57-59 Main Street, Beith

This building, located at 57-59 Main Street, Beith, comprises three elements dating to the early 19th century and the late 19th century. Numbers 57 and 59 present as a two-story, three-bay structure facing Main Street, with two entrances at ground level alongside a shop window on the left. Above are three windows to the first floor, paired on the left. The facade is painted stucco with raised and painted margins, accented by an eaves course and cornice. Number 61 forms a corner block at the junction of Main Street and King’s Road, featuring a curved corner and curved returns to King’s Road. It has enlarged shop windows at ground level and three first-floor windows. This section is constructed from lightly stugged ashlar with raised margins, again with eaves course and cornice.

The first-floor windows are timber sash and case, with plate glass in Nos 57 and 59, and a lying pane pattern in two windows of No 61. Grey slates cover the roof, which is piended at No 61, with a stone ridge.

The interior of No 59 includes a first-floor room and kitchen at the front, featuring two bed recesses. A cupboard serves as a small kitchen and includes a concealed sink and a later decorative tiled splashback, alongside a chimney piece.

The building occupies a prominent corner site at the northeast entrance from Wilson Street to Main Street, terminating the street and responding to its setting with corner details. A painted sign on the stonework reads “To LARGS” with an arrow indicating the direction of King's Road towards the coastal town; “MAIN STREET” is painted on the south elevation. King’s Road, previously known as New Road, was constructed between 1858 and 1897, necessitating the addition of the corner block (No 61) to the existing buildings. Number 61 was built in a style consistent with Nos 57 and 59 but was never harled, a common aesthetic in the late 19th century. Accessed via a shared close, the first-floor flat of No 59 retains significant original features including a small room and kitchen, each with a bed recess. The main room contains a large chimney piece and a cupboard, serving as a kitchen with a concealed sink and storage. Numbers 57 and 59 are marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858, while No 61 is depicted on the second edition map of 1897, after the construction of King’s Road.