McAuley’s Hotel, 2 Bridge Street, Carnlough, Ballymena, Co Antrim, BT44 0ET

McAuley's Hotel at Bridge Street in Carnlough is a two-storey rendered building with attics, notable for its ornate three-storey entrance gable facing the main road.

The east gable, which presents the principal elevation, features smooth cement render to the upper floors with rusticated quoins at the extremities. The ground floor has channelled rustication and a slightly raised smooth rendered frieze with shaped ends, topped by a projecting moulded cornice. This frieze bears the inscription 'Charles McAuley' in raised white letters in Art Nouveau style against a black background. The first floor contains a large central inscription panel comprising a frieze with a semi-circular band above it, surmounted by a semi-circular pedimental feature, all in slightly raised smooth render. It reads 'McAuley's Hotel' in raised letters, with 'McAuley's' in white and 'Hotel' later painted out in black. A platband curves over the top of this panel. The apex of the attic storey displays a circular date-panel inscribed '1912' in raised letters, with a projecting string course curving up over it.

Windows to the upper storeys are rectangular timber sliding sashes, 3 over 2 with horns, set in plain reveals with raised arched, lugged and heeled surrounds. Ground floor windows are large rectangular timber fixed three-lights with plain mullions and transom, set in moulded reveals with deep projecting stone cills. Below each window is a decorative rectangular panel with moulded surrounds. The main entrance lies between the ground floor windows, slightly off-centre, containing a pair of rectangular timber panelled doors surmounted by a timber louvred fanlight recessed in moulded reveals. The gable has overhanging eaves and is surmounted by a smooth rendered chimney with moulded cornice and modern pots.

The south elevation comprises the side of the main gabled two-storey block to the right with a lower flat-roofed return block extending to the left, of plain character. The main block is roofed in Bangor blue slates in regular courses with dark toned ridge tiles. A central flat-roofed dormer is slate-hung to front and cheeks, with two modern rectangular timber windows fixed, casement and vent, and appears to have cast iron rainwater goods. The wall is smooth cement rendered with projecting eaves course and raised smooth rendered strips to the extremities and bottom, with rougher finish to the deep plinth and similar finish extending to the first bay of the lower return. Windows are varied and mainly rectangular timber sashes, 3 over 2 with horns, in plain reveals, with also a small rectangular timber fixed light and a timber two-light window. A modern shop-sign panel is affixed to the right. The rear return is of very plain character with flat roofs and low pitch corrugated sheet roofing; walls are rendered, partly rough and partly smooth finish, with rectangular timber sliding sash windows, 1 over 1 and 2 over 2.

The rear elevation shows the rear gable of the main gabled two-storey block projecting above the rear return, rendered in wet dash with overhanging eaves and timber barge boards surmounted by a shaped timber finial at the apex. There is one rectangular timber fixed light window with top vent in plain reveals on the right, and a doorway to the left leading to the flat roof of the return with a modern rectangular glazed door. The rear elevation of the rear return is a dry dash rendered segmental gable with a ground floor doorway and a modern rectangular window to its left, together with a blocked rectangular opening to the upper floor. The quality here is poor.

The north elevation comprises the side of the main gabled two-storey block to the left with the lower flat-roofed return block extending to the right. The main block has roof slating as on the south elevation and a similar dormer. The ground floor walling is rusticated smooth cement render with a low projecting plinth and a slightly raised string course which curves up over the central entrance. The first floor is pebble dash rendered with smooth rendered strips to the extremities. The flat-roofed dormer in the main roof is similar to that on the east elevation. Ground floor windows are rectangular timber sashes, 4 over 2 with horns, set in slightly recessed smooth surrounds with projecting stone cills. First floor windows are sashed 3 over 2 with horns set in flush smooth rendered arched and lugged surrounds. The entrance contains a rectangular timber four-panel door set in a glazed timber framed screen with rectangular sidelights and fanlight of translucent glass, recessed in a segmental arched opening with smooth rendered surround; the front doorstep is of modern tiles, now damaged. The rear return extending to the right is set back slightly and is flat-roofed and two-storey. Its first floor is rendered as the first floor of the main block to the left, with decorative smooth rendered borders to part of the wall continuing as decorative surrounds to windows. The ground floor is partly smooth rendered, lined and blocked, and partly roughcast. Windows to the first floor are sashed, 2 over 2 and 1 over 1; ground floor windows are later fixed lights, casements and vents irregularly arranged. At the west end of the rear return is another block returning to the north to close the end of the rear yard. It has similar rendered walling and sashed windows but a gabled slated roof. A modern steel fire escape stair is built across it, leading to the flat roof of the rear return with steel railings leading back to the gable of the main front block. The rear yard is approached by a corrugated iron gate.

The building stands on its own, adjacent to the river and abutted on its south side by a 19th century bridge carrying the main street of the village over the river. Its main entrance front overlooks the junction of the main street, Harbour Road and Bridge Street. The rear setting is degraded by poor quality buildings.