Sentry Hill, 44 Ballycraigy Road, Carnmoney, Co Antrim, BT36 8SX

Sentry Hill is a formal two-storey gabled farmhouse built in 1835-6, located at the head of a long lane on the south side of Ballycraigy Road, approximately one mile north-west of Glengormley. The property sits picturesquely within mature landscaping, with a large lawn to the south enclosed by mature beech trees and extensive outbuildings to the north-west, including a U-shaped stable block with associated dairy buildings finished in unpainted render.

The house was built by Thomas McKinney, whose ancestor Andrew McKinney had acquired land in the area during the 1780s. It replaced an earlier two-storey thatched dwelling and represented the dwelling of a strong farmer in the 19th century. The property has remained largely untouched since the 1920s, though it has undergone documented alterations. In the 1880s, William Fee McKinney added a late Victorian two-storey gabled porch projection to the front and introduced mouldings to the front windows. A two-storey lean-to return to the rear was heightened in the 1920s when a bathroom and extra bedroom were constructed over the kitchen. A single-storey lean-to return dating from the 1880s also exists, and a glazed porch was built around the back door in 1981.

The symmetrical front façade faces south. At the centre is the projecting porch, which has a six-panel timber entrance door with a moulded surround featuring a keystone motif. The porch's east and west faces have sash windows with horizontal astragals and moulded surrounds matching the doorway. The first floor comprises a sun porch with two large fixed windows to the west, south, and east faces. The gable apex is finished with timber sheeting, and there is a large floodlight positioned centrally. The verge has a slight overhang with a small wooden finial to the apex, and the gutter line coincides with that of the main roof. A simple string course divides the ground and first floors. To either side of the porch are two evenly spaced sash windows to each floor. The front façade is finished in lined render with in and out quoins.

The east gable merges with the north-east single-storey lean-to return (with attic). Within the original gable at ground floor is a sash window with 6-over-6 Georgian panes. Within the lean-to is a very small four-pane window. At first floor within the original gable are two sash windows, both 6-over-6. At attic level are two equally spaced very small pivot windows. Between the windows is a large floodlight. The roof overhang is supported on projecting purlins.

The west gable merges with a two-storey lean-to return. The ground floor is blank, while the first floor has a 6-over-6 sash window within the original gable. Within the lean-to is a modern two-pane casement window. The attic floor has two small windows either side close to the eaves, a large floodlight, and roof overhang.

The north rear façade comprises two returns: the north-east is single-storey extending over approximately one-third of the face, and the north-west is two-storied with a shallow pitched roof extending over the remaining two-thirds. The north-east return is slightly set back with a blank north face. The north-west return has a flat-roofed single-storey glazed porch dating from 1981 at the centre, with a sash window with horizontal astragal either side. At first floor are two modern window openings: the left has a small top opener, the right a two-pane casement. A small chimney stack sits to the left of centre on the eaves of the main roof.

The main roof is covered with Bangor Blue slates with mainly cast-iron rainwater goods. Three evenly spaced cast-iron roof lights sit to the rear. Each gable has chimney stacks with mouldings and three matching decorative pots. The roof covering to the two-storey rear return is bituminous felt, while the single-storey return and front porch have slated roofs.

The outbuildings include a large U-shaped stable block to the north-west, finished in unpainted render and retaining internal fittings such as stalls and mangers, and a small dairy to the north-east. To the immediate north-west of the stable block is a small standing stone.

The history of Sentry Hill is documented in extensive family records preserved by the McKinney family and published in Brian Walker's 'Sentry Hill: An Ulster Farm and Family' (1981). This book provides a uniquely detailed insight into both the house's history and the lives of a typical farming family of the period. The property remained with McKinney descendants until the later 1990s.