80 Castle Street, Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT54 6AR

80 Castle Street, Ballycastle

A large three-storey shop with flats over, originally a house possibly dating from the mid to later 1700s. The building once formed part of a larger property with the present number 78. It was renovated in 1985 when the upper floors were converted to three flats, and the original shopfront was retained.

The property stands on the north side of Castle Street, close to Ballycastle town centre. The asymmetrical front elevation faces south. At ground floor level is a repaired shopfront with an off-centre timber door featuring a rectangular fanlight flanked by pilasters. Flanking the door are broad rendered piers beyond which stand large shop windows, also flanked by pilasters. The left window is smaller, with a four-light timber frame with arched heads to the upper lights, whilst the right window is considerably larger with a five-light frame similarly detailed. The whole ensemble is crowned with a painted signboard.

The first floor carries four unevenly spaced windows with sash frames featuring 2/2 horizontal glazing bars, likely dating from the late 19th century. The second floor has four similar but shorter windows. The third window from the left has a noticeably out of plumb cill, as does the first floor window directly below it. Several decorative iron brackets are present at first floor level, apparently for signs or hanging baskets, with another differently styled bracket to the second floor, possibly for a lamp. The front façade is finished in painted lined render.

The west gable faces into a narrow lane and merges to the right with a large two-storey return. The gable and return elevations show numerous windows of differing sizes with frames similar to those of the front elevation, though plainly most of these openings are relatively recent insertions. A recessed timber door and small windows punctuate these elevations. The right-hand side of the gable has been cut into by a flat-roofed dormer-like extension. These elevations are finished in painted render. At the north end, the return merges with a large lean-to structure. A two-storey back return, three bays long, stands in line with the alleyway, with windows at both floors.

The roof, apart from the flat-roofed dormer-like extension, is slated. Rendered chimney stacks rise at the east and west ends. Metal rainwater goods are present throughout.

Historical records show that in December 1834 a large old house of similar dimensions to the present combined numbers 78 and 80 stood on this site, then occupied by Alexander McDonald and John McCambridge. As later valuations record no demolition, the western section of this former dwelling is what is seen today. The combined property may have been one of nine three-storey houses mentioned in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1835, and like much of the fabric within Castle Street, likely dates from around 1740–1770, when the town assumed much of its present form under the improving landlord Hugh Boyd.

Subsequent tenants are documented as Margaret McKay (from 1870), Bernard Boyle (1881), John Herrigan (1885), Daniel Herrigan (1898–1915), John Black (1915–1922), Alexander McCambridge (1922–1927), and Mary J. Magill (1927–1957 and beyond). In 1985 the upper floors were converted to three flats. The shop unit has latterly housed a betting shop and a café.

The building makes an important contribution to the Castle Street streetscape despite the currently busy east elevation, which is painted in non-traditional colours. It is situated within a conservation area.