'A Taste of China' and apartment over

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Broad, two-storey terrace take-away ‘restaurant’ with apartment over, built as a house c.1740, with small section over carriage gateway of c.1859-62, a large return of 1889 with some 20th century additions, and a large shop front and interior layout and detailing of c.1980s. The property is set on the south side of Castle Street, to the west of Ballycastle town centre.

The ground floor is largely taken up with a broad modern shop front, consisting of a central, glazed uPVC door flanked by large, mullioned, uPVC windows. The door is encased with period style timber jambs with curved brackets, with moulded pilasters to the outer side of each of the windows. There is a central shop signboard with raised letters, over which is a full-width cornice, with and a small gable feature over this to the centre. To the left of the shop front is a doorway (leading to the apartment), with a recent panelled timber door and plain rectangular fanlight over. To the right of the shop front there is a elliptical-arched carriage entrance, with timber double door.

To the first floor there are six windows. The first five (from left) of these windows are of uniform size, evenly-spaced and encased with simple moulded surrounds, the sixth window (above the carriage arch) is larger, set at a slightly lower level, and does not have a surround. [The section of first floor over the carriage arch is a later addition.] The front façade is finished in plain rendered and painted, with moulded ‘in-out’ vermiculated quoins to the first floor level (the quoins to right set between the fifth and sixth windows. There is a projecting internally illuminated sign to the first floor, as well as a projecting street lamp.

The right (W) half of the rear elevation is largely taken up with a large two-storey gabled return, added in 1889, but probably extended in the mid to late 1900s. Attached to the left and side of the W face of the return, and the rear façade of the main portion of the building there is a small single-storey lean-to extension. To the S face of this there is a doorway with a timber sheeted door. To the S of this lean-to (on the N face of the return) there is a relatively large window with modern timber frame. To the right of this a two-storey lean-to extension has been added to the return. This has two windows to the ground floor of its N face, and two to the first floor, all of uniform size and shape, and all with modern timber frames. To the far left on the first floor of the N face of the return there is another window, also with a modern timber frame. To the left on the ground floor of the (S-facing) gable of the return there is a small boiler house lean-to extension, with a timber sheeted door to its S face. To the left of the boiler house (on the main gable) there is a window with modern timber frame, with a doorway to the right of this, with timber sheeted door. To the first floor there is a relatively large (picture-like) window with modern timber frame.

To the left on the ground floor of the rear façade of the main section of the building, is the back end of the carriage archway. Just to the right of the archway there is a is a tall, curved, gate pillar-like projection. To the first floor directly above the archway there is a window, without a frame [the property was being renovated at the time of this survey], with another similar sized window to right, with modern timber frame. The rear façade of the main section of the building is finished in painted roughcast, whilst the return is finished in a combination of plain painted render and painted roughcast. There is a large modern metal flue attached to the wall above the carriage archway, with two satellite dishes to right of this.

The gabled roof of the main section is covered in artificial ‘slate’, as are those of the return and the various lean-tos. There is a large rendered ridge chimneystack to the W of centre (in line with the edge of the carriage archway). There are some small Velux windows to rear. The rainwater goods are a mixture of cast-iron and uPVC.

Historical information

An ‘old’ house measuring 35½ft x 27½ x 18½, with a cellar of 13 x 14½ x 5½, is recorded on this site in the valuation of January 1835.* These dimensions match the present building minus the section of the carriage archway. As later records do not mention any major structural changes to the building, (bar the creation of the carriage archway and room over, and the addition of the return), we can assume that the house of 1835 forms the bulk of the property we see today. As far as the age of the building is concerned, the fact that the valuers considered it ‘old’ in the 1830s, probably dates it to the eighteenth century, and possibly (like most of Castle Street) to Hugh Boyd’s development of Ballycastle in the 1740s.

The house appears to have been split into two properties in 1835, for two occupants, Charles McGildowney and James Tweed, are listed. By 1859, when the second valuation was carried out, the eastern half of the building was let to a Mary McCambridge, with a Robert Bell, (listed in Slater’s 1856 ‘Directory’ as a grocer), occupying that to the west, with the lease held by one John McCormick ‘a minor’. The valuers tell us that the roof of the building was in ‘very bad order’ and that the house to the east contained ‘a shop and room below [and] two rooms over’, with a ‘shop, parlour, three rooms over and garrets’ (which spanned over the neighbouring property)’, as well as a cellar to within the western house. An annotation to the valuation, which was added some time between late 1859 and 1862, mentions the addition of ‘two rooms over gateway’.

In 1867 a single occupier, David McCaughan, is recorded in the valuation, with the whole building (i.e. both properties) noted as vacant in 1870. The following year a Hugh Archer is listed as occupying the eastern house, with an Alexander Christie in that to the east. Christie was followed by a Robert Kennedy in 1872, David kennedy (1874-87).

In 1888 the lease of the whole property was taken on by a Joseph O’Kane, (listed as a draper in Basset’s directory of the same year), who immediately ‘improved’ the building and added a return measuring 9yrds x 6 x 2(storeys), and 5 x 2 x 1. O’Kane retained the property until 1918, when ‘Hill Bros’ are noted as tenants, with Michael F. Quinn following in 1922. Quinn appears to have acquired the lease around this time also, but had vacated the property by 1929. The lease was taken up by a William J. Scally sometime before 1935, remaining there until 1968 when ‘McFarlane & McNabb’ [?solicitors] took over the tenancy. The following year the property is noted as ‘exempt’, suggesting that it had become the local public library at this time, a function it was fulfilling when it was surveyed as part of the First Survey of Historic Buildings in October 1972.

At some point after 1972 [?1985] the ground floor was converted to a shop.

[*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/12B/2/3g Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1908-21)
24 PRONI VAL/12A/1/23 Valuers’ office notebook, Ballycastle Union (1910)
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

Other
references
1 EHS HB05/15/009 First Survey report (10 October 1972)
2 EHS HB05/15/009 Photograph (?1972)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Broad, two-storey take-away ‘restaurant’ with apartment over, built as a house c.1740, with small section over carriage gateway of c.1859-60, a large return of 1889 with some 20th century additions, and a large shop front and interior layout and detailing of c.1980s. Despite its undoubted age, significant alterations, in particular the shop front and the internal re-ordering, have removed much of this building's architectural character.