23 Ann Street, Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6AA

This is a simple two-and-a-half storey building dating to the mid-19th century, situated within a terrace in Ballycastle, County Antrim. It originally comprised a ground floor shop front with living accommodation above. The building was delisted on March 1, 2005, and is located within a conservation area.

The roof is covered with artificial slates laid in regular courses, and features a pitched dormer window with matching slates on the roof and cheeks, along with PVC gutters. The external walls are smooth cement render, lined and blocked, with a projecting eaves course and an eaves board. A PVC gutter is present, shared with the adjacent property at No. 21. The front elevation has two first-floor windows, rectangular timber sliding sash windows, vertically hung with a 1 over 1 pane configuration and horns, set within slightly raised, lugged surrounds, and projecting concrete cills. A modern shop window and a doorway are set within wooden pilasters, all supporting a plain wooden frieze with a timber pelmet or canopy above; modern steel shutters cover the door and windows.

The rear elevation’s wall facing the main street is two-storey high. It incorporates Bangor blue slates in regular courses and two modern rooflights. The walling is rendered with a wet dash finish, incorporating a smooth rendered plinth. It contains one rectangular, PVC fixed light with a top-hung vent on each floor, within plain reveals, with PVC rainwater goods. A two-storey rear return projects from the rear wall, including a basement storey at its rear extremity; this section shares the same walling and rainwater goods as the upper rear elevation. It also features two modern, rectangular timber glazed and boarded doors.

The building sits on the main street, directly facing the pavement, with a shared roof ridge with No. 21; this ridge line sits lower than the adjoining buildings. The rear boundary of the plot is defined by a pair of corrugated iron gates and a wooden door, set between a rendered pier and a rendered boundary wall to a neighbouring property. Currently, the rear yard is used as a building yard for works on the property.

No. 23 is believed to be a contemporary of No. 21, likely built around 1850. Originally a shop named D McAuley and occupied by P.J. Cassidy, the building has been substantially renovated to restore its original plan and appearance. However, considerable historic fabric, including the shop front, render, windows, plasterwork, staircase, and window cills have been replaced. References include an Ordnance Survey map from 1832, revised in 1856, Antrim sheet 8.