54 Castle Street, Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6AR

This is a seven-bay, two-and-a-half-story building situated on Castle Street in Ballycastle, likely dating from the early 19th century and confirmed on an Ordnance Survey map of 1832. It is currently occupied as a supermarket, having been extended to the rear since a 1972 survey.

The building's elevation to Castle Street features a shopfront and gateway. The ground floor incorporates a segmented arched gateway with painted voussoirs, a wide shop entrance with a splayed recess, and two large single-pane display windows, with a display window set into the porch’s splay. A long, deep, inward-sloping glazed fascia displays the business name, framed by pilasters and a cornice. A smooth, plastered plinth runs beneath the window cills. Above, there are seven two-pane windows with top-hung upper panes, which are unevenly spaced and one centered over the gateway. A half-round PVC gutter is present, with a slight eaves overhang, and the roof is slated with four Velux-type rooflights, two of which are double-glazed. Chimney stacks are positioned at each gable end. The walls are smooth, rendered and painted.

The rear of the building incorporates an extensive two-story return that extends to a newly created car park, and is windowless across its full width, creating a visual intrusion into the roofscape when viewed from across the valley. The shopfront has been renewed in a traditional style.

An old photograph, dating from around 1900, suggests that the building was originally two shops. The shop nearest the arch had a projecting canopy, and a rendered, pedimented architrave framed the door to the lower shop. Painted lettering at eaves level announced “furniture carpets beadsteads and bedding”. Internal features, particularly a staircase, indicate renovations likely took place in the mid-19th century. The current owner has occupied the premises for 25 years, following previous occupancy by Messrs M McKinney.