Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB05/02/001

Address :
Curfew Tower Cushendall Co. Antrim BT44 0RR

Townland:
Cushendall

---

Survey 2:
A

Date of Listing:
26/02/1976 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Tower

Former Use
Prison Tower

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

---

OS Map No:
25/9NE

IG Ref:
D2367 2765

---

Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Detached single-bay five-storey rubblestone tapered tower, built c.1809, by Francis Turnly with single-storey wing to rear. Square on plan facing southeast on a corner site at the junction of Mill Street and High Street with enclosed garden to rear. Restored c.1993 by Hearth Revolving Fund. Lead-lined roof hidden behind castellated parapet wall with lead lining and string course to the base. Red sandstone rubble walling with flush tooled red sandstone quoins and lime pointing. Shallow oriel windows with replacement 6/6 and 3/3 sliding timber sash windows. Northeast elevation fronting onto High Street has central oriel windows to the second, third and fourth floors with flush relieving arches. At ground floor level is a water fountain or piscina comprising a flush red and yellow sandstone ashlar pointed arch with the keystone having inscribed monogram of Francis Turnly's initials. The arch is supported on squat columns rising from a water basin in turn supported on two corbels. Southeast elevation fronting onto Mill Street, as per northeast elevation with a central square-headed door opening set within a round-headed voussoired arch having a timber plank door with iron covering and iron studs opening onto two red sandstone steps and a small overlight. Southwest elevation as above with no openings at ground floor level. Northwest elevation abutted by single-storey wing (built c.1993) having an off-centre oriel window to the second floor and central oriels to the third and fourth floors. A diminutive square-headed window opening to the first floor has an iron grille. The single-storey wing is built in red sandstone rubble with a hipped natural slate roof having lead ridges, timber sash windows and a vertically-sheeted timber door to the southwest elevation, now functioning as the principal entrance. Setting: Located on a prominent corner site at the junction of Mill Street and High Street at the main crossroads at the centre of Cushendall. Small sloping rear garden enclosed by tall rubblestone wall with stacked coping and a pedestrian iron gate with voussoired arch to High Street, tall rubblestone wall with stacked coping enclosing site to Mill Street. Telephone kiosk (HB05/02/041) located against the High Street boundary walling of the tower. Materials: Roof Lead RWG Not visible Walling Rubble red sandstone Windows Replacement sliding timber sash

Architects

Historical Information

Turnly's Tower, a five-storey sandstone tower house located at the corner of Mill Street and High Street and also known as the ‘Curfew Tower,’ was constructed in 1809. The tower was erected by Francis Turnly, the proprietor of the village, and was originally utilised as a prison for idlers and rioters in the area. The architect of the structure is unknown. Turnly had travelled to China in 1796 where he raised a fortune of around £75,000. In 1801 Turnly returned to Ireland and used this money to purchase the estate of Newtownglens from the Richardson family at a cost of £24,000; Turnly subsequently renamed the settlement Cushendall. Brett states that Turnly was an eccentric character who ‘effected extraordinary improvements in buildings and roads on his property’ (Brett, p. 288). The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1830-38) note that the Tower was erected in 1809 with the memoir writer describing the building in the following terms: ‘A curious square building … it is 20 feet square at the base, but inclines a little as it rises. It is 40 feet high and consists of 4 storeys [sic – one storey is invisible externally], each of which has a projecting window on each side, which from the construction (having loopholes at the bottom) are calculated for defence. It is not at all ornamental in its structure and is said to have been built after the model of some Chinese tower’ (OSM, p. 46). O’Laverty records that the tower was ‘the great object of Mr. Turnly’s thoughts.’ The landlord appointed Dan McBride, an army pensioner, to be its guard and left instructions that the building be constantly provisioned for a year and was to be permanently garrisoned by one man who would be armed by a musket, a bayonet, a case of pistols and a pike. The building also acted as the village’s bell tower (with the curfew bell rung at 9pm every night until the 1940s) and main water supply as a reservoir, located on the tower’s east side, was filled with water from a rock spring located a quarter of a mile away. The Natural Stone Database notes that Turnly’s Tower was constructed of locally quarried Devonian Sandstone (Cross Slieve Group) with Basalt utilised as a secondary material (O’Laverty; Bassett; Brett; NSD). The Townland Valuations set the total rateable value of the tower at £3 and 10 shillings in 1834. In that year the valuer noted that the building was occupied by a Mr. Bernard Murphy although he left the following comment: ‘unsuitable for a dwelling and only one small room in the same storey.’ Turnly’s Tower remained valued at £3 and 10 shillings until the 1930s. Bernard Murphy continued to reside at the tower until 1865 when the building fell vacant. It appears that Turnly’s Tower was seldom used as a place of confinement and was simply utilised as a private dwelling by at least the mid-19th century. In 1875 the tower was occupied by a Mr. John Douglas who remained at the site until 1891 when John Stewart, a local shoemaker, occupied the building. In 1911 the Census Building Return described the tower as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of four rooms and possessed a fowl house and shed as its sole out offices. The Ordnance Survey Town Plans (1903; 1932) depicted the Turnly Tower along its current square-shaped layout although the maps also noted that the building possessed a small return or outbuilding to its rear yard (replaced in 1992-93). Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) the value of the Turnly Tower was increased to £5. The building continued to be occupied by the Stewart family until 1962 when it reverted to the Turnly estate; by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the value of the tower remained at £5. In 1972 the UAHS publication for the Glens of Antrim described the Turnly Tower in the following terms: ‘A truly remarkable romantic building, providing at once the pivot and focus for the central crossing of the town. On each of its four faces there are projecting windows, with a murder-hole in the base of the lowest. In the base of the east wall is inset a modest fountain capped by Mr. Turnly’s initials. The doorway is narrow and round-headed; the door itself is most medieval, sheathed in iron with knobs on it’ (UAHS p. 36). The Turnly Tower was included in the Cushendall Conservation Area in 1975, only the second conservation area in the province to have been designated at that time, ‘testimony itself to the special qualities of the village.’ In that year the village was also chosen as one of Northern Ireland’s four pilot schemes for conservation during the European Architectural Heritage Year. The Turnly Tower was subsequently listed in 1976. The Turnly Tower underwent extensive renovation by Heath Revolving Fund in 1992-93 including the installation of a new lead roof, the replacement of its floors, the restoration of the staircase, the repointing of the stonework and the construction of the single-storey kitchen extension to the rear of the building (utilising stone salvaged from the former outbuildings). The original curfew bell had gone missing by the 1990s, however Hearth installed a new bell which was donated by a London fire station. Since 1999 the restored building has been utilised as an artists’ residency operated by the trust 'In You We Trust' (NIEA HB Records; Hearth Housing; Cushendall Conservation Area Guide). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/20/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903) 4. PRONI OS/6/1/20/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1921) 5. PRONI OS/8/84/1 – Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1903) 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/148 – Townland Valuations (1834) 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/1/40B – Griffith’s Valuation (1859) 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/7A-F – Annual Revisions (1864-1923) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/12A– Annual Revisions (1923-29) 10. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/14 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 11. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/10 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 12. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Antrim IV, Vol. 13 (1830-38) 13. Bassett’s County Antrim: A guide and directory (1888) 14. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918) 15. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 16. First Survey Record – HB05/02/001 (1971) 17. NIEA HB Record – HB05/02/001 Secondary Sources 1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972. 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Co. Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1996 (including Laverty
references). 3. Dallat, C., ‘The road to the Glens’ Belfast: The Friar’s Bush Press, 1989. 4. ‘Cushendall Village Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1975. 5. ‘Cushendall Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1993 – includes Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1932. Online Resources 1. Natural Stone Database - http:// www.stonedatabase.com//buildings.cfm?bk=1567 2. Hearth Housing website - http:// www.hearth-housing.org.uk/Tower.html 3. In You We Trust website - http:// www.curfewtower.com/index.html

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H+. Alterations enhancing the building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

Z. Rarity R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance U. Historic Associations W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Detached single-bay five-storey rubblestone tapered tower, built 1809 by Francis Turnly the proprietor of the village as a prison for idlers and rioters. It was, however, seldom used as a place of confinement and was a private dwelling by at least the mid-19th century. Architect unknown, it is said to be modelled on a Chinese tower, Turnly having travelled to China in 1796 where he raised a fortune of around £75,000. In 1801 he returned to Ireland and used this money to purchase the estate of Newtownglens from the Richardson family; Turnly subsequently renamed the settlement Cushendall. Located in the very centre of the village, at the junction of High Street, Mill Street, Shore Street and Bridge Street, the tower is constructed of red sandstone rubble walling with flush tooled red sandstone quoins and oriel windows to all four sides. The High Street facade incorporates a water fountain into the wall with a monogram of Francis Turnly's initials inscribed on the keystone. The tower is a landmark not only in Cushendall and the Glens of Antrim, but is of international importance. Now in use as an artist's residency, the tower plays a pivotal role in the cultural activities of the locality including the Turnly Prize and the Glens Festival in addition to its status as the principal landmark of the village.

General Comments

Date of Survey

19 December 2014