Northern Bank, 24 Ann Street, Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6AD

Northern Bank

This uncompromisingly stark and modern two-storey cube-like bank building was constructed in 1970 to designs by Ferguson & McIlveen for the newly established Northern Bank, an amalgamation of the former Northern Banking Co. and the Belfast Banking Co. It stands in complete contrast to the predominantly late Georgian and Victorian character of Ann Street.

The bank is positioned on the north-west side of Ann Street at a bend in the street line. A two-storey gabled former manager's house in a more accessible modern style is attached but set back behind a small railed forecourt.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces roughly south-east and consists of a high wall façade dominated by a five-panel window ensemble with concrete surround and concrete mullions. Tall windows sit between ribbed top and bottom infill spandrels. The rhythm is broken by the usual bank automatic dispensers. Tucked into one corner is an entrance with a flat canopy, supported on slim steel columns, which crosses the open forecourt to abut No. 28. The wall is faced with stone slabs of Westmoreland slate. Above the entrance, the bank name appears in applied block letters.

The north-east elevation facing into the forecourt is blank. The south-west elevation is abutted by the neighbouring property. The rear elevation is finished in dry dash and contains five narrow high-level windows of differing heights. The building has a flat roof.

The former manager's house extends from the north-east corner of the bank. It is a two-storey split-level gabled structure in brown brick and dry dash with a pan-tile covered roof and various sized large windows with modern frames. The plan form is irregular with a kink towards the south-west end. A high-level garden to the rear means the property appears as single storey from that side.

Previously, the Ballycastle branch of the Northern Banking Co. had occupied premises in Market Street custom-built in 1863, having moved there from a property in Ann Street. The Belfast Banking Co. established a branch in the town in 1918, occupying the building now belonging to the local Credit Union.