Whitegate Lodge, 24 Bay Road, Gartree, Crumlin, Co Antrim, BT29 4QP

Whitegate Lodge is a two-storey house, formerly a gate lodge, situated near the corner of the main road at Gartree, set back within its own garden and facing toward a side road that was formerly the driveway into Langford Lodge estate. The building is laid out on an asymmetrical plan with gabled roofs and a central group of octagonal chimneys.

The south elevation, which faces the main entrance, comprises a two-storey block with a two-storey gabled bay to the left of a projecting single-storey porch, with a lower one-and-a-half-storey block extending to the right. The roofs are finished in Bangor blue slates in regular courses with lead covering to the ridges. The gables are of overhanging timber with elaborate cusped barge boards painted white, though the barge boards of the main gable are recent replacements approximating the original design.

The walls are of roughly coursed basalt rubble with raised rusticated quoins to the extremities, which may originally have been sandstone and are painted black, with walling between the long quoin blocks painted light grey. Some quoins are recent replacements in smooth render, painted. A projecting smooth rendered plinth, painted dark grey, runs around the base. The windows have grey sandstone dressings with red brick segmental relieving arches and spandrel panels. The windows themselves are rectangular PVC side-hung casements with fixed side lights and fixed top lights: three-light to the ground floor of the gabled bay, two-light to the first floor of the gabled bay and to the ground floor of the lower block to the right. They are set in chamfered stone surrounds, painted dark grey, with PVC panels fixed to the reveals and projecting stone cills, painted dark grey. A satellite dish is affixed to the left-hand side of the gabled bay by an iron bracket.

The gabled porch is of ashlar sandstone with a projecting plinth, all painted dark grey, and is roofed in slates as the main roof with shaped barge boards which are original. A PVC gutter runs to the east side of the porch with a cast iron downpipe, while a damaged cast iron gutter to the west side has a cast iron downpipe. One narrow window appears in each side wall of the porch, round-headed with chamfered edge continuous, containing a recessed fixed light. The main entrance is semi-elliptically arched with a chamfered edge and contains a pair of arch-headed double doors, each three-panel, raised and fielded, in a wooden surround. Modern tiles have been laid to the projecting doorstep. A PVC gutter to the roof of the main two-storey block discharges into the gutter of the porch via a PVC downpipe, and a similar arrangement serves the lower block to the east.

The west elevation comprises a symmetrical arrangement of gabled two-storey bays slightly projecting, with blank walling to each side and between the bays. The walling is as on the entrance front including quoins to the extremities of the bays. The roof of the main block is slated as previously described. A slightly off-centre chimney stack contains a group of four tall pots, the original octagonal moulded pots painted light grey with two pots to each face. The chimney stack is smooth cement rendered with a plain projecting cornice, painted light grey. The roofs of the projecting bays are slated as previously, with similar shaped barge boards which are recent replacements approximating the original shape. PVC gutters run to the sides of the bays and to the main roof, and three cast iron downpipes with shaped moulded three-quarter octagonal cast iron hoppers are fitted. Each bay has one window to each floor, all PVC: three-light to the ground floor and two-light to the first floor, as on the entrance front, in similar surrounds. The window heads are all of flat-arch type and appear to be smooth cement render, lined and painted dark grey.

Extending to the left-hand side and set back slightly is a lean-to single-storey block projecting from the north elevation, with smooth cement rendered walls painted in the same colour scheme and a timber barge board. One window in the west face is a rectangular timber fixed light to two panels.

The north elevation comprises a two-storey gable to the right with the rear wall of the two-storey entrance block set back to the left, one window wide, with the lower one-and-a-half-storey block to the east extending to the left and a gabled single-storey block projecting forward from it. The walling of the two-storey gabled block to the right is brick painted light grey, with raised rusticated stone or rendered quoins painted dark grey. The walling of the one-and-a-half-storey block to the east is masonry similar to the entrance front, with a small portion of red brick infill. The walling of the gabled single-storey block is of basalt rubble without quoins, with the south gable partly painted light grey. Brick dressings to the window in the gable are painted light grey. The roofs are slated as previously described, with PVC gutters and PVC downpipes and soil pipes. The shaped timber barge boards to the gables are recent replacements.

One window appears in the first floor of the two-storey gable, a rectangular PVC window set in similar surrounds as to the previous elevations. A lean-to single-storey block projects forward with a roof of corrugated iron, a PVC gutter on a timber fascia, and one window in the south face—a rectangular timber two-light casement with small panes. A door in the east side of the lean-to block is rectangular timber, ledged, in a timber surround. One window appears in the first floor of the rear elevation of the entrance block, a rectangular PVC two-light window in similar surrounds as previously. One window appears in the gable of the single-storey block: a rectangular PVC fixed light with top-hung vent, with light grey painted brick dressings and a concrete lintel, a dark grey painted projecting concrete cill, and a light grey painted brick relieving arch with brick spandrel fillings.

To the rear of the single-storey gabled block stands a single chimney with a smooth cement rendered base with angled haunches, a light grey brick stack with plain concrete courses, and a modern red clay pot.

The original yard or space between the gabled blocks is now roofed over with a white painted wooden fascia. The walling is of brickwork painted light grey containing a rectangular PVC glazed two-panel door, with a projecting corrugated perspex open porch on a steel post and timber frame. PVC rainwater goods are fitted.

The east elevation comprises mainly the east gable of the one-and-a-half-storey block with the single-storey rear return extending to the right. The east gable walling is as on the entrance elevation, with shaped timber barges as previously described. Two windows appear, one to each floor, both PVC two-light—the ground floor one with top lights, the first floor one without. These have surrounds and relieving arches as on the entrance elevation. The single-storey rear return set back to the right is of blank masonry without quoins, with a PVC gutter and downpipe.

The building stands surrounded by a concrete path around its base. The boundary to the front is formed by a low vertically slatted timber fence, while the boundary to the east is formed by white timber horizontal fencing between grey concrete brick piers with concrete copings, with a mature hedge behind. A vehicular gateway to the east is formed by a pair of vertically slatted timber gates painted white, and a pedestrian gateway to the front is formed by low vertically slatted timber double gates.

To the rear of the house is a field bordered by hedges. Adjoining the boundary fencing to the front is a large vehicular gateway, originally an entrance gateway to Langford Lodge, formed by a pair of bulky piers of masonry construction with a stuccoed finish, painted dark grey, mounted with a pair of later wrought iron gates of ornamental design painted white, though these are not the original gates. A raised lozenge motif appears on the face of each pier, replacing the original laurel wreaths.