Poultry Cottages

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A terrace of three houses comprising a central two-storey gabled house, symmetrically flanked each side by lower two-storey gabled wings with single storey end blocks beyond that. Each lower two-storey wing with its single storey end block forms a separate house. Main entrances face south.

Walls of basalt rubble with flat arches to openings. Roofs of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. Overhanging gables with decorative pierced wooden barge boards displaying a wavy line to the bottom rail. Cast iron gutters and downpipes. Cut stone chimneys with plain block cornices.

Entrance elevation: Main central block is five windows wide to the first floor; windows are modern rectangular PVC with horizontally arranged bars, set in raised smooth cement rendered reveals; projecting concrete cills. Central entrance comprising a rectangular timber panelled door with metal framed sidelights set within a segmental relieving arch.
Flanking two-storey blocks have rectangular metal windows, fixed lights, casements and top-hung vents, with horizontal glazing bars; projecting stone and concrete cills. Glazed and sheeted timber doors.
End blocks have similar metal windows and sheeted doors.

Gables of end blocks each contain a sheeted timber door.

Rear elevation: similar stonework and slated roofs to front elevation. Main central block is three windows wide to first floor, modern PVC replacements. Ground floor asymmetrical: contains a central doorway, rectangular timber panelled door set below a segmental relieving arch. Windows similar to first floor; two rectangular sheeted doors to right-hand side. Flanking two-storey blocks have different window arrangements, with some original rectangular timber sliding sashes, 1 over 1, one with horns and one without horns, and other later replacement windows, timber fixed lights with top-hung vents, including a large later picture window.
End blocks have blank rear walls, but with later metal ventilators inserted.

SETTING: The buildings stand in a rural area within the grounds of a large country house estate. They are approached by a tarmac lane off a main estate road, through a pair of stone gate piers without gates. Detached single storey rendered garages stand at each end of the terrace. To the front and rear are large fields.

Historical information

Built by the O'Neill family as farm workers' houses on the Shane's Castle estate; precise date of building not known but it appears on the OS map of 1858.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1858, Co Antrim 49.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is an unusual piece of estate architecture that has impressive formal massing and enjoys a prominent position within the estate. It has group value with other listed buildings within the estate.

General comments

This record was originally numbered as HB20/04/039.