Dalriada House, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Co. Antrim, BT37 0QB

Dalriada House is a detached three-bay two-storey Italianate house built circa 1850, located within the grounds of the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, off the Shore Road. It stands as one of several former large merchant residences that characterised the early development of the area.

The house is rectangular in plan, aligned east-west, and faced in painted roughcast with chamfered smooth-rendered quoins. A smooth plinth stringcourse runs at ground floor mid-window level, with a moulded stringcourse between floors and a frieze with projection moulded cornice. The roof is hipped and slated with a flat central section concealed behind a leaded parapet, and features a rendered chimneystack with moulded caps to the ridge.

The principal west elevation is three bays wide with a porch abutting centrally. The porch comprises paired Doric pilasters with simple entablatures supporting a perforated parapet to a flat roof. The entrance consists of a painted timber three-panelled double-leaf door approached via two steps, with an overlight above. The porch cheeks are blank except for a rectangular panel at overlight level. Windows are square-headed with moulded architraves. First floor windows are 6/6 sashes with lugged bases to the architraves. The ground floor has a 2/2 sash with horns, moulded sills and drip moulds supported by consoles over moulded vertical banding.

The north elevation is multi-bay, with the left end abutted by an addition. The exposed elevation has replacement 6/6 sashes with smooth-rendered architraves to both floors. The first floor centre contains three vertical multi-light casements serving the staircase, and the ground floor has a square-headed modern entrance with an abutting flat-roofed covered walkway.

The east (rear) elevation is three windows wide, detailed as the principal elevation though ground floor windows lack consoles over vertical bands. A two-storey pitched addition abuts the north and a two-storey extension abuts the right end. The extension features a two-window-wide bow detailed as the east elevation but with a raised half-storey parapet. Its left cheek is two windows wide with only one window to the first floor, whilst the right cheek is abutted at ground floor by a modern extension and exposes only a blank first floor.

The south elevation has three bays with a central bay abutted by a three-window-wide breakfront containing a bow bay at ground floor. The three ground floor breakfront windows are bowed sashes.

Roofing is natural slate with cast-iron rainwater goods. The building retains many original features despite various alterations that detract from its character, particularly modern extensions and entrance modifications.

Historically, the house first appears on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857, captioned as Dalriada. The 1859 Griffiths Valuation records Dalriada as comprising a house, offices, gate lodge and land, occupied by Philip Johnston with the Belfast Banking Company as lessor. Contemporary notes indicate Johnston purchased the property from the Belfast Banking Company for approximately £6,000, and subsequently paid rent of £300 per annum pending clarification of the title. The building was described as elegant cement-finished and oil-painted, initially valued at £80 and later revised to £83 and subsequently £135. A note recorded that the building cost approximately £5,000 to construct. The gate lodge was held rent-free by a Mr. Sanderson. Valuation Revision records show the buildings valued at £142 in the 1870s, with the occupant changing to Samuel Johnston in the 1880s. By 1890 the property was divided into two parts, and by 1903 John Hagan occupied the gate lodge. The house is set within the University grounds with a car park to the front, access roads adjacent, and various campus buildings nearby. The associated gate lodge is located to the southeast on the Shore Road.