25- 27 Ann Street, Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6AA

25-27 Ann Street, Ballycastle, is a four-bay, two-and-a-half storey building with basement and extensive modern rear return, dating from the mid to late 19th century. The street elevation displays a mid-to-late 19th century façade arrangement, though the interior has been almost entirely rebuilt and significantly extended in 1992. The building currently comprises a large chemist shop with veterinary suppliers to the rear.

The Ann Street elevation features a panelled shop door with single-pane shop windows on each side, finished with concrete cills and plastered panels beneath. Pilasters frame both windows and doors. A larger shop window with mullion dividing two panes, also framed with pilasters, sits to the right, alongside a panelled door providing access to upper floor accommodation with pilasters on either side. A freestanding post office letterbox is positioned on the pavement outside the shop window. A long painted name fascia with continuous cornice runs the full length of the façade, positioned slightly below the cill level of the first floor windows. At first floor level are four double-hung sash windows with four panes and stooled cills, evenly spaced. A small hanging sign is positioned at one end. The gutter line sits well above the window heads, supported on a row of closely spaced moulded corbels. The roof features an ogee gutter with a single downpipe, natural slate covering with two widely spaced gabled dormers. Each dormer contains a double-hung sash window with two panes and plain bargeboards, positioned centrally on the walling between windows below. Chimneystacks sit at each end. A hip roof connects to No. 29, following the line of Ann Street which bends between Nos. 27 and 29. The building is set back approximately 900mm from No. 23.

The rear elevation reveals the original rear wall of the original three-storey street front block, now opened up into a three-storey rear extension. The roof of the street front block is pitched in Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses. The rear return comprises two blocks, both with hipped roofs slated to match, rendered walling with wet dash finish, moulded PVC gutters, and unpainted metal downpipes. The north side of the first rear return block contains a small basement doorway with steel door, a modern boarded timber door on the floor above opening onto a modern steel fire escape stairway, and a modern rectangular timber sliding sash window with horns at top floor level. The second (lower) rear return block features a modern pedimented projecting doorway with smooth rendered finish containing a modern steel shutter door. The rear and south side walls of the rear return are blank.

The building probably dates from the mid-18th century, either wholly or partially rebuilt. The original structure comprised two separate properties (Nos. 25 and 27). The extensive rear returns are of comparatively recent date, reported to be 1992, and do not appear on Ordnance Survey maps of 1904 or the revised Antrim sheet of 1972, though the building is shown on 1832 maps. The building stands within a conservation area.