Castle Restaurant etc, 1-3 Castle Street, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1NZ

A large three-storey former warehouse of around 1830, built in snecked random rubble and converted to shops and apartments in the 1980s. The building retains architectural and industrial archaeological interest.

The south elevation presents the principal frontage to Castle Street. At ground level, an off-centre low elliptical arch opening serves as a cart way, surrounded by cement render, flanked to the left by two sash windows with vertical astragals and concrete cills, and to the right by three similar windows. Timber signs advertise an ice cream parlour above the first and second windows, and a restaurant above the third, fourth and fifth windows. The first floor contains six windows arranged similarly to the ground floor, except the third window from the left is broader and shorter with two vertical astragals to each pane. Between this window and the one directly above on the second floor, boarding and infilled windows mark what were originally doors accessing the upper warehouse levels. All upper-floor windows are set with steel lintels. The second floor has six windows in a comparable arrangement to the first floor, with a slightly taller third window.

The east gable is adjoined by a more recent warehouse, with only the upper blank section visible. The west gable features a timber and glazed door to its far left and two second-floor windows matching the front elevation, with a shop sign at first-floor level.

The rear elevation contains two plain sheeted timber doors at the left and centre of the ground floor, with a small modern lean-to extension featuring a single timber door to the right. Traces of an off-centre former coach arch, now blocked, remain on the ground floor. The first floor has five windows and the second floor six, all similar in character to those on the front, though a former third window on the first floor is now blocked. Various PVC soil vent pipes are present. A stone wall encloses the rear yard area, which also contains a weighbridge at ground level to the left of the front elevation. The building is roofed with pitched Bangor blue slates and features a small off-centre gable, formerly for lifting gear, positioned above the area of former upper-level doors. Gutters are aluminium extruded ogee with PVC downspouts.

Historical records indicate this building was erected as a grain store belonging to William Warnock, identified in the 1838 valuation. It may originally have been associated with a distillery complex owned by John Maxwell, located nearby on the south side of Castle Street. By 1861, while still in the hands of the Warnock family, the building had a mill pond immediately to its rear, which fed the adjacent corn mill, established on the site of the former distillery. The building served as a store for various goods until the 1980s conversion to its current use. The building lies within a conservation area.