1 The Square, Ballyclare, Co Antrim, BT39 9BB

A three-bay two-storey Italianate former bank, built around 1860 and prominently sited at the corner of The Square and Doagh Road in Ballyclare. The building is now in commercial use as a shop.

The structure is rectangular on plan with a modern two-storey extension to the west. The hipped roof is covered in natural slate with deep overhanging eaves on moulded brackets and cornice. Two chimneys survive: a smooth rendered stack to the north and a corbelled stack to the west, both retaining original pots.

The walls are scratch-marked and painted render over a plinth, with chamfered corners, moulded cill course, string course and eaves cornice. Windows are primarily segmental-headed timber casements within moulded surrounds with keyblocks.

The principal east elevation features a deeply recessed central segmental-headed entrance with rebated chamfered surround and moulded frame. The double-leaf glazed doors are surmounted by a segmental-headed transom light and accessed by six tiled steps. The entrance is flanked by large windows on each side; these are top-hung timber casements divided in thirds. The first floor contains a single window to the left and a pair of windows to the right, all square-headed within segmental-headed openings, with circular moulding to the centre.

The south elevation is ruled-and-lined rendered with two square-headed windows to the first floor and a simple cornice without brackets to the left. This elevation is abutted to the left by a modern brick building.

The north elevation is ruled-and-lined rendered and comprises a large window to the left (matching the east elevation type) and a timber-framed 1/1 sliding sash window to the right. Two windows occupy the first floor, with the left window being blind. The extension to the right contains two square-headed aluminium casement windows at each level, and a modern brick building houses an entrance door.

The west elevation is abutted by the extension and modern brick building.

The boundary to The Square and Doagh Road is marked by cast-iron railings on a rendered plinth wall. The entrance is accessed by tiled steps enclosed by rendered walling and square pillars with moulded plinth and coping.

Although the exterior retains attractive original plasterwork with cornice and corner detailing, substantial internal alterations have compromised the building's architectural and historic interest. The structure first appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1902. The Belfast and Ulster Street Directory of 1874 lists the Northern Bank as the only bank operating in Ballyclare. Valuation records from the 1880s mention a house on the site occupied by John Boyd, with a property value of £2. The Northern Bank was founded as the Northern Banking Partnership in 1809, making it one of the oldest commercial banks in Ireland.