Ballyclare Town Hall, Market Square, Ballyclare, BT39 9BB

Ballyclare Town Hall

This detached, multi-bay two-storey market and town hall occupies a prominent position in Market Square at the centre of Ballyclare. Built in 1877 on the site of a previous market house, it stands as a robust example of a Victorian civic building in a small market town, its importance heightened by the later addition of a clock tower. The building retains original detailing to its façade, including oculus windows and a balcony above the main entrance, and its original plan form remains legible. Replacement windows and loss of some internal features slightly detract from its overall character, though it remains a good example of its type.

The building is constructed of smooth rendered masonry on a rectangular plan, facing east, with two-storey flat-roofed projections to the north and south gables. The pitched slated roof features round ridge tiles. An entrance tower to the east elevation breaks forward slightly and rises above the eaves. Stucco detailing includes V-jointed quoins, platbands to the first floor sill and springing arch levels, and keyblocked architraves.

The east elevation comprises five openings to each floor arranged about a central gabled breakfront, with the tower positioned as the fourth bay and a north flat-roofed extension as the fifth bay. The majority of windows are round-headed. First floor windows have replacement painted timber Y-tracery casements, while ground floor windows are paired replacement 1/1 sash windows with obscured glass set in round-headed recesses with architraves. The tower contains a French door on the first floor leading to a balustraded balcony carried on corbels. The ground floor features a recessed door opening with a triangular-headed canopy to the left (replacement door), an enlarged window set in an elliptical-headed recess with blocked architrave to the breakfront, and a paired window as described above. The tower entrance is a painted timber raised and fielded three-panel double-leaf door with a triangular pedimented Gibbsian surround. The right bay has a single round-headed 1/1 sash window.

The south gable is abutted by a projecting flat-roofed extension. The exposed section displays one window wide to the ground floor, with a central oculus at the gable apex with keystones at cardinal points. The extension features a lead-capped parapet and a central tripartite stained glass casement to the first floor; the ground floor has a single off-centre casement. The right cheek is one window wide, containing a painted timber 2/1 sash window with horns and obscured glass to the ground floor. The left cheek has a round-headed diagonally sheeted painted timber double-leaf door with frosted glass tympanum, accessed by three steps, and a small window to the first floor.

The west elevation displays six openings to each floor, incorporating the north extension, all single round-headed windows, Y-traceried to the first floor and 1/1 sashes to the ground floor, with paired windows to the right of centre at ground level.

The north gable is abutted by a north addition, with only the apex exposed, detailed as the south gable. The north extension is symmetrical, three windows wide, featuring a triplet of stained glass round-headed windows to the first floor centre with Y-tracery windows to either side. The ground floor has paired windows to either side and modern square casements to the centre.

The tower rises to a third stage above the eaves. All elevations display circular clock faces with moulded stucco surrounds. The tower roof is bellcast slated with copper louvered lucarnes.

Historical Records

Historical maps and property records document the site's development. The first edition Ordnance Survey map shows a pump at what appears to be the market square at the centre of Ballyclare settlement. The Townland Fieldbook of 1836 records "gardens of the town of Ballyclare" and "water for houses," with a pump marked on the map. The second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857 shows the site as vacant and captioned "Fair Green." The Ordnance Survey map of 1905 is the first to show the market house, though an abutment to the west elevation visible then no longer appears.

The Valuation Revision of 1864 records a market house on the site, occupied by James Valentine and valued at £2. In 1875 the entry was revised to "Ballyclare Market House" with a revaluation to £5. James Valentine is recorded in the Ulster Street Directory of 1874 as a shoemaker and seller of leather goods. The next revision, dated 1880 to 1886, records that the building was raised to two storeys in 1881. Thereafter all entries show a market house (valued at £5) at lower level and a Town Hall and Reading Room to the upper level, valued separately at £10. From that time, the owner of the market house is recorded as "Ballyclare market house" and the owner of the reading rooms and town hall as James Kilpatrick. The Belfast and Ulster Street Directory of 1902 describes Ballyclare as having "a fine market square containing two statute acres in the centre of which is the Meeting House and Town Hall and a beautiful monument erected by inhabitants to the memory of the late Dr. Cunningham."

Construction Materials

Walls: smooth render; roof: natural slate with round ridge tiles; windows: timber framed; rainwater goods: cast iron.