Carraghers Bar

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Carragher’s Bar is a largely original two-storey public house and dwelling of 1862, with somewhat understated pub front and two large rear returns. It is set at the end of a mixed terrace, facing on to a busy road on the eastern side of the small village of Camlough. To the rear is a large enclosed yard with a row of (mainly) mid-20th century outbuildings with animal pens beyond, the yard accessed via a lane shared with several other properties.

The building consists of the main two-storey plus attic gabled block to the north, with a lower two-storey gabled ‘house’ return to the south-east, and a taller, part gabled, part hipped roof, ‘pub’ return to the south-west. Abutting the south end of the latter is a long line of outbuildings.

The building is rendered and painted. To the first floor of the front (north) elevation and the whole of the east gable, and the east face of the house return the render is lined, whilst the ground floor level of the front is rusticated and topped with a projecting sill course, this whole effect stretching on to the right hand edge of the east gable. To the first floor level of the front there are ‘in-out’ moulded quoins. The remaining faces of the returns (which could be seen) are finished in plain render.

The roof of the main block is covered in fibre cement slates with natural (Bangor Blue) slate to the rear, and has four, evenly-spaced, replacement chimneystacks, constructed in c.1980s brown brick. To the rear of the roof there are three relatively small gabled dormers, which appear to be c.1990s additions / replacements. These are clad in the same covering as the front of the roof itself and each has a single-light window with single pane frame. Only the eastern sides of the return roofs could be seen, that to the house return having natural slate, with fibre cement tiles to the pub return. There is a tall chimneystack (as before) to the gable of the house return. The rainwater goods appear to be a combination of the original cast-iron and replacement [?]extruded aluminium.

The front elevation is symmetrical, with the pub ‘shopfront’ to the centre of the ground floor. This consists of a central timber sheeted double with plain overlight and relatively plain reeded pilaster jambs. The doorway is flanked by large window-openings filled with plate glass. There are slimmer pilaster jambs to the outer sides of both windows and above the whole ensemble is a painted timber signboard with projecting cornice. To either side of the shopfront is a (Georgian ratio) single-light window-opening with a moulded surround, one over one timber sash frame with horns, and wrought-iron security bars. There are four similar window-openings to the first floor; however these have modern top-hung frames.

The house entrance is to the left of centre of the eastern gable of the main block. It is composed of a relatively large elliptical-headed opening with a prominent rusticated surround, within which is set a panelled door with elliptical fanlight and panelled pilaster jambs. To the first floor are two window-openings, as first floor front but with one over one timber sliding sash frames. There are two smaller windows to the attic level, with modern frames.

The house return has a window to the ground floor with tripartite timber sliding sash frame, (one over one, two over two, one over one), with security bars as ground floor front. To the first floor there is a shorter window with similar frame. The rear elevation could not be seen in its entirety; however internal evidence shows that there is a doorway to the left hand side of the ground floor of the gable of the house return (with timber-sheeted door), with another doorway to the ground floor of the western face (with panelled door). The taller eastern return appears to be linked to the main block by a long single-storey section set on an east-west axis, but this could not be observed. The return itself has a single window-opening to the eastern face of the ground floor. To the first floor of the same face there is doorway to the left (accessed via a metal spiral staircase), with a single-light window-opening to the right of this, with nine pane timber frame.

Stretching from the gable of the pub return is an L-shaped collection of single and two-storey outbuildings. These are constructed in a combination of concrete block and rubble stone (with some portions rendered) and have curved metal truss roofs covered with corrugated metal. To the south of the outbuildings are some concrete block animal pens. A tall rendered wall encloses the yard to the eastern side. To the north end of the wall there is a vehicle gateway with square piers and gates clad in corrugated metal sheeting.

There is a small forecourt in front of the main block, upon which there is a cast-iron pump.

Historical information

The site now occupied by the present building is shown undeveloped on the OS map of 1860. The second valuation of September 1862 tells us that this property was ‘in progress’ at that point, but was ‘not finished inside’. The dimensions of the new building are noted as 14yrds x 8 x 2½(storeys) for the main front block, 5 x 5 x 2 for the ‘house’ return, with another section of 9 x 2 x 1- presumably the narrow portion between the main block and the ‘pub’ return.

The measurements of the outbuildings, which appear to have included the aforementioned pub return, are not given, but structures matching the footprint of those we see today are shown on the c.1862 annotation to the (c.1859) valuation plan of Camlough. There were additional buildings to the eastern side of the yard (built against the wall) at this stage also. A note in the valuation revision book for 1894 reads ‘some sheds down’ indicating the demolition of some of these structures; however all are shown on the OS map of 1906, even though the valuations appear to say nothing about rebuilding. It is clear, from the concrete block walls and metal truss corrugated-iron roofs, that most were rebuilt in the mid 20th century, (probably c.1950s-60s), along with the animal pens to the southern edge of the site. The latter are believed to have remained in use for a local livestock market up until the mid 1970s.

As far as the main building is concerned, the public house interior appears to have been re-fitted some time in the Edwardian era. The current owner has stated that the terrazzo floor in the bar was the work of Italian craftsmen ‘working on Newry Cathedral.’ If this was indeed the case, then this work could have been carried out either in 1888-90, when the transepts, sacristy and north tower were added to the cathedral, or in 1904-09, when the east end was rebuilt. However, the fact that the floor does not encompass the snug areas (which are tiled), suggests it may have been laid at a later date- perhaps the 1920s or 30s. The conversion of the room behind the bar to a snooker room was carried out by the present occupant [?c.1980s].

The original owner, Margaret Kelly, died c.1864, and the property remained with her ‘representatives’ until 1877, when the lease was acquired by a William Quigley. In 1888 the current owner’s family took on the lease, and later the freehold.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/2D/2/6 Valuation plan of Camlough, c.1859
2 PRONI VAL/2B/2/37E Second valuation, Killevy parish, 1862
3 PRONI VAL/12B/15/6A Annual valuation revision book, Camlough ED, 1866-79
4 PRONI VAL/12B/15/6B Annual valuation revision book, Camlough ED, 1879-82
5 PRONI VAL/12B/15/6C-E Annual valuation revision book, Camlough ED, 1883-94
6 PRONI VAL/12B/15/6F-G Annual valuation revision book, Camlough ED, 1894-1909
7 PRONI VAL/12E/60/1 Valuation plan of Camlough, 1904(-10)
8 PRONI OS/8/66/1 OS plan of Camlough, 1906
9 PRONI VAL/12B/15/6H Annual valuation revision book, Camlough ED, 1909-20
10 PRONI VAL/12E/60/2 Valuation plan of Camlough, 1910(-35)
11 PRONI VAL/12B/15/6J Annual valuation revision book, Camlough ED, 1920-29
12 PRONI VAL/3G/46/1 Valuation plan of Camlough, 1936(-57)

Secondary sources
1 Information supplied by the owner, February 2008

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Aside from private dwellings, shops and churches, public houses are one of Northern Ireland’s most common building types, with even the smallest villages frequently possessing numbers of bars seemingly disproportionate to their populations. Many of these buildings are 19th century structures, but most have witnessed successive renovations in an attempt to cope with changing markets and competition, with the loss of original character in the process. Carragher’s Bar is one of a relatively small number of public houses which have escaped this trend. The building's basic plan has been preserved, and, despite the recent introduction of some modern window frames and a modern roof covering, its original appearance remains largely unchanged also. Its layout is also intact, as is much of the detailing- including an unexpected and memorable winder staircase. The property’s pièce de résistance, however, is the public bar, which has retained a full complement of late Victorian / Edwardian fittings, including snugs with Art Nouveau influenced glazing and, behind the bar itself, decorative mirrored ‘pilasters’ and built-in kegs- the whole blending a dash of opulence with small-scale charm so typical of many of the more modestly-sized pubs of this era.