124 Staffordstown Road, Randalstown, Antrim, Co Antrim, BT41 3LH

124 Staffordstown Road is a good example of a thatched vernacular house of mid-19th-century origin, retaining most of its original exterior appearance. It stands in a prominent position facing west on the east side of the Staffordstown Road, about three miles south of Randalstown, with a pleasant setting.

The building is a single-storey thatched dwelling with a flat-roofed extension to the rear. The main west elevation has one window to the left of the entrance doorway and two to the right. The windows are rectangular timber vertically-hung sliding sash with 3 over 6 panes and horns, with exposed sash boxes recessed in slightly raised smooth rendered and green-painted surrounds with projecting concrete cills. These windows are 1982 replacements of the original openings. The walls are whitened and roughcast with wet dash of small stones, finished with a slightly projecting smooth rendered plinth painted green and slightly raised vertical end strips at each extremity, also painted green.

The roof is thatched with three scollops to the ridge and eaves protected by chicken wire. Cement skews finish each gable. The thatch is a 1982 replacement with later repairs. Two rendered and whitened chimneys are present: one on the north gable and one in line with the left-hand jamb of the entrance, neither with pots. The main entrance is a rectangular timber ledged door with translucent glazed panel and traditional metal latch, set in a plain timber frame recessed in a raised smooth cement rendered surround painted green. This door is a 1982 replacement.

The north gable is blank, roughcast rendered without plinth or corner strips, with projecting sandstone coping. The rear elevation is rendered similarly to the north gable, with thatched roof as the entrance elevation. Two windows stand to the right of the projecting rear return: the rightmost is a recessed rectangular timber 6-pane fixed light with top-hung 3-pane vent in smooth rendered reveals and projecting concrete cill painted; the leftmost is similar except the fixed light is 3-pane only. One window to the left of the rear return is similar to the extreme right window. The rear return is L-shaped with flat roof, timber fascia, metal upstand all round, and gravel topping.

The north wall of the rear return is rendered with wet dash of crushed stones, featuring two windows of rectangular timber fixed light with top-hung vent and projecting concrete cills. The east wall of the return is blank with PVC gutter and downpipe. The south elevation of the return is rendered similarly and has a recessed rectangular flush timber glazed door to the left in plain smooth rendered reveals; to the right of the door is a rectangular timber fixed light window with top-hung vent, recessed in smooth reveals with projecting concrete cill. The return breaks forward with a blank west return wall and a window in the projecting south face of similar type to those on the north face, with PVC soil pipe.

The south gable of the main block is similar to the north except for a small square window at upper level lighting the roofspace, a single pane set in wooden frame slightly recessed with rounded reveals. All gables have projecting sandstone coping.

The house stands facing a side road with its north gable close to the corner with the main road. It is set back to the depth of the adjacent footpath to the north, with a narrow border of concrete across its front. A small plain iron gate to the left of the entrance front leads to a paved path to the rear garden, bordered by greystone rocks. Low screen walls to the right of the entrance front are smooth rendered and painted white, flanking an open gateway to a gravelled and concrete flagged area to the south, with a steel-barred cattle grille in the opening. In front of the south gable stands an iron-handled water pump inscribed "J. Lowden & Co Belfast" mounted on a circular concrete base. To the rear of the return is a small detached smooth rendered boiler house with ledged door and preformed metal sheet roof. The rear boundary is formed by horizontal timber fencing.

The precise date of construction is not known, but the building first appears on the revised Ordnance Survey map of 1857. It is recorded in the valuation of circa 1860 as a house and forge, leased by William McAteer from the Representatives of Nathaniel Alexander and rated at £2.