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

Moylena is a distinctive one and two-storey house of asymmetrical plan, constructed of basalt rubble with red brick dressings. The complex form consists of a single-storey cottage range facing east, with a two-storey rear return and a taller two-storey block to the rear, creating a picturesque composition characteristic of mid-19th century villa architecture.

The east entrance elevation presents an unusual and attractive front, with a central doorway flanked by projecting canted bay windows. The main hipped roof extends forward to form a porch over the entrance. The roof is covered in regular courses of Bangor blue slate with black ridge tiles and features a central flush rooflight. Two chimneys rise symmetrically from the rear wall of the front block, rendered in smooth cement with moulded cornices and swept caps, and retain their original octagonal pots. The walls throughout are of basalt rubble with original red brick dressings to window openings and the angles of the bay windows, finished with a projecting brick eaves course. All stonework has modern reticulated pointing. Cast iron gutters serve the building.

The windows are rectangular timber sliding sashes, vertically hung, predominantly 6 over 6 panes without horns, with smooth rendered reveals and projecting stone cills, all painted. Most panes retain their original glass. In each canted bay, two windows are coupled together. The entrance is particularly fine, comprising a pair of double doors with rectangular panels below and glazed upper sections with rounded tops to the glazing. These are set between fluted timber pilasters supporting a moulded frieze, surmounted by a looped and radial fanlight, and flanked by decoratively glazed sidelights. The entire arrangement sits within an elliptically arched opening. Four sandstone steps lead up to the entrance, with a recessed lozenge-shaped panel decorating the soffit of the roof overhead. A pendant metal lamp of octagonal form with leaded glazed panels hangs at the entrance.

The south elevation shows the end of the front block with the rear ranges extending to the left. The end wall of the front block features rusticated rendered quoins with a scratched finish at the left-hand corner. A single ground floor window matches those on the entrance front but has horns and sits in red brick block surrounds. Above this is a dormer window with a semi-circular headed timber sliding sash, 1 over 1 panes with extended horns, set in a smooth cement rendered face with projecting cill. The dormer has a canted profile at its top, painted timber cheeks, and a slated pitched roof. Cast iron gutters and downpipes serve this elevation.

The return block, set back to the left, has a slated roof with a central timber dormer containing a distinctive tripartite window. Each of the three lights is a 1 over 1 sliding sash with horns, and both the dormer head and window frame heads have a wavy profile. The dormer has glazed cheeks. Moulded cast iron gutters and cast iron downpipes serve this section. The walls are basalt rubble with a projecting brick eaves course. Two first-floor windows match those on the entrance front.

The rear block steps forward again to the left, presenting an asymmetrical elevation three windows wide. The walls are of snecked basalt rubble with quoins at the corners and a rendered projecting eaves course. The hipped roof is slated to match the rest of the house, with metal gutters and cast iron downpipes. Three first-floor windows match those on the east elevation. At ground floor, two windows flank a central doorway. The windows are similar to the first floor but with horns, while the door is rectangular, timber, glazed and panelled with small panes, set in similar surrounds to the windows. The east side of the rear block has one window per floor: the first floor matches previous examples, while the ground floor sashes have been replaced by two fixed lights maintaining the original glazing pattern. Two chimneys, one on each side of the ridge, match the entrance front chimneys.

At the left-hand extremity of this elevation, the building is set into a hillside, with external steps of Tardree granite contained by brick retaining walls, dog-legging to the rear of the building. The rear elevation of the rear block is of roughly coursed basalt rubble with quoins at the right-hand corner. Two first-floor windows match the entrance elevation examples. The two ground-floor windows are set within basement wells covered by iron bars set in the concrete path. The right-hand window retains original decorative glazing, while the left window is a modern timber fixed light. A later red brick lean-to extension projects from the left-hand portion of the rear elevation, with timber fascias and PVC gutter and downpipe. It contains two rectangular fixed lights with top-hung vents, concrete lintels and cills.

The north elevation shows 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. The ground floor contains a blind window opening blocked with basalt rubble and no cill. Above is a dormer window similar to that on the south elevation but of pitched form with oversailing verges and timber bargeboards.

The return block, set back to the right, has a roof, dormer, and gutter arrangement similar to the south elevation. Two first-floor windows match previous examples but are 6 over 3 panes rather than 6 over 6; the lower sashes appear truncated due to a later lean-to extension. The ground floor is covered by a projecting lean-to glazed passageway with a very shallow pitched slated roof, moulded cast iron gutter on a timber eaves board, and cast iron downpipe. The walls are basalt rubble with an angled concrete cill. The glazing consists of 4-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 walls are snecked basalt rubble with basalt quoins and a projecting brick eaves course. The hipped roof is slated to match, with two chimneys to the rear, metal gutter, and cast iron downpipe. Three first-floor windows match previous examples. At ground floor, a modern rectangular timber small-paned side-hung casement window with small-paned central fixed light sits in red brick block dressings. To the left is a doorway with a modern rectangular glazed and panelled door with leaded glazing in similar surrounds to the windows. The east side of the rear block has similar walling to the north face, with one window per floor matching previous examples, without horns at first floor but with horns at ground floor.

A later single-storey outbuilding covers the right-hand extremity of the rear block at ground floor level, with a lean-to slated roof, walls of brickwork painted white, PVC gutter, and cast iron downpipe. Its east face has one segmental-arched window comprising a rectangular timber 4-pane fixed light, and a doorway with rectangular ledged timber door in a segmental arch. Extending from the right-hand extremity of the rear block at first-floor level and projecting forward is the later red brick lean-to extension, with one window in the north face: a rectangular timber 9-pane fixed light with 3-pane top-hung vent.

The building stands on a corner site within its own grounds, which are laid out with lawns and contain mature trees and shrubs. The ground rises very steeply to the west behind the house and is thickly grown with trees. A gravel driveway and gravelled areas 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 with a pair of painted stone piers of octagonal section featuring Gothic traceried panels, moulded bases, and ogee domed caps. The original cast iron gates are of ornamented type but in very poor condition with finials missing. Similar ironwork railings extend to each side, with a square terminal pier to the east having 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 contains a small pedestrian gateway with a pair of square Tardree granite piers with moulded and swept caps, mounted with a wrought iron gate. Steps to the pathway inside the gateway are of Tardree granite. The southern extremity 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. Doors lead to vaulted compartments. Windows are blocked up with concrete brickwork or new red brickwork, and new red brick copings top the retaining walls. 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 swept granite cap. The outbuilding has ledged timber doors and a modern timber window.