Irvine, High Street

A rapid archaeological desk-based assessment was undertaken by GUARD of an area to the north of the High Street, Irvine, North Ayrshire.

Three sites of cultural heritage interest were noted within the development area, two of which are upstanding Category B Listed Buildings. The site was formerly the marketplace of Irvine, with origins in the medieval period. Cartographic evidence shows that the northern and eastern parts on the development area remained as burgage plots extending out from the back of the buildings fronting onto the High Street until at least 1938 and the publication of the third revision of the Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map.

The development area is entirely within the Irvine Conservation Area. Any alterations to the two listed buildings within the development area would require listed building consent and conservation area consent from North Ayrshire Council in advance of any works.

Given the location of the development area within the medieval core of Irvine and that it appears not to have been built upon until the latter half of the twentieth century, it is advised that the local authority may require appropriate mitigation to be put in place to minimize any impact from ground breaking works on potentially undiscovered archaeological remains existing beneath the surface of those relatively undisturbed parts of the development area.

Only three previously recorded cultural heritage sites were noted within the development area and one just outwith the development area, (see Figure 1). A gazetteer of these sites (Sites 1-4) is included at the end of this report. A further 48 records relating to the cultural heritage of the surrounding area were also noted within 100 m of the study area (Figure 1) along with five previous archaeological investigations within approximately 200 m.