Castle Chester, 34 Marine Parade, Whitehead, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, BT38 9QN

Castle Chester is an attached six-bay two-storey house built around 1800, located on the west side of Marine Parade in Whitehead, overlooking the sea front. The building is of architectural and historic interest within this area.

The house is rectangular in plan with houses attached to the north-east. The pitched roof is covered in artificial slate with simple concrete skews, and roughcast chimneys to the gables have replacement pots. The walls are roughcast rendered with rusticated quoins and brick corbelled eaves. Windows are exposed box timber framed 2/2 sliding sashes (horizontally divided) with painted masonry sills; windows are larger at ground floor. Cast-iron half-round gutters with round downpipes run the length of the building.

The principal elevation faces south and comprises six openings at each floor arranged around a round arch-headed opening containing a timber-sheeted entrance door with decorative strap hinges and a plain glazed fanlight. The west gable is blank. The north elevation is abutted on the left by an adjoining house; the exposed wall contains at the right two windows at each floor, a timber-sheeted entrance door to the centre with transom light and sidelight to the left, a 6/3 sliding sash window at ground floor and a 6/6 sliding sash window to the stairwell, and a small casement window at first floor. The east gable is roughcast and contains two windows at each floor.

The building sits within a garden to the east, stepped down to Marine Parade and accessed through rendered walling. To the south, the garden is enclosed by rubble walling with pitched single-storey timber and rubble outbuildings. Access from the west is through rubble walling containing an arched gateway from the ruin of Castle Chichester. To the north are an attached two-storey house and outbuildings.

Historical records show that the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1832 depicts two adjacent L-shaped buildings on the site, captioned Castle Chichester. The second edition map of 1857 shows an extension to the southernmost building on the right side. The third edition map of 1902 shows the buildings further altered in plan, displaying a rectangular building with two wing projections. The Townland Valuation of 1836 records a dwelling and offices occupied by Samuel McKinistry, valued at £9 10s, with the property comprising three sections, one described as a large farm house. A deduction was made in the valuation for inconvenient situation. Griffith's Valuation of 1859 records the northern building as a house (part of), offices and land, occupied by William McKeen and leased from Charles Leslie, valued at £7 10s initially and revised to £8 10s. The southern building is entered as a house (part of), occupied by Alexander Black and leased from William McKeen, valued at £2 10s. A valuer's note records that the possession of the farm was sold in the course of the season for about £1400.

Boyle's Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1839 refer to the adjacent castle, noting that its square form and construction style, particularly secret stairs constructed in its walls, suggest erection in the 12th or 13th century, though its name would imply otherwise, as the Chichesters possessed no property in the country until the conclusion of the 16th century. The memoirs record that until about the middle of the 17th century there was a considerable village or town at Castle Chichester, which possessed a harbour or quay (remains of which were still visible), had considerable trade with Scotland, and was the station from which mails were dispatched to that country. The castle may have been occupied by some of the Chichesters or received its present name upon becoming their property.

The building retains many original features both externally and internally, adding to its architectural interest and quality of survival.