56 Castle Street, Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6AR

56 Castle Street, Ballycastle

A relatively plain, somewhat modernised two-storey terrace house dating from the later 18th century, set on the north side of Castle Street to the west of Ballycastle town centre. The building was originally part of a larger property shared with number 58, and once featured a large carriage archway of possible later 18th-century construction.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces south. At ground floor level, the centre-right contains a modern partly glazed door with a plain rectangular fanlight. To its right is an enlarged, roughly square shop-like window with a single fixed light frame. On the far left stands the most significant surviving original feature: a large segmental-headed carriage arch with painted in-out voussoirs and quoins, now fitted with a roller shutter placed behind the opening. The first floor contains four unevenly-spaced windows with modern timber frames; the two windows to the left are slightly smaller and set at a higher level (positioned above the carriage arch), whilst the windows to the right actually belong to the adjoining number 58. The front façade is rendered and painted, with a satellite dish mounted between the second and third windows.

The rear elevation is more varied in construction. At ground floor level on the left side stands a small single-storey rendered lean-to with a corrugated iron roof; this has a modern door on its west face and a modern window on its north face. To the right of the lean-to is a window with modern frame, followed by the rear of the carriage arch. The first floor has two widely-spaced windows with modern frames. The main building's rear façade is constructed of random basalt rubble that has been whitewashed, though this finish is not well maintained. A dentilled brick course runs to the verge. The gabled roof is covered in artificial slate with a Velux window to the rear, and a tall rendered chimney stack rises to the west of centre on the ridge. PVC rainwater goods serve the front elevation, whilst those to the rear appear to be metal.

The building has been substantially modernised in recent decades with modern window frames throughout and artificial slates, changes which have seriously weakened its impact on Castle Street's Georgian character.

Historical Development

Valuation records from December 1834 identify a large old property of similar dimensions to the combined present numbers 56 and 58, then occupied by Adam Boyd and Patrick Black. Comparative evidence from the second valuation of 1859 and absence of recorded major structural changes suggest that the western half of this large 1834 dwelling corresponds to the present number 56. The combined property likely dates from around 1740-70, when Ballycastle acquired much of its present form under the improving landlord Hugh Boyd. Documentary evidence suggests the building may have been one of the 127 two-storey houses mentioned in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1835, though significant internal detailing in the adjoining number 58 provides stronger evidence for 18th-century construction of at least that portion.

By 1834, a range of poor dwellings occupied the large yard to the rear, known as 'Boyd's Yard'. The upper portions of these were used as offices or stores. These dwellings, originally sited on both sides of the yard, had seven occupants recorded by 1859: John Sharpe, James Kenny, Patrick Carroll, John Hunter, Daniel McCollum, Mary (possibly McCrank) and Charles McDougall. The building was divided into separate properties by 1859, when number 56 was occupied by Hugh Boyd, who appears to have remained until 1865. Subsequent residents included John Whiteford and Andrew Boyd (who had previously lived in number 58, presumably a family relation). The property passed to James Campbell in 1902, followed by James Bonar (1920-22), John Jennings (1922 to around 1946), and Annie McCurdy from 1950. The small houses to the rear were abandoned prior to 1923, when they were recorded as ruins; one dwelling to the east appears to have remained occupied until 1950. The western range was demolished around the 1980s to make way for an extension to the neighbouring supermarket. Like number 58, this building shows signs of renovation dating from the 1980s.

The property originally contained a parlour and kitchen on the ground floor, two rooms over, and garrets. The building is situated within a conservation area.