Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB06/07/004 B

Address :
Farm buildings at Kilwaughter Castle Kilwaughter Larne Co Antrim

Townland:
Demesne

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
19/12/2001 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Farm Buildings

Former Use
Farm Buildings

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
Yes

Derelict:
Partially

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OS Map No:
70/10

IG Ref:
D3566 0151

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Owner Category

Private Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Single-storey and two-storey buildings of stone grouped informally around two farm yards lying to the north of Kilwaughter Castle, and comprising three main blocks from east to west. Eastern block forming part of north side of first yard, nearer to the castle: a single-storey greystone building now used as a cow byre, with segmental arches now blocked up with brick or rubble but containing some rectangular door and window openings; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; returns to south with a taller gabled block roofed partly with asbestos slates and partly with corrugated asbestos; walls partly rendered using wet dash with crushed black stones and partly smooth cement rendered; modern corrugated iron door on overhead runner; to its rear a taller gabled block of greystone rubble with roof of asbestos slates to north side and natural slates to south side; window openings blocked with corrugated perspex; window heads flat arched. Central block, forming the rest of the north side of yard, nearer to the castle, and returning forward at its western end to form the west side of the first yard: a single-storey gabled building of squared greystone in regular courses with a square tower at the east end. Main entrance is a tall Tudor archway in the centre of the single-storey block, facing south. South facade to left of tower symmetrically designed. Central archway is flanked by a buttress to each side with a symmetrical arrangement of openings to each side beyond the buttresses. Arrangement comprises a small Tudor-arched doorway with a Tudor-arched window to each side of it. Door and window arches have chamfered edges. Sloping sandstone cill to each window, and to recessed panels and wall planes above doorway and window openings. Windows two-light, fixed, with rounded timber arches within a Tudor timber arch containing a spandrel light; diamond pattern glazing bars, but much damaged, with none of the four windows across the facade completely intact. Main entrance contains recessed timber frame of similar profile to arch but original doors now missing. Original ledged timber doors, with vertical pole mouldings over joints, are retained in both small doorways but lower portion rotted off in each case. Roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, contained by a gable upstand at the west end and the tower at the east end; cast iron rainwater goods in derelict and broken condition. Tower has a projecting offset at base, with a moulded top which returns on the east face to form part of the moulded surround to the dressed sandstone tower doorway; doorway of Tudor-arched shape to head, in one stone; chamfered edge all round; original ledged timber door with pole mouldings over joints; sandstone step reached by three stone steps now partly fallen. Tower has narrow rectangular slit openings on different faces at three levels, in same style as to front entrance piers to the estate. Top storey has a rectangular opening on each face, dressed in moulded sandstone; projecting sandstone cornice surmounted by greystone crenellations. Where the tower abuts the lower gabled block is a narrow two-light slit opening within a recessed wall plane. Tower roof, as seen through openings, appears to be intact. Set back from south facade of block and beyond tower doorway is a later gabled block with angle between roof and tower now built up with rubble. South and east faces of this block built of rubble greystone with roughly squared quoins and shaped voussoirs to semi-circular arched window in south gable and to circular window in apex above it; circular window partly obscured by wooden boxing built over it. Doorway in east wall has flat arch. Projecting return at west end of central block: single-storey of roughly squared masonry incorporating galleting, with a replacement roof of corrugated iron. Long east facing facade has rectangular window openings, a small doorway, and a large central semi-circular archway now all blocked up with concrete blockwork; flat arches to rectangular openings; remnants of diamond pattern glazing bars in two windows to north end. Apex of south gable built up in concrete blockwork; modern corrugated iron doorway on runner. The projecting return of the central block separates the two farm yards, its west face forming part of the west boundary of the second yard; connected to western block by a ruinous rubble stone wall at south end which projects westwards to link with gate screen to second yard, comprising a base wall finished in smooth cement render surmounted by original wrought iron railings with cast iron crestings, a pair of cast iron pillars with Jacobean style finials, and original gates of similar design to railings. Western block comprises a long two-storey barn forming the western side of the second yard with a return to the east at its south end which forms part of the south side of the yard. Southern face of return built of roughly squared and rubble masonry in rough courses; flat arches to rectangular windows, now derelict. Western face of western block has two red brick chimneys near south corner. Northern face is a plain gable with a large later rectangular opening dressed in smooth cement render. Elevations toward second yard are of similar quality masonry to outer faces and display large segmental archways to ground floor now blocked up by cement, and circular and diamond shaped vent openings to first floor. A fourth block, a small single-storey stone building of similar masonry and similar age to the previous, but in very ruinous condition, forms the north boundary of the second yard, and a rubble stone wall completes the eastern boundary and separates the yard from an old graveyard. Setting: the farm buildings lie just to the north of Kilwaughter Castle well within its demesne, surrounded by agricultural land.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The farm buildings appear on the OS map of 1832 with essentially the same layout as present. Built in association with the early 19th century development of Kilwaughter Castle. The structures lie within the area of scheduled monuments, Nos. ANT 40:8 and 40:31.F. References - Primary Sources 1. OS Map 1832, Co Antrim 40. 2. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 40. Secondary Sources 1. Hamond, Antrim Coast and Glens Industrial Heritage (HMSO, Belfast, 1991), pp 34-35, 90. [Illustrates the tower of the farm buildings on p 34 but erroneously identifies it as the pigeon house; error repeated at p 90.] 2. IHR 7678.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

Two courtyards of farm buildings. A handsome and well detailed double courtyard that forms an important element in the group with Kilwaughter Castle.

General Comments

Date of Survey

29 March 1998