4 Ann Street ('Snip'), Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6AD

4 Ann Street, Ballycastle

A very small, almost vernacular two-storey terrace shop, possibly created around 1840 by filling in the carriage gateway of a previous property. The building occupies the north-west side of Ann Street in the centre of Ballycastle and is situated within a conservation area.

The front elevation is notably narrow. The ground floor features a plain, relatively recent shop front with a recessed partly glazed door and a large three-pane timber shop window, above which the shop name is painted onto the render. The first floor has a large vertical window with a modern two-pane timber frame. The front elevation is finished in painted render.

The rear elevation consists of a timber door with a single-pane sidelight window at ground floor level, and a window matching that of the front elevation at first floor. The rear is largely finished in painted roughcast. The gabled roof is covered in asbestos slates and merges completely with that of the adjacent property to the south-west (no. 2 Ann Street). The rainwater goods are metal.

Historical development records suggest the property was redeveloped between 1834 and 1859. The narrowness of the building and certain interior details suggest the ground floor was formerly a carriage archway. In 1859, the property is recorded as containing a shop with parlour off, two rooms above, and a garret, then occupied by Peter McAuley. Subsequent occupants included Mary McKinley (from 1873), John McCann, John Higgins, Mary-Ann Darragh, Mary Russell, James Bakewell, John Clarke, and Charles Patrick Bakewell (1921–1957 and beyond).

The simplicity and small scale of this property compared to its neighbours adds interest to this side of Ann Street, though it is not considered to be of special architectural or historical interest.