County: Antrim Site name: BALLYCASTLE: Market Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/04/152
Author: Tim Stevens, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Town
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 711258m, N 940781m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.201731, -6.252247
An evaluation was carried out at 12 Market Street/Moyle Road in Ballycastle before redevelopment for housing. The site had been largely horizontally truncated due to the necessity for a level area for construction in the mid-19th century, along with vertical truncation caused by the construction itself. Five trenches were opened and no archaeological features or finds pre-dating 1858 were identified, despite the potential for such remains. The construction phase represented the move of the market from the town centre to this site in 1858, at which time a basalt entrance arch was constructed on the south side of the site. In 1860 a two-storey stucco block was built in the south-east corner of the site, which was later used as a bank and a dental surgery. Both these structures are Grade B listed. There was limited construction after this date, but all these later buildings had been demolished.
Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, 30-50 Distillery Street, Belfast BT12 5BJ
