888 Antrim Road, Templepatrick, Co Antrim, BT39 0AH

This is one of a terrace of six late eighteenth-century houses located in a prominent position within the village of Templepatrick. The terrace represents an unusual example of urban vernacular and estate architecture. Despite alterations to the internal layout and some original fabric, the group retains its integrity due to the surviving original multi-paned windows with exposed boxes and understated details such as a rendered plinth and architraves. The terrace has associations with the Battle of Antrim and the Castle Upton estate, enhancing its historical value.

The two-storey, three-bay house, likely built around 1820, faces north on the Antrim Road, with a two-storey return to the south. It has a pitched natural slate roof with a red brick chimney shared with the adjacent property at number 886. The walls are roughcast over a smooth rendered plinth. Timber sliding sash windows are present throughout: 3/6 panes to the first floor and 6/6 panes to the ground floor, all with smooth rendered surrounds. The symmetrical north elevation features a central entrance flanked by windows on either side. The first floor mirrors the ground floor arrangement. The entrance door is hardwood, with glazed top panels and a smooth rendered surround. The rear elevation has a timber casement window on the west side, and a pitched two-storey return to the east. Rainwater goods are of cast metal.

The terrace appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834 and remains unchanged on the fifth edition map of 1932. According to the owner, the house was destroyed by fire and subsequently rebuilt, possibly following complete destruction by Royal Troops after the Battle of Antrim on June 6, 1798. The owner also mentioned a prior internal connection between the terrace houses and their historical significance as original workers’ cottages for the Castle Upton estate. The buildings are considered an important terrace block due to this association.