60 Carlane Road, Ballynaleney, Toomebridge, Co. Antrim, BT41 3PA

An asymmetrical two-storey three-bay Edwardian brick and render farmhouse built in 1909, located on the north side of Carlane Road in a farmyard setting close to the Lough Neagh foreshore. The building was constructed by McManus builders of Randalstown and represents one of three similar houses built by the firm in the local area around the turn of the century. Unlike its companions, this house possesses a slightly more urban character.

The house is rectangular on plan with full-height canted bays to the principal elevation facing south and a modern extension to the rear dating from 1976. The pitched roof is finished in natural slate with stepped red brick gable chimneys featuring moulded corbelled coping and decorative lead finials. The walling is roughcast over a smooth rendered plinth, with red brick stepped quoins to the main block and projecting left bay. The canted bays are of red brick with continuous moulded lintels and roughcast aprons to ground floor windows.

Windows throughout are uPVC 1/1 sashes with stepped brick reveals, stop-end chamfered rendered lintels and painted masonry sills. The principal elevation consists of an opening to each bay at each floor, with canted bays having an opening to each cheek. The central bay contains a segmental-headed door opening set within a slightly projecting brick porch with moulded brick cornice and shallow slated roof hipped to one side. The door is uPVC double-leaf with two lower panels, glazed central panel and twin round-headed glazed upper panels, set in a bead-moulded and filleted brick surround. Above the door is a diminished segmental-headed window with stepped brick reveals and smooth rendered lintel. The left gable has a ground floor window with an apex brick panel. The rear elevation features a projecting stairwell to centre with a round-headed timber stained glass window at landing level, set within brick reveals and brick archivolt. The right gable has a first floor window.

The house is accessed via a pair of cast-iron gates on square brick piers with plinth and pyramidal rendered caps, flanked by quadrant walls with segmental coping. The property is visible from the road at the head of a slightly curving drive flanked by lawns and mature trees. To the east is a farmyard framed by one and a half and two-storey outbuildings with pitched slate roofs and random basalt rubble walling, some roughcast rendered, with painted timber sheeted openings and timber sheeted dormers with timber cheeks.

A previous building stood on the site, recorded in the first and second edition Ordnance Survey maps. The 1890 Valuation Revision records John Chesney as owner and occupier. The current house was newly built on the same site in 1908, when the valuation increased significantly to £9, though noted as vacant. By 1909 John Chesney was recorded as the occupant, and the house remained in the Chesney family thereafter. Historical sources indicate the house was constructed by McManus builders, whose business premises in Randalstown are documented as ironmongers and hardware merchants in 1894 and as sawing, joinery mills and builders by 1902. A small lean-to boiler house exists to the internal angle. The house retains most original fabric and salient original features throughout and makes a positive contribution to the character of the area. Current rainwater goods are replacement metal gutters with cast-iron downpipes; two original timber sashes remain among otherwise uPVC replacements.