Moylena, 81 Belfast Road, Antrim, Co Antrim, BT41 1PQ

Moylena is a good example of early 19th century domestic architecture, built in 1832 according to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of the mid-1830s, and retaining many of the style, proportions, and original features of late Georgian design despite some later alterations and additions. The Ordnance Survey records that it was then owned by William Chaine junior, though a residential property existed on the site before that date when it belonged to the Reford family. It appears on the 1832 Ordnance Survey map in what is essentially its present form, where it is marked as 'The Cottage'. Later owners include a Major Torrens; it was bought by a Mr Frederick in 1960, and changed hands twice in the 1990s. The 1857 and 1962–63 Ordnance Survey maps record it as 'Moylinny Cottage'.

The house is built of basalt rubble to an asymmetrical plan of one and two storeys. The main entrance faces east. The east elevation presents a single-storey cottage with a two-storey rear return and a taller two-storey block to the rear. The front block has a central doorway flanked on each side by canted bays, with the main roof forming the porch. The hipped roof is covered in Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses, with a central flush rooflight and black tiles to the ridges. Two chimneys rise symmetrically from the rear wall of the front block, behind the ridge: they are smooth cement rendered with moulded cornices and swept caps, and retain their original octagonal pots. Cast iron gutters are fitted throughout this elevation. The walls are basalt rubble with original red brick dressings to the windows and to the angles of the bays, a projecting brick eaves course, and modern reticulated pointing to all stonework. The windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, six panes over six, without horns, and are coupled at the centre of each bay; the reveals are smooth rendered and painted, the cills are projecting stone and painted, and most panes retain their original glass. The entrance comprises a pair of double doors, rectangular in form, timber, glazed and panelled with rounded tops to the glazing, set between fluted timber pilasters with a moulded frieze. Above is a looped and radial fanlight, and the doors are flanked by decoratively glazed sidelights, all within an elliptically arched opening. Four sandstone steps lead up to the entrance. The soffit of the roof overhead has a recessed lozenge-shaped panel, and a pendant metal lamp of octagonal form with leaded glazed panels hangs from it.

The south elevation presents the end of the front block with the rear blocks extending to the left. The end wall of the front block is basalt rubble with rusticated rendered quoins with a scratched finish to the left-hand corner. At ground floor level there is one window, sashed as those on the entrance front but with horns, set in red brick block surrounds with rendered reveals and painted stone cill. Above is a dormer window, timber sliding sash, semi-circular headed, one pane over one, with extended horns, set in a smooth cement rendered dormer face with a projecting cill; the dormer has a canted profile to its top, painted timber cheeks, and a slated pitched roof. Cast iron gutters and a cast iron downpipe are fitted. The return block to the left is set back, with a slated roof matching the front. A central timber dormer contains a tripartite window, timber sliding sash, vertically hung, each light one pane over one with horns, with a wavy profile to the head of both the dormer and the window frame; the cheeks of the dormer are glazed. Moulded cast iron gutters and downpipes serve this block. The walling is basalt rubble with a projecting brick eaves course. There are two windows at first floor level, sashed as those on the entrance front in similar surrounds. The rear block steps forward to the left with an asymmetrical elevation three windows wide. The walling is of snecked basalt rubble with quoins to the corners and a rendered projecting eaves course. The hipped roof is slated as before and has metal gutters with a cast iron downpipe. Three windows are at first floor level, sashed as on the east elevation; at ground floor level there are two windows, one each side of a central doorway. The ground floor windows are similar to those above but with horns. The door is rectangular, timber, glazed and panelled with small panes, set in a surround similar to the windows. The east side of the rear block has similar walling, with one window to each floor: the first floor window is sashed as before; the ground floor sashes have been replaced by two fixed lights with a glazing pattern matching the originals. Two chimneys, one each side of the ridge, are similar to those described previously. At the left-hand end of the elevation, the building is set into a hillside, with exterior steps of Tardree granite contained by brick retaining walls and dog-legging to the rear of the building.

The rear elevation of the rear block is of roughly coursed basalt rubble with quoins to the right-hand corner. Two windows at first floor level are sashed as on the entrance elevation. Two windows at ground floor level are contained within basement wells covered by iron bars set in a concrete path: the right-hand window retains its original decorative glazing; the one to its left is a modern timber fixed light. Projecting from the left-hand portion of the rear elevation is a later red brick lean-to extension with timber fascias, PVC gutter and downpipe, and two rectangular fixed light windows with top-hung vents, concrete lintels, and concrete cills.

The north elevation presents the end of the front block with the return and rear blocks extending to the right. The end wall of the front block is basalt rubble with red brick block quoins to the corners. At ground floor level there is a blind window opening, blocked up with basalt rubble and without a cill. Above is a dormer window similar to that on the south elevation of the front block, but of pitched form with oversailing verges and timber barge boards. The return block to the right is set back, with roof, dormer, and gutters similar to those on the south elevation; there are two first floor windows as before but six panes over three — the lower sashes appear to have been truncated as a result of a later lean-to extension. The ground floor of the return block is covered by a projecting lean-to glazed passageway with a slated roof of very shallow pitch, a moulded cast iron gutter on a timber eaves board, a cast iron downpipe, basalt rubble walling with an angled concrete cill, and four-light small-paned timber fixed lights with small-paned top-hung vents. The rear block steps forward to the right with an asymmetrical elevation. The walling is of snecked basalt rubble with basalt quoins and a projecting brick eaves course. The hipped roof is slated as before with two chimneys to the rear, metal gutters, and a cast iron downpipe. Three first floor windows of the rear block are sashed as before. At ground floor level there is one window of modern rectangular timber small-paned side-hung casements with a small-paned central fixed light, set in red brick block dressings, and to the left a doorway with a modern rectangular glazed and panelled door with leaded glazing in a similar surround. The east side of the rear block has walling similar to its north face, with one window to each floor sashed as before; the first floor window is without horns but the ground floor window has horns. At ground floor level at the right-hand end of the rear block is a later single-storey outbuilding: lean-to slated roof, painted white brickwork walls, PVC gutter, and cast iron downpipe. Its east face has one segmental-arched window comprising a rectangular four-pane timber fixed light, and a doorway of rectangular ledged timber in a segmental arch. Projecting forward at first floor level at the right-hand end of the rear block is the later red brick lean-to extension, with one window in its north face: a rectangular timber nine-pane fixed light with a three-pane top-hung vent.

The building stands on a corner site within its own grounds. The grounds are laid out with lawns and contain mature trees and shrubs; the ground rises very steeply to the west at the rear of the house and is thickly wooded. A gravel driveway and gravelled area extend to the front of the house and along the north side. The main entrance to the grounds is from the north through a gateway comprising a pair of painted stone piers of octagonal section with Gothic traceried panels, moulded bases, and ogee domed caps. The original cast iron gates are of an ornamented type but are in very poor condition with finials missing. Similar ironwork railings extend to each side, with a square terminal pier to the east with an ogee domed cap; to the west the gate screen abuts a basalt rubble retaining wall. Extending east from the gateway and curving round to form the east boundary is a low basalt rubble wall with Tardree granite copings. The east boundary also contains a small pedestrian gateway comprising a pair of square Tardree granite piers with moulded and swept caps, mounted with a wrought iron gate; the steps to the pathway inside this gateway are also of Tardree granite. The southern end of the east boundary wall abuts a mid-19th century masonry bridge carrying the railway over the main road. The southern boundary is formed by a fence with the railway line beyond.

To the north side of the house is an open courtyard with basalt rubble retaining walls to three sides, containing door and window openings; the doors lead to vaulted compartments. The windows are blocked up with concrete brickwork or new red brickwork, and the retaining walls have new red brick copings. The courtyard surface is partly concrete and partly cobbled. On the east side of the courtyard is a single-storey outbuilding with a concrete roof, built into the slope of the garden; Tardree granite exterior steps lead up to roof level, terminating at the bottom with a square pier of Tardree granite with a swept granite cap. The outbuilding has ledged timber doors and a modern timber window.