Plans submitted to Causeway Coast and Glens Council for 'urgent repairs' to blue plaque Marconi house in Ballycastle

Kenmara House, located at 45 North Street in the town, was built in 1890 and was the site of Marconi’s wireless experiment between Rathlin Island and Ballycastle in 1891.

A blue plaque is now mounted on the front of the house to commemorate the event.

Listed Building Consent was recently submitted for “urgent repairs/restoration and improvements, to include a leaking roof, leaking chimneys, rotten conservatory, guttering and downpipes” and an accompanying application form confirmed that some work began in May, including replacement of leaking chimneys and the removal of guttering and downpipes to “facilitate repairs”.

According to a Design and Access Statement, the house “has been neglected for many years with a series of poor quality repairs attempted”.

“Examples of these included reducing the size of the chimneys and building them without lead trays and replacing the slate roof over the garage with corrugated iron sheets,” the statement added.

“The current works are to stop the property deteriorating further, stop water ingress through the leaking roofs and chimneys, replace the leaking corrugated iron sheet roof with slate and to restore the house to its former glory, preserving the historic building for further generations to enjoy.

“The works detailed in this statement are repair work only with no alterations, changes in method of construction, or appearance. Everything is being replaced like-for-like, with period correct materials. There is therefore is no design element to these works and no impact on access to the building.”