The Old Rectory, 122 Circular Road, Jordonstown, Co.Antrim, BT37 0RH

The Old Rectory is a detached three-bay two-storey brick and roughcast former rectory built in 1897 in the Arts and Crafts style, located on the north side of Circular Road, Jordanstown. It was built to serve St Patrick's Church of Ireland in Jordanstown, which was constructed in 1868. Although not architect-designed, the building demonstrates robust detailing characteristic of the period and represents a good example of a modest suburban villa from a time of expansion into the suburbs around Belfast. The exterior composition is notably attractive, though the interior is quite pedestrian and not entirely consistent with Arts and Crafts tradition.

The rectangular plan faces south with three bays. The left bay is gabled with a perpendicular ridge, whilst the central and right bays have their first floor contained within the attic. The centre bay is lit by a raised canted bay with castellated parapet, and the right bay by a dormer. The roof is natural slate with a perforated red clay cresting; the left bay has angled ridge tiles. Painted timber bargeboards with carved brackets, exposed rafter ends and half-round uPVC gutters are features throughout. The front pitch has a crow-stepped raised sandstone parapet and a red brick chimneystack at the ridge between the centre and right bays.

The dormers feature leaded flat roofs with cheeks displaying moulded painted timber cornices and tripartite 3/1-light casements to the front right bay and rear left bay, with an additional diminished dormer to the centre bay attic. The walling is Flemish-bonded red brick over a chamfered plinth, with a dentilled stringcourse at eaves level and painted roughcast above ground floor. The left bay apexes have decorative half-timbering.

Windows are square-headed painted timber 1/1 sashes with margined lights in the top sash, smooth-rendered reveals and stone sills. Ground floor windows have dressed sandstone lintels. The south elevation left bay has a single-storey splayed projection with parapet sandstone coping with raised ends; its ground floor contains a bipartite window, the left bay has a bipartite in a segmental arch-headed recess, and the attic is lit by a bipartite 6/1 sash. The centre bay features an elliptical-arch-headed painted timber and glazed door in a moulded surround with a carved tympanum on shouldered corbels; to the left of the door is a small elliptical-arch-headed stained glass casement. The right bay has a single tripartite window. The west elevation displays two windows on each of two storeys. The north elevation's exposed section shows two windows on the first floor and one bipartite 6/1 sash on the second floor.

A modern extension and conservatory have been added to the rear. The extension is detailed as a house but without stringcourse; its north elevation is blank, whilst the left cheek has one window and the right cheek has two windows flanking a central square-headed painted timber vertically sheeted door. The conservatory has a slated lean-to roof with rooflights and a central gablet with red clay crested ridge tiles over a square-headed painted timber and glazed double-leaf door with glazed tympanum. The walling is glazed over a red brick plinth. The east gable is abutted at its left end by a canted bay with three windows and a hipped roof. The exposed section of the east gable shows a single window to each of the ground and first floors, with an ocular vent to the gable apex.

The house is situated in lawned gardens with mature trees and box hedges. Access is via a decorative wrought-iron double gate hinged to square brick pillars with ornate terracotta caps, leading to a modern tiled drive which continues to a rear tiled patio and detached modern garage.

According to Valuation Revisions records dated 1897, the house was occupied by the Rev. James Read and comprised a house, shed and land, valued at £32 with an estimated construction cost of approximately £1000. The building first appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1902, where it is captioned 'Rectory'. The current owner has stated that the house was not architect-designed and that a previous owner had removed some internal fireplaces.