Shane's Castle - Nash extension

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

The unfinished remains of a large early 19th century castle-style masonry-built addition to an 18th century castellated house which is itself in a ruinous state. It forms a suite of ground floor rooms on a terrace forming a south front to the earlier house, with a considerable area of vaulted basement rooms immediately to the rear. Main entrance faces south-east.

The south front suite stands to a height of approximately 1.5 m at the front and approximately 3.5 m at its rear walls; and consists of a central entrance hall approached by an open doorway, with an elongated end room to the right of the hallway, and two rooms to the left of the hallway, comprised of a square room, followed by a rectangular room which contains two splayed projecting corner bays to the front; doorways of all three main front rooms are arranged in enfilade, on the cross axis, through the hallway, and terminating at the west end in a doorway which leads from the rectangular room into the conservatory, now known as the Camellia House, the only completed block in the whole scheme, described elsewhere (HB20/04/042).
Behind the two rooms to the left of the hallway and connected by an open doorway with the rectangular room, is a long rectangular passage with a doorway opening at each end; doorway at east connects with a rear terrace area on roof of part of rear return; doorway at west end leads into a circular lobby built against the old castle and house to the north, with an opening in the west end now suspended above an open basement court beyond.

Construction of the exterior face of the south front is of regular coursed basalt rubble with sandstone dressings. There is a projecting moulded stringcourse at cill level below which the wall is battered. Cills and parts of moulded dressings to windows still remain. Interior surfaces of rooms along south front are of random basalt rubble with some brickwork

East elevation comprises the side wall of the elongated octagonal end room, containing a projecting central chimney breast, with a polygonal bay extending to the right-hand extremity; masonry similar to south front. Polygonal bay to right is circular on the inside, and lined with brick. Rear face of this turret contains a rectangular window opening at basement level, with chamfered reveals, the only complete window opening in the whole suite of rooms.

Rear elevation: two open basement courts separated by a rear return, with low unfinished ground floor north walling overlooking the courts; rear entrance to south-front suite at ground floor level approached over the top of the eastern portion of rear return.

Rear elevation of south-front suite east of the rear return, at basement level, contains one rectangular doorway: sandstone block dressings with flat arch.

Rear elevation of south-front suite west of the rear return, at basement level, contains three wide arched openings, both semi-circular and segmental, separated by tall sandstone block-dressed buttresses. To the right of these is an angled semi-circular archway abutting the base of the old castle and house; it leads into a circular brick vaulted lobby which connects with a passage leading to the extensive vaulted area below the main terrace (HB20/04/043) and also leads into an open court between the old castle ruins (HB20/04/051) and the Camellia House (HB20/04/042).

Rear return consists of two portions: a low basement storey to the east, open arcaded on that side, and covered over at terrace or ground floor level by a screed roof, with a double-storey height basement storey to the west side, enclosed by blank basalt rubble walling on the south and east faces, and regularly coursed roughly squared basalt rubble on the north face, all at ground floor level, and open arcaded on the west where it rises from basement level.

East elevation of return: some original regular coursed basalt rubble walling still remains of the ground storey at the left-hand extremity, returning from the south-front suite, but otherwise only the basement storey remains: it contains a narrow semi-circular arched opening, now blocked with rubble, to the left-hand side, with an open arcade of three wide segmental arches separated by weathered buttresses with sandstone block dressings to the right. The arcade leads into a rectangular area with a line of three free-standing square stone pillars, of what appears to be Portland stone, carrying segmental brick cross vaulting. Segmental arched openings in the inner walls of this pillared and vaulted area connect with the western part of the rear return, a small vaulted lobby or passage, and a long transverse vaulted passageway with openings leading into a series of basement rooms under the south-front suite.

West elevation of return: a double storey height wall in basalt rubble rising from basement level, containing an arcade of three tall semi-circular arches, dressed in sandstone and separated by tall weathered buttresses with sandstone block dressings. The arcade leads into a lofty ceilinged rectangular area with two tall square stone pillars, of what appears to be Portland stone, carrying semi-circular brick cross vaults; iron tie bars link the caps of the pillars to pilasters and piers around the perimeter walls of the room. Large rectangular segmental arched fireplace in one wall. Segmental brick arched openings open into a vaulted compartment and thence to a long transverse vaulted passageway with openings leading into a series of basement rooms under the south-front suite.

SETTING: The building stands in a very rural area, within the demesne of Shane's Castle, close to the shore of Lough Neagh, partly elevated on a terrace overlooking the lough forming part of a complex of important architectural structures which are surrounded by heavily wooded parkland.

Historical information

Built for Lord O'Neill c 1812-16, as additions to Shane's Castle, apparently to the designs of the architect John Nash of London, intended to provide a southern aspect to the old castle but left unfinished after a fire in 1816 had destroyed the old castle. Designed as part of a scheme which comprised also a battery and terrace, and a conservatory on the terrace, all of which were completed at the time of the fire.
John Nash is recorded as having been consulted by Lord O'Neill early in the 1800s, c 1802-3, at the time Nash was working on Killymoon Castle in Co Tyrone. There are early undated and unsigned perspective drawings, attributed to the Nash office, for a larger scheme of additions to Shane's Castle than was adopted, which show an extensive embattled terrace of similar but not identical design to what was finally built, and a much larger addition to the old castle than was finally adopted; no drawings are known for the precise scheme as adopted.
The first identification of Nash with the project, in a publication, appears to have been by Fedden in 1954, but he believed Nash to have been employed only after the fire of 1816; this apparently mistaken viewpoint has been perpetuated by others such as Summerson (1980) and Colvin (1995). Earlier
references to Shane's Castle do not name the architect, but they do indicate that the additions were started before the fire of 1816: "a superb addition to the original pile was in course of erection" (Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland 1844-45, published in 1846). There has been disagreement about the precise dating of these additions made to Shane's Castle but the following may be taken as a fairly accurate summary of events: John Nash consulted c 1802-3; work started on a revised scheme c 1812; battery, terrace, and conservatory all completed by 1816, but the suite of south-facing rooms on the terrace and a kitchen return to the rear incomplete when work halted in 1816.
The building stands within the area of an ancient monument, no.ANT49:29.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1829 & 32, Co Antrim 49.
2. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol 19: Parishes of County Antrim VI, 1830, 1833, 1835-8 (Belfast, 1993), pp 36, 47, 48, 81.
3. S. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Vol I (London, 1837), p 518.

Secondary Sources
1. Mr and Mrs S.C. Hall, Ireland: its Scenery, Character etc, Vol III (London, 1843), pp 102-4.
2. Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland 1844-45, Vol III (Dublin, 1846), p 214.
3. J.A. Pilson, History of the rise and progress of Belfast, and Annals of the County Antrim (Belfast, 1846), p 156.
4. R.M. Young, Belfast and the Province of Ulster in the 20th Century (Brighton, 1909), p 219.
5. H.C. Lawlor, Ulster: Its Archaeology and Antiquities (Belfast, 1928), p 153.
6. R. Fedden, 'Neo-Norman', The Architectural Review, December 1954, pp 381-5 (at p 382 there is a reference to Nash and Shane's Castle).
7. Country Life, 21 July 1955, p 141 (reference to Nash at Shane's Castle in an article on Penrhyn Castle).
8. Country Life, 18 August 1955, p 344.
9. Irish Architectural Drawings, catalogue (Dublin, 1965), pp 15 and 37 (plate 76).
10. T. Davis, John Nash: The Prince Regent's Architect (London, 1966), pp 50-1, 108, and plate 29.
11. UAHS, West Antrim (Belfast, 1970), pp 19 and 21.
12. H. Dixon, Ulster Architecture 1800-1900 (UAHS, Belfast, 1973), p 9 (item nos 4 and 5).
13. D. Barzilay, Shane's Castle Railway and Nature Reserve: Official Guide (Antrim, 1975), pp 17-23.
14. E. Malins and The Knight of Glin, Lost Demesnes: Irish Landscape Gardening 1660-1845 (London, 1976), pp 80-83.
15. M. Bence-Jones, Burke's Guide to Country Houses, Vol 1: Ireland (London, 1978), pp 257-8.
16. J. Summerson, The Life and Work of John Nash (London, 1980).
17. M. Mansbridge, John Nash: A complete catalogue (London, 1991), pp 180-1.
18. Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Committee, Heritage Gardens Inventory (Belfast, 1992), AN/064.
19. J.A.K. Dean, The Gate Lodges of Ulster (Belfast, 1994), pp 26-7.
20. H. Colvin, A biographical dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 (London, 1995), pp 693-4 (but Colvin mistakenly believes Nash's designs follow the fire of 1816).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

These are the unfinished remains of early 19th century 'castle style' additions designed for Shane's Castle by the prominent English architect John Nash, but which were abandoned after a fire in 1816 destroyed the main house. Despite remaining unfinished, an idea of the intended plan form can be traced in the remains while the basement area vaulted over at the rear contains an impressively gaunt and tall pillared interior. The remains stand in an unspoiled setting within a well wooded demesne overlooking Lough Neagh and together with the other structures with which it is associated forms part of a group of considerable architectural and historic interest.

General comments

This record was originally numbered as HB20/04/041.