The Swallow House, No 9 The Adam Yard, Castle Upton, Templepatrick, Co Antrim, BT39 0BE

The Swallow House is a Grade A listed building comprising two former dwellings (No. 9 Swallow House and No. 10 North Archway Flat) that occupy the north-west corner of the north yard and the rear entrance block of a larger complex.

The building is a detached, symmetrical, quadrangular-plan range of two-storey, multi-bay stone former stable buildings, built in 1790 to the designs of Robert Adam. The complex features a main arched entrance clock tower to the south, a further arched rear entrance block to the north, and a central range on an east-west axis with an arched tower flanked by a pair of square-plan blocks. Six square-plan towers with chamfered corners define the corners of the two yards. The building was renovated and converted to 12 dwellings between 1988 and 2000.

The roofs are natural slate with lead to the ridge rolls, pitched to the linear sections with several skylights and hipped to the towers and to the north and south arched entrance blocks. The entrance clock tower has an octagonal-plan spire with lead ridges, natural slate to the lower half, metal louvres to the upper half, surmounted by a lead globe and weather-vane. A square-plan lead spire to the central arched tower was added around 2008.

The south and central arched towers and all six corner towers (except that to the north-west) have crenellated parapet walls with sandstone coping resting on a redbrick corbelled course. This parapet is employed on the front (south) elevation of the two linear ranges with slender arched recesses with redbrick heads. The central arched tower has four bartizans to the corners formed in redbrick with sandstone corbelling and replacement sandstone capstones. Replacement cast-iron rainwater goods are mounted on iron drive-through brackets to projecting rubblestone eaves courses with some lead hoppers and redbrick chimneystacks with octagonal clay pots and lead flashing.

The walling is coursed and snecked rubblestone with lime pointing and a projecting rubblestone plinth course. The south entrance tower is flanked by a pair of full-height projecting stone piers to both elevations with a parapet wall and sandstone coping on a redbrick corbelled course. These piers have blind balistrariae to the upper stage and blind loop-holes to the lower stage on both elevations. The balistrariae also adorn the outward-facing chamfered corners of the four outer towers, with a double-height round-headed recess to the south-facing elevations of the front two corner towers only. The rear entrance block has a series of balistrariae to the ground floor of the south elevation (some glazed to the interior wall), while the north elevation has loop-hole openings to the ground floor, also glazed to the interior wall.

Windows are generally square-headed with rendered reveals, concrete sills and timber sash windows with exposed sash boxes (circa 2000). Between the paired piers flanking the arched entrance tower is a slender round-headed window opening to the ground floor with 4/4 timber sash windows, with slender 4/4 timber sash windows to the first floor. The window openings facing the two yards are 6/6 timber sash to the ground floor with oculi openings to the first floor formed in redbrick with circular timber casement windows. Some large round-headed window openings occupy former carriage arch openings to the central linear range with voussoired stone arches and multi-pane timber windows with integrated fanlights. The linear east and west ranges have a lucarne opening to the centre of each range facing into the yards with timber weather board to the gable and timber casement windows. Some tripartite sash windows have been inserted to the outward-facing elevations with central 6/6 flanked by 4/4 timber sash windows. To the first floor of the outward-facing elevations are 3/6 and 6/3 timber sash windows.

The main south entrance clock tower has a large round-headed carriage arch with a sandstone architrave surround, plinth blocks and impost blocks. Above impost level is a timber panel with glazing, while a pair of 19th-century vertically-sheeted timber doors on iron hinges give access to the yard. The walls and soffit within the arch are smooth lime rendered with a small square-headed door opening to either side having replacement timber panelled doors. Door openings are generally square-headed with multi-paned glazed timber doors (some double-leaf). To the corner towers of the front south elevation, within the double-height recess is a round-headed door opening formed in voussoired stone with double-leaf multi-paned timber glazed doors with Gothick tracery fanlights and an oculus to the upper stage with circular timber casement windows.

The two yards are surfaced in gravel. The rear (north) yard contains a flower-bed formed in stone setts taking the form of a Prussian iron cross with a carved stone pedestal and iron sun-dial on a moulded redbrick base. Stone flags surround the east, north and west elevations.

The stable range, now known as the Adam Yard, is set to the east of Castle Upton and accessed by a long tree-lined avenue set perpendicular to the main street of Templepatrick (Belfast Road). To the north of the rear is a lawned area with a stone ha-ha and small stone bridge with a bitumac driveway giving vehicular access to the north yard. To the north-east is a seven-bay single-storey stone-clad garage, built around 2000, abutting the wall of the Upton graveyard.