21 Joymount,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Terraced street-fronted two-bay two-storey with attic-storey rendered house, built c.1870, facing southeast, built as one of a pair (HB22/08/012B), with a two-bay two-storey return shared with adjoining house No.22 to the south and a lean-to extension.

Pitched concrete tiled roof (shared with No.22) with a large rendered chimneystack rising from the south gable having clay pots. Overhanging roof to cavetto moulded eaves to a rendered plat-band with original cast-iron rainwater goods. Replacement plastic rainwater goods to rear return and extension.

Painted rendered walling to front and rear elevations, cement wet-dash render to return and extension.

Square-headed window openings with moulded architrave surrounds, painted masonry sills and original 6/6 timber sash windows with convex horns, to front and rear. Timber casement windows to the south gable at attic-storey level. Horizontally-glazed 2/2 timber sash window to the return with a timber casement window to the extension.

Round-headed door opening with a moulded architrave surround, replacement timber panelled door flanked by pair of slender moulded pilasters on plinth blocks, lintel cornice and original iron spoked fanlight, opening onto sandstone step. A further round-headed door opening to the right gives shared access to the rear exiting within the shared return, having a moulded architrave surround and replacement timber panelled door.

Small rear concrete yard opens into a raised garden enclosed by a concrete block wall to the south, timber fence to the north with a timber vehicular gate to the rear.

Historical information

The buildings are shown on the second edition OS map of 1857 and on the Town Plan of Carrickfergus of 1860 along Joymount Bank. They are identical in plan.

Griffith’s Valuation of 1860 records both properties as a ‘house, office, yard and small garden’. Each building is valued at £13.10s.
No. 21 is occupied by William Larmour, who owns the freehold, whilst number No. 22 is occupied by Andrew Monroe and leased from William Larmour.

The wall to the rear of No. 22 is significant as an isolated upstanding portion of the original seventeenth century town wall.

Boyle’s OS Memoirs state that in the 16th century a town wall was demanded by the people of Carrickfergus for reasons of protection. This request was not granted initially due to delays caused by Sir Henry Sidney’s resignation as Lord Deputy. (pp 13-14)

The Memoirs continue “...in 1607 a letter was addressed to Sir Arthur Chichester the lord deputy...requesting aid in behalf of the walling of the town” and in 1608 a letter from Chichester announced that “his majesty had consented to furnish 100 men to assist in walling the town...” Boyle notes that “till of late years the walls were pulled down and mutilated with impunity, but in 1815 a complaint [was made]...one individual was obliged to rebuild a portion he had taken down [and]...since then they have remained unmolested”.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/52/1-First Edition OS Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/52/2-Second Edition OS Map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/52/3-Third Edition OS Map (1902)
4. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/22D-Griffith’s Valuation (1860)
5. PRONI VAL/2/D/1/14 A+B -Town Plan of Carrickfergus (1860)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/7/5A-F -Valuation Revisions (1861-1894)
7. Boyle, J. OS Memoirs, Parishes of Co. Antrim XIV, Vol 37 (1832, 1839-40)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

An attached two-bay two-storey mid-Victorian terraced house overlooking Belfast Lough, built as one of a pair. The house has been altered which detracts from its architectural interest. Whilst not of listable quality these two houses contribute positively to the Conservation Area.