61, 61A and 61B Castle Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Substantial three-storey terrace building containing a shop with two apartments over, which assumed much of its present form in 1885, when an earlier (possibly 1740s) house was raised a storey. The property is set on the south side of Castle Street, to the west of Ballycastle town centre.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces N. To the centre of the ground floor is a recessed doorway (to the shop), with a modern glazed door. To the left of this is a large square window with plate glass. To right is a large window with two pane frame with plate glass. To far left is another recessed doorway (leading to the apartments) with a panelled timber door. There is a relatively small painted timber signboard above the shop doorway.

To the first floor there are three evenly spaced uniform windows, with modern timber frames, with three identical windows to the second floor. The front façade is finished in painted lined render.

The E gable is exposed at second floor level. It does not have any openings and is finished in cement render (which appears to have been painted at some point). A smaller upper section of the W gable is exposed; this has no openings and is finished in painted cement render.

To the rear there is a large two-storey gabled return, with a further (relatively large) single-storey gabled section to the S end. The W face of the return is single-storey and merges with that of the section to the S. There are no openings to this side. There are no openings to the E face of the return either, however there is a doorway, with metal-sheeted door, to the E face of the section to S. To the gable of the return there is a window to ground floor and another (slightly larger) one to the first floor, both with modern timber frames.

To the rear façade of the main building there is a doorway (with modern glazed door) to far right on the ground floor. To the far left on the first floor with another to far right. There are three more windows to the second floor, the middle window set at a slightly lower (probably half-landing) level.

The rear façade, and the return etc., are largely finished in unpainted roughcast, with the gable of the section o the s ed of the return largely in unpainted cement render.

The gabled roof of the main section of the building is covered in fibre cement ‘slate’ and has had its chimneystacks removed. The roof of the return and the smaller section to S are also covered in fibre cement ‘slate, with a tall concrete brick chimneystack to the gable of the section to S. Cast-iron rainwater goods to front, PVCu to rear.

Historical information

An old (probably mid 18th century) two-storey house is recorded on this site in the first valuation of January 1835*, then occupied by a Hugh Jolly and a Jane McBride. By 1859 an Andrew Revey is recorded as the tenant (and leaseholder), with the building itself containing ‘a small shop with two kitchens behind [and] four rooms over with garrets’.

In 1869 Revey sublet the shop to a John Cochrane, who remained there until 1882, when he was followed by an Archibald Coyle. Two years later a Hugh A. McAllister took up the lease of the whole property, and, in 1885, added a third storey to the main building and built a return. McAllister stayed on as resident until 1929, when the lease was acquired by Ballycastle Urban District Council, and converted to offices. The building appears to have remained in council use (latterly Moyle District Council) until the early to mid 1980s, with a chemists shop occupying the ground floor by at least 1987.

One of the present occupants states that the building was ‘gutted’ in the mid 1990s and the present upper floor apartments created.

[*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/12B/2/5a Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North and South Wards (1921-27)
25 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5b Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North Ward (1927-30)
26 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5c Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD South Ward (1927-30)
27 PRONI VAL/3G/6/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1934-50
28 PRONI VAL/3B/1/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD, 1935
39 PRONI VAL/3C/1/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, 1936-57
30 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 HB05/15/017 First Survey report (10 October 1972) [A note on this survey card states that this building was formerly a fire station,however it appears that it was the neighbouring former market / court house that acted as a fire station for a time.]
2 EHS HB05/15/017 Photograph (1987)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Substantial three-storey terrace building containing a shop with two apartments over, which assumed much of its present form in 1885, when an earlier (possibly 1740s) house was raised a storey. The property now has large shop windows and a modern interior and is of little architectural interest.