6 Coastguard Cottages

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single-storey cottage, in red brick with sandstone dressings, in a mixed Victorian style, laid out on an L-shaped plan with a hipped roof, with a projecting porch in the angle with the front return to the left, built as one of a terrace.

Main entrance faces north-east; entrance facade five openings wide. Doorway recessed in centre of single-bay flat-roofed porch; segmental arch in sandstone, inappropriately over-painted; segmental-headed panelled wooden door, replacement; painted sandstone blocking course on porch. Side wall of porch: two windows set in coupled round sandstone heads; semi-circular headed wooden fixed lights, single pane; window to right with translucent glass; painted sandstone cill; PVC downpipe, replacement, inappropriate.

To right of porch, wall one window wide: red brick; rubble blackstone plinth with painted sandstone weathering; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; oversailing sandstone eaves course; PVC guttering and downpipe; window rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 6 over 6, with horns, painted white; flat arch head in red sandstone with painted keystone, painted sandstone cill.

To left of porch, wall of front return similar to wall to right but with painted sandstone quoins to the left-hand extremity; three windows symmetrically arranged, one rectangular sliding sash as previous, flanked each side by a semi-circular headed timber sliding sash, vertically hung, with horns, one horizontal glazing bar each sash, set in semi-circular red sandstone arch with painted keystone. Hipped roof of slates as previous.

Side elevation of cottage, facing south-east: red brick with basalt rubble plinth and painted sandstone weathering; painted sandstone quoins to extremities of main cottage block; chimney of moulded brick with sandstone weathering to offset and sandstone projecting string, cream earthenware pot; PVC guttering; one window, rectangular timber fixed light with top-hung vent. Extending to left, rear return of rubble basalt with cement rendered portion at left-hand extremity; one window, rectangular timber fixed light with top-hung vent between two fixed top lights; painted sandstone dressings; concrete cill; slated roof as previous, with cylindrical metal flue pipe; PVC guttering.

End wall of rear return cement rendered; elevation of rear return to yard, facing north-west, originally of rubble basalt with red brick dressings but most of it now cement rendered, inappropriate; ledged door, original, to store; glazed wooden door to kitchen, new; two windows, rectangular timber fixed light with top-hung vent, replacements, inappropriate; PVC rain water goods. Cement rendered extension in angle of return with rear wall of main cottage, flat roofed with new unmoulded red brick chimney.

Rear wall of cottage, facing south-west, one window wide: rubble basalt with red brick dressings; window inappropriate replacement as in rear return; slated roof as to front; moulded red brick chimney, original, paired with identical chimney to adjoining house (no. 5), both standing on common base at party wall; cream earthenware pots, original. Low rubble basalt wall with square piers and small wooden pedestrian gate to rear boundary of back yard.

SETTING: The house is one of a terrace formed by four other similar cottages and one two-storey house, all set back a short distance from the main road and facing the sea. Communal area, part gravelled and part grassed, to the front, with low stone front boundary wall of rubble basalt with a short return to the south-east boundary plus a concrete block wall extending around that side and along behind the rear boundary.

Historical information

Built as one of a terrace of five coastguard cottages in 1873, to the design of the architect William Gray of Belfast. They first appear on the OS map of 1903.

References - Primary

1. Irish Builder and Engineer, 1 October 1873.
2. OS Map 1903, Co Antrim 35.

Secondary

1. F. Hamond, Antrim Coast and Glens Industrial Heritage (HMSO, Belfast, 1991), p 90 (but an erroneous date is given there).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

With its adjoining cottages this forms an attractive mid-Victorian group of coast guard cottages which retains its original character and most of its original features on its entrance front.