Former Northern Bank, 12 Market Street, Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6DP

Former Northern Bank, 12 Market Street, Ballycastle

A former bank building with attached manager's living accommodation, built in the early 1860s in an opulent Victorian manner suited to a financial institution seeking to attract business from the nearby market. The building occupies a distinctive corner site and presents an architecturally interesting solution integrating the banking premises with the manager's residence. A large flat-roofed extension added to the rear during later use as a community hall detracts from the original design, particularly when viewed from Moyle Road.

The building is 2½ storeys high, detached and corner-sited, with a flat-roofed extension to the rear. The former main entrance to the banking hall stands on the chamfered corner, comprising a narrow entrance with an 8-panelled door set slightly recessed within a shallow projecting flat-roofed porch. The porch features a frieze and cornice, and is flanked by wide rusticated pilasters. Above the entrance is a single sliding sash window of 2 panes with an arched label moulding. Rusticated quoins rise above the porch, and the eaves are flat with modillion supports and an ogee gutter. Two steps lead up to the entrance door.

The Market Street elevation extends 5 bays. The first two bays form a breakfront, distinguishing the bank from the manager's living accommodation beyond. At ground floor level, a single sliding sash window of 2 panes has a segmented head with moulded architrave and keystone. The first floor carries two sliding sash windows of 2 panes set in deep reveals with lugged architraves. These windows are carried up to form a semi-circular panel with floral infill and a monogram reading "NB" in a small circle, topped with hood moulding, rusticated keystone, and moulded corbels beneath the cill. A flat panel cill and windowhead stringcourse runs across the main facades of the building. The roofline features flat eaves with modillion supports as on the corner elevation.

The Moyle Road elevation displays 2 ground floor windows matching those described on Market Street, and 2 blank first floor windows decorated in the same manner. The elevation terminates with quoins at its end, and eaves matching the other facades.

The living accommodation section to Market Street spans 3 bays and features a central 4-panelled fielded door with fanlight, slightly recessed between plain pilasters with frieze and cornice. On each side at ground floor level are sliding sash windows of 2 panes set in lugged architraves with segmented heads and rusticated keystones. The first floor carries 3 similar sliding sash windows. Stringcourses and eaves match those of the banking section. The roof is slated and gabled with 2 chimneys at each end. A gable facing Market Yard contains a single round-headed window.

The rear elevation of the banking hall contains a single window at first floor level, and 2 windows to the rear of the living accommodation, one of which probably served a landing to the attic stair. The large flat-roofed extension to the rear was added when the building functioned as a community hall.

The exterior walls are smooth rendered and painted on the Market Street and Moyle Road facades. A rendered boundary wall encloses a narrow area to the front, with an unusual coping featuring semi-circular crenellation. The building stands detached from Market Yard with a large space, now used as a car park, separating it from Moyle Road. The building is currently not well maintained.

The Northern Bank was established on this site in 1858 when the market was active, having relocated from 28 Ann Street; it returned to Ann Street in 1970. The current building was erected in 1863. The property was subsequently purchased by the Catholic parish and used as a community centre, at which point the rear extension was constructed. It has recently been purchased by McHenry Brothers. According to local tradition, the walls of the bank were built using stones from the ruins of a castle formerly adjacent to Trinity Church.