Public Library

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A symmetrical building comprising a five-bay, two-storey central block, with single bay, single-storey wings. Main entrances face west.

Entrance elevation of main block: roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with dark-toned ridge tiles; central octagonal cupola on ridge, with copper sheeted sides containing timber louvred rectangular openings and a clock face to the front and the north side, with an ogee lead dome. Two chimneys on ridge: smooth cement rendered with plain projecting cornice. PVC gutter and downpipes.
Walling is of squared basalt rubble, with original recessed lime mortar pointing and plain projecting plinth, with ground floor openings contained within five semi-circular arched recesses. The three central recesses are filled with finely jointed snecked basalt in irregular courses, and incorporate semi-circular arches to the windows within them, while the two flanking recesses are filled with squared basalt rubble similar to the main walling, and also incorporate semi-circular arches to the doorways.
Windows to first floor are rectangular timber sliding sashes, 6 over 6 with horns, in exposed sash boxes, set in cement rendered reveals; projecting concrete cills; flat arches to heads.
Windows to ground floor are semi-circular headed sashes similar to first floor.
Doorway to left contains a rectangular timber ledged door with modern metal letterbox, surmounted by a semi-circular radially glazed fanlight, set in a timber frame; cement rendered stone base blocks to base of frame; concrete ramp to doorstep.
Doorway to right is similar but with a sheeted door; concrete doorstep.

Wings are slightly set back from the main block; built of snecked basalt, finely jointed, each containing a semi-circular arched window similar to previous on ground floor of central block; projecting cills of rhyolite. PVC gutters with short cast iron link to main downpipes.
North gable of north wing: a blank wall of roughly coursed basalt rubble with squared quoins to extremities. Overhanging eaves with tongued and grooved sheeted soffits and timber barge boards.
North gable of main block is of basalt rubble with squared quoining to extremities; small portion of red brick filling at apex of gable. Overhanging eaves with timber barge boards.

Rear elevation of wing to north is of basalt rubble with roughly squared quoins to right-hand extremity; wall set back slightly from main block; one window similar to that of front elevation. Roof slated as previous to entrance front; cast iron gutter with short link to downpipe of main block.

Rear elevation of main block: five-bay, two-storey, with semi-circular arcading to ground floor. Roof similar to entrance front. General walling similar to entrance front except that plinth not continuous along elevation. Looks like cast iron gutter, with cast iron downpipes. Five windows to the first floor, similar to those on entrance elevation, except for second from right which has had the cill height raised to contain a modern small-paned metal window.
Five windows to the ground floor, the two sets of outer ones contained within semi-circular arched recesses; recesses are filled with basalt rubble incorporating semi-circular arches which contain the windows. Windows to right are both semi-circular headed, sashed as previous to ground floor of entrance front, with Tardree granite cills. Second from left is similar, but the one to extreme left has had the cill level raised to contain modern small-paned metal fixed lights with top-hung vents, with smooth cement rendered tympanum; projecting concrete cill.
The central bay has been partly filled with smooth cement render, lined and blocked, with a large radially glazed lunette filling the arch above.

Rear elevation of wing to south set back slightly from main block: similar to wing to north except that in place of the window there is a large later rectangular garage doorway with concrete lintel and smooth rendered jambs; timber sheeted and glazed door.

South gable of south wing is similar to north wing except there is a rectangular timber sheeted door in a timber frame set in a raised smooth cement surround.

South gable of main block is similar to north.

SETTING: The building stands detached within the built-up area of the town, facing the road but set back from it with a small enclosed area in front with lawns, bounded by a low roughly coursed basalt rubble wall with large sandstone copings surmounted by original cast iron spear headed railings; many of the railings have heads now missing. Railings terminate at each end in large square piers of coursed rhyolite but caps now missing and pointing is of modern reticulated cement. Short returns of boundary walls and railings at each end of front area, linked to short screen walls extending from the gables of the wings. Screen walls are of snecked basalt with concrete copings.
Front boundary wall and railings contain two gateways, on axis with each of the main entrances: gates are of original cast iron of similar design to railings, set in square cast iron posts, raised on a sandstone step for the left-hand one. Concrete paths lead from gates to each doorway. Front area between path is surfaced with a concrete path bordered by crazy paving; small grass patch to each end.
The corner pier to the north was one of a pair forming a gateway to the yard behind and is mounted by a cast iron gate of similar design to the railings; the corresponding pier is now embodied in an adjacent building and has been painted over, but it still contains the other half of the pair of gates.
The corner pier to the south is also one of a pair forming a gateway but gates now missing; the corresponding pier forms the corner pier to an adjacent property, the former schoolhouse.
The two gateways each have a tarmac driveway leading into the large market yard at the rear surfaced in tarmac, bounded by one and two-storey sheds, and containing a conjoined pair of large semi-circular roofed corrugated iron sheds in the centre close up to the rear of the library.

Historical information

Built in 1831 and known primarily as the 'New Market House' although it also accommodated a new court house; it cost £500 of which Lord O'Neill contributed £100. Its original arrangement was described in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs as follows: "The underfloor is used as a market for the sale of and for the storage of grain. It opens at each side by 3 lofty, circular arched gateways with wooden gates. 2 apartments on this floor are fitted up for the purposes of the dispensary. The upper floor is used as a court in which petty sessions, manor courts, courts leet etc are held." The same source went on to give further details of the original layout as follows: "The upper storey consists of 3 rooms, viz. 1 for the magistrates' petty session room and 2 jury rooms. The lower part is a weigh-house, or dispensary and another smaller room."
Ground floor arcades later closed in; ceased to be a court house in 1951 when the Petty Sessions moved to Toome and the building was taken over by the Ministry of Health; ground floor later became the local public library.
The original market house stood on the site of nos. 14-20 Main Street (HB20/04/018). It had been built in 1770 at the expense of Charles Earl O'Neill; it also accommodated a court room in its time; burnt in the 1798 rebellion.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1829, Co Antrim 43 (main front block shown named as 'New Market House').
2. OS Map 1858, Co Antrim 43 (includes blocks to rear surrounding yard).
3. OS Map 1921, Co Antrim 43 (main front block named as 'Court House').
4. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol 19: Parishes of County Antrim VI, 1830, 1833, 1835-8 (Belfast, 1993), pp 34, 43, 80, 83.
5. S. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Vol II (London, 1837), p 484.
Secondary Sources
1. UAHS, Antrim and Ballymena (Belfast, 1969), p 24 and 26.
2. C.E.B. Brett, Court Houses and Market Houses of the Province of Ulster (UAHS, Belfast, 1973), pp 27 and 34.
3. C.E.B. Brett, The Buildings of County Antrim (UAHS, Belfast, 1996), pp 245.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

This is a distinctively proportioned late Georgian building, originally a market house with court rooms above, which has now lost some of its original interiors but retains much of its original exterior features and character. It is conspicuously sited in a main street of the town and is of both special architectural interest and local social importance in its present role as a public library.