43 Eglinton Street, Beith

This is a late 18th century house, with additions to the rear dating to around 1910. It is a two-storey, three-bay building, currently with a modern shopfront on the left side featuring a plate glass window. The original front door is centrally located and retains timber paneling, with a late 19th century letterbox fanlight set within a chamfered surround. To the right of the door is a single window at ground level, and three windows to the first floor. A small, central pediment sits above, with a stack at its apex. The exterior is painted render, with raised, painted window margins, an eaves course, and a moulded eaves cornice.

The rear elevation features a large two-storey extension constructed of red brick. The roof is grey slate, with a white glazed brick end stack on the right side and clay cans. UPVC windows have replaced the original timber sash and case windows.

The interior has been largely modernized, but retains an original chimneypiece on the ground floor and a turnpike staircase.

The property is a typical example of its type, though the current oversized shop signage detracts from the front facade. The pediment with stack is characteristic of many late 18th to early 19th century houses in Beith, although many have lost their stacks. These features contribute to the interest of the rooflines along Eglinton Street, the most significant street in the town, which prospered due to industries including textiles, leather production, tobacco, corn, and alcohol. The title deeds indicate the land was purchased between 1770 and 1780. Originally a house, the property was converted to a hotel around 1910, at which time the rear addition was built. The property appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858 and the rear addition is not shown on the second edition of 1897 but is marked on the third edition of 1910 as a public house. The owner has expressed an intention to reinstate the original timber sash and case 12-pane windows as part of a restoration scheme.