Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB05/15/020

Address :
The House of McDonnell 71 Castle Street Ballycastle County Antrim BT54 6AS

Townland:
Ballycastle Town Parks

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
11/03/1981 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Public House

Former Use
Public House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
8-12

IG Ref:
D1141 4066

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

Substantial three-storey public house with living quarters over, built c.1750s, with third storey and large rear returns added c.1885 The property is set on the S side of Castle Street, close to Ballycastle town centre. The asymmetrical front elevation faces N. To the right on the ground floor is the pub front which appears to date from the latter half of the 19th century. This front is made up of a doorway to the left with a panelled timber door and plain rectangular fanlight, and a large window to the right with a timber frame with three tall semicircular-headed lights. The doorway and the window are encased with timber pilasters which rise to a moulded ‘cornice’ with painted timber signboard over with projecting cornice hood above this. To the left of the pub front is another (house) doorway with panelled and (mirror) glazed timber double door, segmental-headed fanlight and moulded architrave. To left again is another doorway (leading to the rear of the building), with a panelled timber door and plain rectangular fanlight. To the first floor there are four uniform symmetrically arranged windows with moulded surrounds and horned timber sash frames with plate glass glazing. The are four such windows to the second floor also. The front façade is finished in painted lined render with raised in-out quoins. The E and W gables are only exposed at second floor level. Both are finished in painted render and do not have any openings. The left hand (W) side of the rear elevation there is a long three-storey gabled return which extends from a broader, but shallower gabled return. To the S the long return reduces to a one and a half-storey section, with a lean-to roof. To the E face of the long return there is a window to left with a horned timber sash frame, (2 panes over two). To right of this there is a doorway, with timber sheeted door, with another window to the right again, with mullioned and transomed timber frame with Georgian-like panes and patterned glass. To the first floor there is window to left with timber sash frame with Georgian panes (six over six), with a similar, but larger window to right (eight panes over eight). To the second floor there are two windows of similar size to those directly below. Both of these windows have timber sash frames (two panes over two). To the ground floor of the E face of the lean-to section to S there is a doorway to the right on the ground floor, with timber-sheeted door. To left is a small window with timber frame and iron security bars over, whilst to left again is an upper level doorway, with door as previous. The latter doorway is reached via a short flight of steps. The broader return to N has a window to the ground floor with horned timber sash frame with plate glass glazing, and a similar window to the first floor. The second floor level is twice as broad as the lower floors of this return, with the overhang supported on a tall steel beam. Within the ‘recess’ under this over hang (actually the only exposed portion of the rear façade of the main section of the building), there is a doorway, with timber-sheeted door, to ground level, with a window, as previous to the first floor. The doorway appears to enclose a passage which can be entered via the door to far left (E) at the front. The components making up the rear elevation are largely finished in unpainted roughcast. Some of this roughcast has come away from the E face of the longer return, revealing brick construction. The gabled roof of the main section of the building is slated, as are the roofs of the returns (though only small sections of these roofs could be seen). There are two rendered ridge chimneystacks to the main section of the building. The rainwater goods are mainly cast-iron, with some PVC-u sections to rear. Within the yard to the rear there is a large single-storey toilet block which appears to be largely constructed in concrete block, suggesting it is a relatively recent addition. To the S this block projects W to abut the lean-to section of the long return.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The current owner states that this property has been in the hands of his family since at least 1766, with the earliest deed he has seen dated 1759. He also states that the building has always contained licensed premises of some description. The first valuation of January 1835* records that the building was in the hands of a George McLaughlin at that point, with the measurements given as 31ft x 23 x 18 for the main ‘dwelling’, an ‘addition- half office half dwelling’ of 15 x 23 x 11½, and thatched ‘stables etc’ of 26 x 19 x 9½. All sections of the building were regarded as of considerable age by the valuers, (grades 1C+, 2C+), suggesting that the dates on the abovementioned deeds are probably good indicators to the actual date of construction. Much of Castle Street itself appears to have been built in the 1740s and it is entirely feasible that the property dates from this decade, however, the evidence provided by the deeds, and the fact that the original part of its staircase is slightly finer than the c.1740s staircases seen elsewhere within the street, could suggest it is slightly later, perhaps around 1760. By 1859 the property had passed to John McDonnell. Much had been added to the rear of the building by this stage, with two returns of 5yrds x 9 x 3(storeys) and 2 x 3 x 2, with offices and sheds of 5x 5 x 2, 4 x 5 x 1, 5 x 5 x 2, 22 x 6 x 2, 3 x 6 x 1, 3 x 6 x 1, 5 x 4 x 2, 5 x 4 x 1, 8 x 3 x 2 and 6 x 3 x 1. The valuers tell us that the main building contained ‘a good shop, room off and three rooms over…[and] two garrets’, ‘three good rooms’ to the larger return and ‘two small rooms’ in the ‘second return’; the property was ‘not well finished’, but was, however, ‘ good concern’. It appears odd that although the main portion of the building was still two-storey at this time, the larger return to the rear is recorded as three-storey. We can only assume that although this return contained three levels it was the same height as the as the main building, (i.e. the levels were lower), and that the present three-storey returns are later rebuilds. John McDonnell was succeed by Mary McDonnell in 1875, who was followed by Charles McLaughlin in 1886, and Randal McDonnell in 1891, who remained there until the early 1930s, running a veterinary practice from the building for most of this time, as well as the licensed premises. Apart from the changes in ownership / tenancy, the valuations tell us little else about the property in the decades after 1859. This is surprising as a major amount of work must have been carried out at some point after this date, giving the building its present three-storey height and large returns. We know these changes must have taken place prior to 1895, for after this date all significant alterations to properties are recorded in the valuers’ office notebooks. There is a gap in the valuations between the years 1859 and 1862, so work could have taken place between these years, however, the fact that the valuation itself actually drops from £32 in the former year to £30 in the latter suggests otherwise. The interior detailing appears largely late Victorian indicating that any changes took place after c.1875 (but before 1895). A likely date seems to be 1885, for a significant number of properties within the town were heightened and or extended around this date- an occurrence relating, perhaps, to some kind of relaxation on building restrictions on properties leased from the Boyd estate, or perhaps to the growth of Ballycastle’s prosperity due to increased tourism (due in part to the arrival of the railway in 1880)- or both? Randal McDonnell was succeeded by Mary McDonnell (in c.1932), who held the property until her death in 1979, when it passed to her nephew, the present owner. The licensed premises contained within the building was a spirit grocers prior to Partition in 1921, with groceries sold from the front of the shop, and spirits etc. in the rear. Spirit groceries were not permitted in the new Northern Ireland state and the business –then known as ‘The Store’- became a public house. [*Note on primary sources- Though Ballycastle has its full compliment of valuation books dating back to 1834, the earliest extant valuation plan of the town (indeed the earliest large scale plan) is that dating from 1898. This means that though the first and second valuations -of 1834 and 1859 respectively- present the usual detailed accounts of properties throughout the town, bereft of their contemporary plans it is almost impossible to discover exactly which buildings the valuers are referring. The writer has circumvented this problem however by adopting the somewhat involved method of reading the records backwards- i.e. taking the more recent (mid 20th century) valuations and tracing each building back from these, using the 1898 map as a marker along the way.] References- Primary sources 1 Taylor, George, and Skinner, Andrew, ‘Taylor and Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed 1777’ (Dublin, 1778), Map 20 etc. 2 Linen Hall Library, Belfast, ‘A Map of County Antrim…by J. Lendrick’ (1780) 3 ‘Pigot & Co’s City of Dublin and Hibernian Commercial Directory (Manchester 1824) 4 OS Memoirs, Parish of Ramoan, (1831-39), reprinted in ‘Ordnance Survey memoirs of Ireland…’ ed Angelique Day, Patrick McWilliams and Noirin Dobson (Belfast, QUB, 1994), p.92 etc 5 PRONI OS/6/1/8/1 OS map, Co Antrim, sheet 8 (1832) 6 PRONI VAL/1B/135 First valuation, Ramoan parish (1834) 7 Lewis, Samuel, ‘Topographical history of Ireland’ (London, 1837) 8 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1846) 9 ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1856) 10 PRONI OS/6/1/8/2 OS map, Co Antrim, sheet 8 (1856) 11 PRONI VAL/2B/1/28c Second valuation, Ramoan parish (1859) 12 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3a Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1862-64) 13 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3b Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1865-76) 14 Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland (Manchester, 1870) 15 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3c Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1876-84) 16 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3d Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1884-93) 17 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3e Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1892/3-98) 18 Bassett, George Henry, ‘The Book of County Antrim’ (Dublin, 1888), pp.92-102 19 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3f Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1898-1907) 20 PRONI VAL/12E/8/1/1-3 Valuation plans of Ballycastle (1898-c.1935) 21 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ (Belfast, 1905) 22 PRONI VAL/12E/8/2/1 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, c.1905 23 PRONI VAL/12B/2/3g Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle ED (1908-21) 24 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5a Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North and South Wards (1921-27) 25 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5b Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD North Ward (1927-30) 26 PRONI VAL/12B/2/5c Annual valuation revision book, Ballycastle UD South Ward (1927-30) 27 PRONI VAL/3G/6/1/1-3 Valuation plan of Ballycastle, 1934-50 38 PRONI VAL/3B/1/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD, 1935 39 PRONI VAL/3C/1/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, 1936-57 30 PRONI VAL/4B/1/12 Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballycastle UD (1956-72) Secondary sources 1 Brett, C.E.B., ‘Historic Buildings…The Glens of Antrim’ (Belfast, 1971), p.47 2 Information supplied by the owner (September 2004) Other
references 1 EHS HB05/15/020 First Survey report (10 October 1972) 2 EHS HB05/15/020 Photograph (?1972)

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

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A very good example of a substantial three-storey public house with living quarters over, built c.1750s, with third storey and large rear returns added c.1885. This fine building has remained largely untouched since the 1880s and retains a fine late Victorian pub interior.

General Comments

Date of Survey

24 September 2004