26 New Street, Randalstown, Antrim, Co Antrim, BT41 3AF

26 New Street, Randalstown

A two-storey, three-bay house of rendered construction with decorative timber barge boards, Grade B1 listed. The building occupies a street corner position within Randalstown's built-up area, set back from the street with a pavement in front; one gable directly overlooks the side street.

The main entrance elevation faces west beneath a roof of Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses with dark-toned ridge tiles. Two yellow brick chimneys, one to each gable, feature moulded details to their cornices and support two pots each. The walling consists of replacement smooth cement render, lined and blocked, with a slightly projecting plinth and projecting coved eaves course. A gable projects over the central entrance bay, its eaves carried on a pair of shaped brackets and featuring painted wooden panelled soffits. Decorative barge boards incorporate cusped patterning with pierced quatrefoils and trefoils. Cast iron gutters and downpipes run the length of the elevation.

The central doorway is recessed within a moulded segmental arched opening with keystone. It comprises a rectangular timber four-panel door—a modern replacement for the original—flanked by three-pane sidelights and surmounted by a four-pane fanlight with octagonal panes. A cement doorstep sits below pavement level. Three windows occupy the first floor and two the ground floor, one on each side of the doorway. All are rectangular timber sliding sash windows with six-over-six panes and horns, set in rectangular moulded surrounds rising from projecting painted cills.

The north gable is smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with raised quoins at the extremities and a slightly projecting plinth. Overhanging eaves are supported on two pairs of shaped brackets with plain wooden panelled soffits; decorative barge boards match those on the entrance front. One ground-floor window and one first-floor window follow the same design as the entrance elevation including their surrounds, though the first-floor window lacks horns. Two small attic windows are round-headed timber sliding sash with one-over-two panes and short stub horns, each set beneath a projecting painted stone cill.

The rear elevation is two storeys and three bays, with a roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; a small repair area employs what appears to be synthetic slates. Two original rooflights and two yellow brick chimneys with moulded brick cornices, one to each gable, feature on this elevation. The walling is rendered with a wet dash of crushed black stones. PVC gutters, downpipes, and soil pipe are present. Three first-floor windows are rectangular timber sliding sash with six-over-six panes and horns, set in exposed sash boxes with painted stone cills and plain rendered reveals. A central ground-floor doorway contains a rectangular glazed timber door surmounted by a plain rectangular fanlight, approached by two concrete steps. One window to each side of the doorway flanks it; the left window is similar to those above; the right is a later rectangular metal fixed light with casement.

The south gable is replacement smooth cement render, lined and blocked with quoins at the extremities. Overhanging eaves feature decorative timber barge boards matching those elsewhere on the building. One ground-floor window and one first-floor window are sashed as on other elevations, with horns, set in plain reveals, and topped by projecting painted stone cills.

A rendered front boundary wall extends to the right from the entrance front, enclosing the front garden. The grassy rear garden is bounded on the south by a low rendered wall with steel security fencing of an adjacent police station behind it; on the east by the rendered wall of an adjacent property; and on the north by a basalt rubble wall which is rendered at the end extending from the house. This rendered portion contains a rectangular timber-sheeted door. At the far end the wall features a pair of square brick piers with basalt rock copings—now in poor condition—mounted with a pair of corrugated iron doors. Within the garden, on the inner face of the north wall, stands a lean-to roofed outbuilding.