The Hill, 56 Portglenone Road, Randalstown, Co Antrim, BT41 3EG

The Hill is a detached asymmetrical multi-bay two-storey rendered house built around 1870, though historical records indicate construction in 1912. It is situated to the west of Portglenone Road on an elevated site within a mature garden setting bounded by mature hedges.

The building is rectangular on plan, facing north, with a central gabled two-storey projection flanked by single-storey lean-to porches. The east and south elevations feature slightly lower canted bay projections. A two-storey addition abuts the eastern side of the south elevation, with a flat-roof two-storey extension abutting the south and west elevations of this addition. The pitched roof is finished in natural slate with squared ridge tiles, overhanging eaves with exposed rafter ends, and decorative A-frame bargeboards to the gables. Red brick chimneys rise from the ridge of the main block and at the eaves level where the flat roof extension meets the two-storey addition, featuring dog-tooth and corbel detailing with two round clay pots.

The principal north-facing elevation has a central gabled projecting bay containing two four-centred arch-headed windows to the ground floor and a timber-framed oriel to the first floor mounted on moulded corbels. The left bay is blank. The right bay contains a tripartite segmental-headed window to the ground floor with fixed central panel and casement side panels, and a double segmental-headed window to the first floor. The east elevation is asymmetrical, with a projecting two-storey gabled bay containing a two-storey hipped canted bay. The canted bay features double segmental-headed windows at each floor. The south elevation shows a projecting two-storey gable with a canted bay containing similarly detailed windows. A two-storey multi-bay flat-roof extension abuts the south return on the west side, with segmental-headed doors and windows. The west elevation is asymmetrical with a projecting two-storey gable abutted to the south by a two-storey multi-bay flat-roof extension, and a single-storey hipped extension within the gable. Windows throughout are timber-framed with segmental and four-centred arch heads. Rainwater goods comprise cast iron gutters and uPVC downpipes.

To the northwest stands a single-storey pitched red brick outhouse with decorative cast iron vents to the north elevation, window and door openings to the south, and a segmental arched opening to the east. A projecting wall and gate enclose the garden to the south. The rear courtyard is enclosed by a wall separating it from the driveway and features modern farm outbuildings to the west and a red brick outhouse to the north. The courtyard entrance pillars are circular with ball finials and moulded bell cast cappings. A curved wall extends from the roadside with smooth rendered moulded coping.

The building does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps until 1933. Valuation Revision Notebooks record a house and offices built in 1912 by Jane McAuley, valued at £35.0s.0d. The property remains in private ownership and lies within a conservation area.