33 Castle Street, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, BT27 4SP

33 Castle Street, Lisburn

An end-of-terrace four-bay three-storey redbrick house built around 1800, sited on the north side of Castle Street. The building stands over a basement and faces south, with a full-height rear bow adjacent to a two-to-three-storey brick extension added around 2005.

The front elevation is laid in Flemish bond with rusticated redbrick quoins at all corners. A natural slate roof with lead ridges pitches to the west and hips to the east, finished with a tall profiled redbrick and rendered chimneystack to the west, all behind a lead-lined parapet wall. Decorative cast-iron hoppers break through the parapet at either end with cast-iron downpipes. A small segmental-headed dormer interrupts the front pitch. The ground floor features painted rusticated walling below the sill course, with a moulded plinth course beneath.

The four-bay fenestration comprises camber-headed window openings with painted stone sills and replacement timber sash windows with 2/2 horizontal panes. The centrepiece is an off-centre pedimented doorcase of painted stone, comprising a round-headed door opening with a replacement multi-panelled timber door and semi-circular fanlight. The doorcase is flanked by a pair of Doric columns with acanthus leaf and egg-and-dart capitals, supporting a full entablature and a broken-based pediment above, which is lead-lined. A masonry platform extends to the pavement with steps to either side, each fitted with a single iron bootscraper. The front elevation is finished with a deeply moulded cornice running to the lead-lined parapet.

The side and rear elevations are rendered. The west elevation is abutted by the adjoining building at nos. 29–31 Castle Street. The east side elevation is blank with cornice, parapet, and quoins matching the front, plus a plastered band above each floor. The rear elevation is abutted to the west by a three-storey redbrick extension and to the east by a bowed stair hall with round-headed window openings and replacement uPVC windows.

The interior retains an elegant staircase and landing arches, principally from a major refurbishment carried out around 1900.

Historical context

In Griffith's Valuation (1856–64), the house was occupied by Miss Mary Anne Gregg and leased from the Marquess of Hertford 'in perpetuity', though the valuer noted her claim that she owned it outright. The valuation assessed the house, cellar, gate, returns containing a kitchen and water closet, offices and sheds at £45. The Greggs were a prominent Lisburn family; a Mary Ann Gregg is buried in the Quaker burial ground at Railway Street.

Following Sir Richard Wallace's inheritance of the Marquess of Hertford's estates in 1876, the house was taken over by his agents, Claude and Frederick Capron, possibly as their residence. Sir Richard Wallace's own newly constructed town house stood to the east, with his estate office newly constructed to the west. By 1903, Sir J M Scott, heir of the Wallace estates, was the occupier. A reduction in valuation from £45 to £30 by 1910 suggests the house was falling into disrepair.

In 1911, the Board of Guardians took over and divided the property into two: a house, motor house and yard leased to David C Campbell, a doctor, and a dispensary office and yard run by the Board of Guardians. The interior refurbishment may date from this period. By 1969, the house had become an RUC station, a use it retained until at least 1987.

The building has since been converted to offices with flats to the rear. Despite its former use as an RUC barracks and later conversion to multi-occupancy apartments, which have eroded its setting and architectural character, it retains historical significance through its connections to Sir Richard Wallace and the Marquess of Hertford. The house makes a positive contribution to the heritage of Castle Street and holds group value with its neighbouring properties, Wallace House and nos. 29–31 Castle Street. The building is situated within a conservation area.