The Story of Carrickfergus Townscape Heritage Initiative p7
33 North Street
North Street is the longest north/south street within the old town walls.
The building is located at a key focal point for pedestrians heading south towards the main street from the Railway Station and through the North Gate.
It was constructed during the mid-19th century, shown on the Town Plan map of 1884.
The building was originally 2 separate buildings, one owned by James Dubourdieu while the neighbouring property to the east was occupied by a Hugh Harpur.
Historic photographic (c.1870) evidence shows that a shop owned by James Bell was located on the premises of No.33, before moving to the corner of High Street in the late-19th century.
By the turn of the 20th century the property had been amalgamated, a configuration which remains today.
The premises had during the 20th Century undergone a number of transitions and following a fire had become derelict in 2018.
The building was externally restored to model the shop depicted in the 1920’s photograph of the shop operated by Robert Pollock.
The internal structure of the building was redesigned to support the creation of a retail space and a first floor flat with a separate entrance.
The restoration work included the use of traditional materials and skills such as the application of lime rendering, a manufactured hard wood shop front, use of Bangor Blue slates on the roof and cast-iron guttering.
A dummy chimney was created to support a more traditional 1900’s appearance.
Total Project Investment £268,433.
2 West Street
2 West Street is a Victorian style three storey, rendered terrace building, retaining period sash windows at upper front floors, estimated to date back to circa 1820.
It is estimated that the construction of the building at 2 West Street dates to the early 1800’s, possibly earlier.
Historical records from the Dublin Penny Journal of 1832 show the presence of thatched cottages along West Street at one time.
The records taken from 1891 list the address of 2 West Street as belonging to a Town Commissioner, which would suggest that the property was solely a residential property at this time and not yet established as a retail unit.
The THI supported restoration of 2 West Street, Carrickfergus consisted of a programme of repairs, conservation, and reinstatement of architectural details to the building, complementing its current use as a commercial premises and supporting the development of upper floors currently in poor condition for residential use with the creation of 2 residential flat units.
Architectural features that had been lost have been reinstated including the creation of a brick chimney to replicate examples elsewhere in the Conservation Area.
The hardwood shop front was reconstructed with the steel shutter discretely moved to inside the main window with hand painted signage replacing the former plastic metal sign with plastic lettering.
The roof was repaired with traditional slate, steel guttering replacing PVC and inside where historic elements existed, these were repaired and retained including the repair of the hardwood sliding sash windows, the staircase, architraves, cornices, and period doors.
Total Project Investment £292,960.
1-3 Cheston Street
Cheston Street is one of the original medieval streets of the old town of Carrickfergus.
From the time of 12th century when John De Courcy arrived in Carrickfergus and established the medieval settlement, it became the primary thoroughfare from the Castle to St Nicholas’ Church.
Cheston Street appears on maps dating back to the 16th century as being laid out within the mid-16th century town defences, with stone tower-houses, alongside less permanent dwellings.
Over the centuries, it has been variously known as Cheston’s Lane, or Street; and Butcher’s Row.
The age and historical importance of Cheston Street is borne out by archaeological excavation finds of Cheston Street from the 1970s.
A sandstone window from a tower-house was discovered and is thought to be from the present day location of 16 Cheston Street.
This is now on display in Carrickfergus Museum.
The current premises had lain vacant and used as a store for over thirty years and significant work was necessary to reinstate the building’s structure whilst retaining the original brick and timbers.
This included the manufacture of hardwood sash windows and doors and the treatment and reinstatement of original timbers.
Due to a lack of foundations the building was under pinned using mini piles with the construction team working closely with the site archaeologist who monitored any excavation work.
Excavation work was approval by the Historic Environment Division (HED), obtaining licenses to dig into the foundations of the building.
Investigations highlighted that the property was originally single storey, and the floor was laid after 1912.
On completion, the building has been restored creating two one-bedroom holiday lets, aimed at the growing tourist market in the Carrickfergus area.
Total Project Investment £251,705.