Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB05/02/036 B

Address :
15 High Street Cushendall Co. Antrim BT44 0ND

Townland:
Cushendall

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Survey 2:
B2

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

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
25/9NE

IG Ref:
D2363 2768

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Terraced two-bay three-storey rendered house, built prior to 1857. Rectangular on plan facing southwest forming part of a short terrace of four buildings lining the northeast side of High Street on a steep gradient. Pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles and rendered chimneystacks to either side with terracotta pots. Cast-iron guttering on iron drive through brackets with steel downpipes. Painted ruled-and-lined cement rendered walling. Square-headed window openings with painted concrete sills and replacement 6/6 sliding hardwood sliding sash windows with angled horns and exposed sash boxes. Two-bay three-storey front elevation with a central square-headed door opening having replacement hardwood glazed and panelled door and 3/6 hardwood sliding sash windows to the second floor. A modern single storey roughcast extension with profiled metal decking roof covering extends from the left side of the rear elevation towards the north. A lean-to single storey extension with rooflight spans between the previous extension and the boundary with No.17. Northwest side abutted by adjoining building No.17 High Street (HB05/02/036C). Two-bay three-storey rear elevation has rough-cast cement rendered walling with replacement top-hung multi-pane hardwood casement windows and concrete sills. Southeast side abutted by adjoining house No.13 High Street (HB05/02/036A). Setting: Forming part of a short terrace of four houses built on a steep gradient on the northeast side of High Street with a small front paved area enclosed by original iron railings with decorative cast-iron heads and set in a low rendered plinth wall with an iron pedestrian gate. Materials: Roof Natural slate RWG Cast-iron Walling Painted ruled-and-lined cement render Windows Replacement timber sliding sash

Architects

Historical Information

No. 15 High Street, a three-storey two-bay mid-Victorian dwelling located on the north east side of High Street, was constructed along with the adjoining No. 13 (HB05/02/036A) prior to 1857. The majority of the buildings located along High Street were erected in the first half of the 19th century by the landowning Turnly family. Cushendall’s proprietor Francis Turnly had travelled to China in 1796 where he raised a fortune of around £75,000. In 1801 Turnly 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.’ Cushendall consisted of little more than a number of insignificant cabins, a mill and a bridge at the time of the purchase however, due to an increase in the number of tourists travelling through the area (on the way to the Giant’s Causeway) the village was developed into a coastal resort with the erection of hotels (such as the Glens of Antrim on Shore Street) and numerous commercial properties (Dallat, p. 45; Brett, Buildings of Co. Antrim, p. 288; Cushendall Conservation Area Guide). Nos 13-15 High Street were constructed prior to 1857 as they were depicted on the second edition Ordnance Survey map in that year. It is possible that the buildings were erected as early as the 1830s and may have been included in the Townland Valuations (1834), however it is difficult to identify specific structures in that source due to the loss of the accompanying Townland Valuation Town Plan for Cushendall. The buildings were first recorded in Griffith’s Valuation (1859) which noted that nos 13-15 High Street were originally constructed as a single private dwelling. The valuer records that the house was valued at £18 and 10 shillings and was leased by the Turnly family to Daniel Jamison, a local rate collector and farmer. The Annual Revisions note that nos 13-15 High Street were subdivided into two private dwellings in c. 1893 with Jamison remaining at the larger No. 13 until his death in c. 1905. Following the subdivision of the property, No.15 High Street was valued at £5 and 10 shillings and was initially leased by Jamison to a Mrs. Margaret Wilson. The Census of Ireland records that No. 15 High Street had passed to a Ms. Jane McElroy, a local National School Teacher. The accompanying census building return described the house as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of seven rooms and possessed a turf house and a shed as its sole outbuildings. The house was occupied by a Mr. James McKillop under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which increased the value of No. 15 High Street to £7 and 10 shillings. In 1957 the house was occupied by a Ms. Margaret Whiteford whose family purchased the site outright from the Turnly estate in 1967. By the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) No. 15 High Street was valued at £11 and was leased by the Whitefords to a Mr. Neil O’Boyle. In 1972 the publication for the Glens of Antrim described High Street as ‘an outstandingly attractive street, of quite exceptional merit and character, climbing very steeply indeed from the crossing of the main street to Court McMartin, almost every building in it of individual merit apart from the value of the group as a whole; the roofs, gables, doors and windows rise in an irregular staircase up the hillside.’ In particular the guide described nos 11-19 High Street as ‘a very pleasing group climbing the steepest part of the hill, their storeys accordingly somewhat breathlessly arranged, part Georgian and part Regency glazed’ (UAHS p. 34). The buildings along High Street were 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. No. 15 High Street was subsequently listed in 1976. The NIEA HB Records note that No. 15 High Street underwent extensive renovation c. 1985 including reslating in natural slates, the reconstruction of a chimney stack and the installation of cast iron rainwater goods (NIEA HB Records; Cushendall Conservation Area Guide). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/20/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/20/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1921) 4. PRONI OS/8/84/1 – Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1903) 5. PRONI VAL/1/B/148 – Townland Valuations (1834) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/1/40B – Griffith’s Valuation (1859) 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/7A-F – Annual Revisions (1864-1923) 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/12A– Annual Revisions (1923-29) 9. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/14 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 10. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/10 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 11. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918) 12. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 13. First Survey Record – HB05/02/036 (1971) 14. NIEA HB Record – HB05/02/036B 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. 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.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Mid terraced two-bay three-storey rendered mid-Victorian dwelling located on the north east side of High Street, close to the village centre of Cushendall. It was constructed along with the adjoining No. 13 (HB05/02/036A) prior to 1857 as a single dwelling, which was then divided into two separate dwellings in 1893. Despite the replacement of the original windows and front door, the historic proportions and style remain intact. It is an integral component of the terrace which steps up the hill of High Street, and No.15 has group value with No.13. The terrace as a whole adds to the historic village centre setting.

General Comments

Date of Survey

19 January 2015