Deerpark Cottage, Randalstown Forest, Mount Shalgus Lane, Randalstown, Antrim, Co Antrim

Deerpark Cottage was a two-story, octagonal house built within the Shane's Castle estate, near Randalstown, County Antrim. The precise date of construction is unknown, but it appears on Ordnance Survey maps from 1829 and 1832 as a small, unnamed octagonal building. It was later named 'Harris Cottage' on the 1858 Ordnance Survey map, and subsequently 'Deerpark Cottage' on maps from 1902 and 1921. Described in the 1830s, it stood on the edge of the lake and was initially used as private apartments by Lord O’Neill.

The building was constructed of blackstone with walls featuring vertical, wedge-shaped tiles laid in a square plan, with vermiculated circular columns supporting the corners. A single-story, semi-circular bay projected towards the lough. The entrance was situated within a splayed recess, featuring diagonally sheeted double doors. Windows were timber boarded. The chimney stack was constructed using rusticated stone. The building’s plan shape was considered interesting.

As the lake level was lowered from the mid-19th century onwards, the cottage became increasingly distanced from the shoreline. By 1971, it was described as derelict, and was subsequently demolished after the deerpark at Shane’s Castle came under the ownership of the Forest Service. The site is now overgrown and absorbed into the forest.