI VAL/12E/8/1/1-3 Valuation plans of Ballycastle (1898-c.1935)
21 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ (Belfast, 1905)
22 PRONI VAL/12E/8/2/1 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, c.1905
23 PRONI VAL/12A/ 1/23 pp.84, 124-126 Valuers’ office notebook, Ballycastle Union (1908)
24 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3g Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1908-21)
25 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5a Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North and South Wards (1921-27)
26 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5b Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North Ward (1927-30)
27 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5c Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD South Ward (1927-30)
28 PRONI VAL/3G/6/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1934-50
29 PRONI VAL/3B/1/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD, 1935
30 PRONI VAL/3C/1/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, 1936-57
31 PRONI VAL/4B/1/12 Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD (1956-72)

Secondary sources
1 Brett, C.E.B., ‘Historic Buildings…The Glens of Antrim’ (Belfast, 1971), p.47
2 Information supplied by the owner (September 2004)

Other
references
1 EHS HB05/15/003 First Survey report (12 October 1972)
2 EHS HB05/15/003 Photograph (?1972)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Ttwo small plain two-storey houses, which assumed much of their present form in 1907 when a pre 1835 structure (which also contained two dwellings) was lifted a storey. The rear has been greatly extended from the 1930s onwards and the openings to the front elevation of No.27 were altered post 1972.