The Stables, Greenmount College, 22 Greenmount Road, Muckamore, Antrim, Co Antrim, BT41 4PX

The Stables, Greenmount College

This is a late Georgian stable yard, built sometime between 1820 and 1839 and recorded on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832. It was constructed to serve Greenmount, formerly the country house of the Thompson family. The complex is no longer used as stables and now functions as offices, stores, and workshops for the agricultural college. It retains its overall external form but has lost a number of original features and most of its original interiors through modernisation and adaptation.

The stable yard is arranged as a quadrangle of single-storey outbuildings around a central courtyard, with a two-storey entrance block at the south forming the main frontage. The entrance block is surmounted by a central octagonal timber belfry with arched head openings on each face, a lead-dressed base, and a lead cupola with ball finial and iron weathervane. The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses, with two original flush rooflights. Rainwater goods comprise what appear to be moulded PVC gutters and cast iron downpipes of rectangular section. The walls are of roughly squared, rock-faced greystone in regular courses with later reticulated cement mortar, rusticated sandstone quoins to the corners, and a projecting plain eaves course with timber eaves board.

The main entrance on the south elevation is a rusticated sandstone elliptical archway set in a slightly projecting rectangular surround with a moulded cornice, imposts, and plinth. It now contains a pair of large modern arched sheeted timber doors mounted on steel framing to the rear face, with a small wicket gate incorporated. The archway is flanked on each side by a pair of original cylindrical cast iron bollards. The first floor of the entrance block has three rectangular windows fitted with modern small-paned fixed timber lights with top-hung vents — replacements for what were presumably original sliding sashes — set in later cement-rendered reveals with projecting stone cills, sandstone heads, and sandstone drip moulds. At ground floor level, one later timber window has been inserted to the right-hand side, glazed similarly to those above but with a concrete cill and raised cement-rendered surrounds; the head is spalling to reveal a flat iron lintel, and modern iron spiked bars are attached.

The south elevation is flanked on each side by single-storey wings that project slightly forward. The left-hand wing is three bays wide, with one window to either side of a central doorway. Its roof is slated as the main block, with two original rooflights. There is one chimney, smooth cement-rendered with a plain block cornice, retaining one original octagonal pot alongside two modern stub pots. The walling and quoins match the entrance block, with a moulded weathering to the cornice at the right-hand side where it overlaps the entrance block. The windows match those on the first floor of the entrance block. The doorway contains a rectangular timber sheeted door of herringbone pattern with scrolling wrought iron hinges, surmounted by a plain rectangular timber fanlight set in a modern moulded timber frame, in smooth rendered reveals with a head and drip mould similar to the windows. The right-hand wing is similar to the left, except it has no chimney, no rooflights, and modern spiked iron bars are fitted to the windows. One window to the right is a large modern three-light arrangement of timber casements and top-hung vents set in raised smooth rendered surrounds with a rendered cill and no sandstone dressings. Its doorway is similar to the left-hand wing except that the frame is unmoulded and the fanlight has pseudo-leading in a Georgian radial pattern.

The west elevation of the entrance block has a hipped roof slated as before, with two original flush rooflights. The walling here is of snecked basalt with quoins to the corners. The west elevation of the left-hand wing also has a slated roof with two original rooflights, one rendered chimney as described previously but with no pots. The walling is of roughly squared, coursed rock-faced basalt to the right-hand end, with roughly coursed basalt rubble to the remainder, all with recessed or smeared cement pointing, and rusticated sandstone quoins to the corners. There is one window to each floor: the first floor has a rectangular timber sliding sash, two over two panes with horns, in plain cement-rendered reveals with a projecting stone cill; the ground floor has a later small-paned timber fixed light and top-hung vent in a raised smooth rendered surround with a projecting sandstone cill. At the left-hand corner a modern projecting single-storey toilet block has been added, with smooth cement-rendered walls, lined and blocked, flush timber doors, PVC windows, an asbestos-slated lean-to roof, and PVC rainwater goods. Behind this modern toilet block projects an original screen wall to a side yard: walling of roughly coursed basalt rubble with rusticated quoins to the left-hand corner and sandstone copings.

The west elevation of the west wing of the courtyard has a hipped slated roof with original flush rooflights and modern steel ventilator coils. The wall is of basalt rubble, with a derelict window opening and a now-closed elliptical brick-arched opening. The rear elevation of this wing is rendered with a modern wet dash of stone chippings, with a projecting brick eaves course and timber eaves board, PVC gutters and downpipes, two modern metal-framed casement windows in smooth rendered reveals with similar cills, and a rectangular doorway in a smooth rendered surround containing a sliding steel door.

The east elevation of the entrance block is similar to the west end. The east elevation of the right-hand wing has a slated roof, one smooth rendered chimney with two stub pots, and walling of roughly coursed basalt rubble with rusticated sandstone quoins. Darker-toned patches of basalt indicate two previous openings that have been walled up. There are two windows, one to each floor: the first floor has a rectangular timber sliding sash, three over three panes without horns, in cement-rendered reveals with a projecting smooth rendered cill; the ground floor window is similar to the equivalent in the other wing, with modern spiked iron bars affixed. The east elevation of the east wing of the courtyard has a hipped slated roof with one original flush rooflight and one modern ventilator, moulded PVC gutters and cast iron downpipes, and walling of roughly coursed basalt rubble with a projecting eaves course and timber eaves board.

Inside the entrance block, the coachway leading into the courtyard has side walls of smooth cement render, lined and blocked, and a ceiling of modern hardboard sheets. The courtyard elevations of the entrance block's rear face are smooth cement-rendered, lined and blocked, with a slated roof, moulded PVC gutters and downpipes, a central elliptical archway, and rectangular door and window openings fitted with modern timber fixed lights with top-hung vents in plain reveals and timber sheeted doors. The courtyard elevations of the lower wings are of similar character, with comparable modern windows and flush timber doors. The courtyard elevations of the east and west wings and the rear wing are single-storey with slated roofs including original rooflights, roughly squared coursed basalt walls with original recessed lime mortar pointing, and moulded PVC gutters and downpipes. The west wing has four elliptical arches of red brickwork, all of which have been blocked up at a later date: three are smooth cement-rendered, lined and blocked, and now incorporate modern glazed doors. The rear wing has two centrally placed elliptical sandstone archways; the right-hand one contains sliding sheeted doors and a sheeted tympanum, while the left-hand one has been closed with basalt and brick to contain a sheeted door. To the left of these arches the rear wing has brick flat-arched openings containing a modern door and windows; to the right the wall is smooth cement-rendered with rectangular openings and modern timber windows. The east wing similarly has brick flat-arched openings with an original sheeted door alongside modern timber windows and a door.

The buildings stand in a rural area within the grounds of the agricultural college, well to the east of the original house on the estate. They are approached by the rear driveway to the complex, which opens into a large tarmac area in front of the stable block. Modern barns stand well to the front of the block and close to the rear. Along the base of the entrance elevation are small flower beds, and extending to the right at the right-hand corner is a small modern stone screen wall with a modern steel gate and railings.