'Castle Pharmacy' and apartments, 39-39B Castle Street, Ballycastle, County Antrim, BT54 6AS

Castle Pharmacy and Apartments, 39–39B Castle Street, Ballycastle

This is a two-storey terraced building on the south side of Castle Street, to the west of Ballycastle town centre. It was originally built as a house in the mid to later 18th century, though it has been so substantially altered over time that little of its original character survives. It currently functions as a pharmacy at ground floor level with apartments above.

The front elevation is asymmetrical as a result of modern alterations. Much of the ground floor is taken up by a recently inserted shop front comprising a partly glazed timber door flanked by large plate glass picture windows, all encased within traditional-style panelled pilasters. Above the shop front is a signboard with raised lettering, a projecting timber cornice and decorative end brackets. To the left of the shop front is an awkwardly positioned, recently inserted doorway providing access to the apartments, fitted with a panelled door and a plain rectangular fanlight. At first floor level there are three relatively large, evenly spaced flat-arch windows with moulded surrounds and modern timber frames. A projecting signboard sits between the second and third windows. The entire front façade is finished in painted render with moulded in-and-out quoins.

The rear of the building has been completely transformed. The entire ground floor level is now covered by a large modern single-storey flat-roofed extension added in 1990, which occupies almost all of what was formerly an open yard. The roof of this extension serves as a terrace for the upper floor apartments, accessed by a modern metal staircase. The extension is finished in unpainted cement render. At first floor level on the rear elevation there are two doorways to the left of centre, fitted with modern timber and glazed doors; the one further to the right is set at a slightly higher level and is reached by a short flight of concrete steps. To the far left is a roughly square flat-arch window with a modern timber frame, with a similar window to the far right. Above these openings, the façade extends beyond the original eaves line into what amounts to a full-width flat-roofed dormer, containing three larger picture windows with modern timber frames. The main roof of the building is gabled and covered in artificial slates. To the front slope there are three Velux roof lights, two of which are relatively large. A large rendered chimneystack sits at the eastern end of the ridge. The rainwater goods are a mixture of cast iron and PVCu.

The building has a well-documented history from the early 19th century onwards. A building matching the dimensions of the original main structure appears in a valuation of January 1835, where it is described as a dwelling and shop measuring 32 by 28 by 19½ feet, with a rear addition of 14½ by 9 by 6½ feet and a cellar used as a store measuring 12 by 28 by 6 feet. Within the yard at that time stood a single-storey thatched barn, a single-storey slated stable, and a two-storey slated office and byre. The valuers considered the building relatively old at that point, suggesting a late 18th century or earlier date of construction. The occupant in 1835 was recorded as John McDuffee, also written as John Duffy. By 1859, Duffy had been succeeded by Ann Laverty — listed in Slater's Directories of 1846 and 1856 as a haberdasher — with a John Price as immediate lessor. The building at this stage was recorded as containing a shop and parlour to one side, a kitchen and parlour to the other, four rooms on the upper floor, and two garrets. Some of the outbuildings appear to have been either replaced or partly rebuilt by this point.

In 1878 Ann Laverty took on the lease herself and sublet the property to a David McCambridge, who remained until 1881. He was succeeded by Sophia McCormick. In 1896 an Ann McCambridge took over both the lease and the tenancy and immediately added a rear extension of 9½ by 8 by 18 feet. Thomas Kane followed as tenant in 1922, with Agnes Kane listed as occupant from 1925 to 1930. Sometime between 1930 and 1935 the lease passed to Mary Agnes McCandless, who sublet to William Ritchie from around 1935 to 1940 before briefly assuming the tenancy herself. From 1941 James McCandless is recorded as both leaseholder and resident, remaining at the property until at least 1972. According to the owner who acquired the building in 1998, it has operated as a pharmacy since the 1930s. The upper floors were converted to apartments in 1980, and the large rear extension was added in 1990.

The building falls within a conservation area but is not listed.