Wayside Cottage

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A symmetrical one-and-a-half-storey three-bay detached rendered mid-nineteenth century house with range of outbuildings; in the Georgian-style and located to the west side of Loguestown Road south of Portrush. Rectangular on plan with modern two-storey extension and two-storey longitudinal block to rear.

Pitched natural slate roof with blue/black angled ridge tiles, raised verges and rendered chimneystacks to gables having tall terracotta pots; diminutive two-paned skylight over entrance door. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods on projecting eaves. Walling is painted roughcast render with stepped raised quoins. Windows are original 6/6 timber sash with horns, in smooth rendered surrounds with projecting painted sills.

The principal elevation faces southeast and is arranged about a central round-headed doorcase in the Georgian style, with a window to either side. Accessed by a single sandstone step, the doorcase has a smooth rendered surround with keyblock and pilaster jambs with impost moulding. Bolection-moulded four-panelled timber door with brass door furniture is flanked by pilastered frame and multi-paned sidelights on timber apron panels; surmounted by spoked timber fanlight.

The southwest gable has two 4/2 windows to attic and two diminutive window openings to ground floor left and right.

The northwest (rear) elevation was only partially viewed ; abutted to centre by two-storey extension, which is abutted at a 90 degree angle by a modern two-storey block.

The northeast gable has two 4/2 windows to attic.

Setting:

Situated at the southerly point of Portrush surrounded by farmland and set back from the road; lawned to front and southwest, enclosed by mature hedgerow and bounded to road by painted roughcast rendered wall with saddleback coping to northeast side and square corner piers having pointed caps. Square pier to northwest supports an original wrought-iron latch gate leading to pavior path to entrance door. Concrete yard open to road to northeast; opening to rear yard via square rubble-stone piers with pointed caps supporting original wrought-iron gates. Enclosing yard to southeast is a long range of slated painted rubble-stone outbuildings with diminutive square-headed opening and three ocular openings to southeast elevation; square window to centre of southwest gable and diminutive rectangular opening to northeast gable (northwest elevation was not viewed;).

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Painted roughcast render
Windows: Timber sash
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

Wayside Cottage, a one-and-a-half-storey early-Victorian cottage located in the townland of Carnalridge was constructed after 1830, first appearing on the second edition of the Ordnance Survey map in c. 1860. The cottage replaced an earlier and larger dwelling that stood on the same location and can be seen on the first edition of the maps in 1830. The Ordnance Survey map also notes that the current single-storey outbuilding range located to the northeast of the dwelling had been constructed by that year and considerably predates the early-Victorian dwelling; a number of outbuildings formerly located to the northwest of the dwelling (but now demolished) can also first be viewed on the same edition map. The Townland Valuations (c. 1830) noted that both the original dwelling and outbuildings were occupied by a Mr. William Livingston who leased the property from John Cromie of Cromore House (HB03/07/010A); the original dwelling was valued at £4 18s., whilst the northern outbuildings were valued at a total of £6 18s.

The one-and-a-half-storey cottage had certainly been completed by c. 1860 when it was first depicted on the second edition Ordnance Survey map; although at that time the cottage lacked its current rear extension which was not added until the late-20th century. The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1857) notes that ‘Carnalridge,’ as Wayside Cottage was then known, was valued at £3 and lay unoccupied, William Livingston having presumably died shortly before the valuation as he continued to be recorded as lessor. By 1863 the lease passed from William Livingston to the Rev. Hugh Hamill, a Presbyterian minister of Eagry, Co. Antrim and relative of Livingston, however he only briefly took possession of the property before himself passing away in 1864 (PRONI Wills). Upon Hamill’s death ownership of Carnalridge passed to his relative (likely his son) William Hamill, however Hamill did not occupy the site himself but in 1872 let the cottage out to Robert J. McGregor who continued to reside there until 1924; in 1872 the cottage was subsequently devalued to £2.

The 1901 Census records that Robert McGregor (59, Church of Ireland) was a retired Land Stewart who worked the Cromie estate and resided at Carnalridge cottage with his wife Annie (54) and their four adult children; the census building return described McGregor’s abode as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of six rooms and possessed a number of out offices including a stable, cow house, a dairy, piggery and fowl house which were located in the sites surviving outbuildings to the northeast and northwest of the dwelling. In 1909 ownership of the site passed to Hugh Livingston Dick who was recorded as lessor until his death in 1936 (PRONI Wills), McGregor lived at Carnalridge with his family until 1924 when a Mr. Jackson Taggart took possession of the site (this was perhaps the Jackson Taggart who was recorded in the 1911 Census for Ballylagan, employed as a stone mason); Taggart was the last occupant of Carnalridge Cottage recorded in the Annual Revisions which ended in 1929.

In 1972 Girvan described Carnalridge Cottage as ‘a good single-storey cottage with attics, rendered; three bays wide [possessing] Georgian glazing bars and an excellent fan-lighted doorway of elaborate proportions;’ comparison between the first survey image (1974) and the current condition of the cottage shows that these striking features noted by Girvan have been retained in recent decades. The dwelling was renamed Wayside Cottage by at least the First Survey (1973) and the dwelling was listed in 1977. Later changes to the site include the demolition of the original outbuildings to the north-west of the dwelling, which had occurred by the current edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1979. The current two-storey rear return and extension was not added until the late-20th century, not being depicted on the 1979 map.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/3/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1830
2. PRONI OS/6/5/3/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map c. 1860
3. PRONI OS/6/5/3/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1904
4. PRONI OS/6/5/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1922-32
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/5/3 – Townland Valuation Map c. 1830
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/ 541A-C – Townland Valuation c. 1830
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/13 – Griffith’s Valuation 1857
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/4A – Annual Revisions 1862-1864
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/4B – Annual Revisions 1865-1880
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/4C – Annual Revisions 1881-1889
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/4D – Annual Revisions 1890-1898
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/4E – Annual Revisions 1899-1910
13. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/17F – Annual Revisions 1911-1929
14. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/17G – Annual Revisions 1918-1929
15. PRONI Wills Catalogue (31 Mar 1864; 16 Mar 1936)
16. Census of Ireland (1901 / 1911)
17. Ordnance Survey Map – 6-13 SW (1979)
18. First Survey Record – HB03/07/007 (1973)
19. First Survey Image – HB03/07/007 (1974)

Secondary Sources

1. Girvan, W. D., ‘Historic Buildings in Coleraine and Portstewart’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Wayside Cottage is a symmetrical one-and-a-half-storey three-bay mid-nineteenth century detached rendered house in the Georgian-style and located to the west side of Loguestown Road south of Portrush. The house has been modernised and extended to rear and has some replacement fabric but the Georgian proportions are intact to the main facade, and the character of the building is largely unaffected from this aspect. Examples of early nineteenth-century metal-work add to the historic interest of the site. The building makes an important contribution to the character of the surrounding area and is a relatively well-preserved example of a small rural Georgian style building.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age and S - Authenticity also apply.