Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB05/16/005

Address :
Kelp and grain Store Church Bay Rathlin Island Co. Antrim

Townland:
Demesne

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
28/11/1988 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Shop

Former Use
Shop

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
Partially

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OS Map No:
03/08

IG Ref:
D1499 5049

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A two-phase single-bay, single-storey early 19th C store for kelp and grain aligned E-W on the shore at the S end of Church Bay. Pitched roof, now completely missing except for gable apexes. Brick chimney on W (seaward) gable. No rainwater goods (possibly never existed). Walls of random rubble limestone, brought to courses and snecked around some of the larger stones. Roughly-squared limestone quoins and oversailing brick eaves. All openings have flat heads, but no doors or windows survive; all window opes are without cills. The principal entrance is on the E gable and is accessed down a sloping grassy track from the road. It comprises a large timber-headed doorway with concrete jambs and shallow brick relieving arch over on its outside face. The original doorway was probably much smaller and this enlargement is undoubtedly a later feature. Indeed the present timber head probably dates from repair work in 2012 as it has a fresh appearance and the mortar above it is cement-rich. Small wrought-iron hitching ring on left jamb. Modern information plaque affixed to wall at right of doorway. The S elevation is now blank. A clear wall break to right of centre denotes the first phase of construction at left and later addition at right. Infilled FF window in the later phase, to immediate right of wall break. The W gable is blank save for an infilled FF window to centre. The fact that the chimney breast runs behind it indicates that the latter is a later addition. The original timber window head has been replaced with a course of bricks. The N elevation has a wall break just left of centre, with the original building at right and later addition at left. The former has a GF doorway flanked to each side by two windows, and four FF window opes in line with those below. The timber heads survive to the GF opens only. The later addition has a GF doorway and window to left and right respectively, and two FF window opes in line with those below. All these openings have timber heads. The timber heads and brickwork on the two FF windows of the later phase are probably 2012 conservation interventions. A narrow platform runs across the N elevation, with access steps up at its W end. It continues as a rubble masonry wall at its E end. Setting: The building is located on the wave-swept shoreline, on the seaward side of a coastal road. Enclosed fields to E of road. Some 20m NW is an opening in the rocks which served as a small landing place for the store.

Architects

Historical Information

This building is depicted on the 1832-33 OS map. The 1834 Valuation book describes it as a store belonging to the Rev. Robert Gage, the local landowner. Its dimensions are given as 70ft long by 22ft wide, by 13ft high. This store is also noted in the 1830 Ordnance Survey Memoir thus: "The manner in which the trade of this island is carried on is as follows: two storehouses have been built, one on the east coast near Bracken's Cave, and the other on the Church Bay west coast, 500-600 yards south of the pier [the latter one is the one under review here]. At each of these storehouses there is a regular weighing machine and a person to keep an account of all goods, and their owners, stored. Here all the produce of the soil, which is principally barley not wanted for immediate domestic use, is lodged till an opportunity of traffic, which is mostly with the Scottish people, occurs. Fuel being the principal want, boats from Scotland generally come to the island laden with coals, which they barter with these islanders for their grain and kelp. These opportunities of traffic do not occur regularly and are sometimes much wanted, in which cases Mr gage takes from this tenants their grain in lieu of rent." Kelp (burnt seaweed) was probably stored inside the building as well as crops as its alkali content would otherwise have been leached out by rain. The building is also depicted on the 1856, 1904 and 1922 OS maps. Unfortunately the Valuation books cast no further light on its history beyond describing it generically as one of several 'offices' in this locality. How long the storehouse remained in commercial use is uncertain. The storehouse was erected by the Gage family, probably in the later 1700s by Robert Gage (who died in 1801), or in the earlier 1800s by his son Rev Robert Gage who came of age (21) in 1811 and took over the estate's running. As will be noted under the Site Description, the store was built in two phases. The field evidence shows that the original building measured c.44ft x 22½ft. However, the present building measures c.69½ft x 22½ft. The latter dimensions correspond with those in the 1834 Valuation (70ft x 22ft), so its enlargement must have occurred before then. In 2012, the National Trust undertook consolidation work on the shell of the building to stabilise it for the foreseeable future. References - Primary Sources: 1. 1830 Ordnance Survey Memoir for Rathlin Island Parish. Reproduced by A. Day & P. McWilliams (eds), Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland: Parishes of Co Antrim IX - North Antrim Coast and Rathlin, p.129 (Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994). 2. PRONI OS/6/1/1/1. First edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 1 (1832-33). 3. PRONI VAL/1/B/136. First Valuation book, p.52, plot 3 (1834). 4. PRONI OS/6/1/1/2. Second edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 1 (1856). 5. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/29. Second Valuation book (1859). 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/18A-D. Valuation revision books (1868-1929). 7. PRONI OS/6/1/1/3. Third edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 1 (1904). 8. PRONI OS/6/1/1/4. Fourth edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 1 (1922). References - Secondary Sources: 1. Forsythe W. & McConkey R. 2012. An Archaeological Survey of a Maritime Landscape, pp 248-250 and 366-367 (Belfast: Northern Ireland Environment Agency). 2. Information on 2012 conservation works in Rathlin Development & Community Association website, .

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation J. Setting

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

This building's plain vernacular style reflects its utilitarian function as a storehouse. It was located as close as possible to the shore to facilitate boat access. The materials of this building are entirely authentic, with no later replacements save for some minor consolidation work. It is one of several such stores on the island but the best preserved. Its size reflects the importance of kelp and grain storage to the local economy, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries and it is of local significance in this respect.

General Comments

Date of Survey

24 March 2015