Former Parochial House, 15 Magheralane Road, Randalstown, Antrim, Co Antrm, BT41 2NT

Former Parochial House, 15 Magheralane Road, Randalstown

This mid to late Victorian parochial house retains its character despite the loss of some detail externally and internally. It was built as the parochial house for St Macanisius' Roman Catholic church; the precise date of building is not recorded, but it appears for the first time on the Ordnance Survey map of 1903 and appears to be of late Victorian date (1880–1899). The building contributes to the setting of the adjacent St McNissi's church and has group value with it.

The house is a one-and-a-half-storey, three-bay structure with stuccoed walls and gabled slated roofs. The main entrance faces west. The entrance elevation is symmetrical, with one window to each side of a central doorway. The roof is of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. Two chimneys of red brick feature what appear to be plain projecting concrete cornices with modern pots. The walling is smooth rendered and lined, with raised quoins to the extremities, a projecting moulded plinth, a plain projecting frieze, and a moulded cornice with a timber eaves board. PVC guttering and downpipe return to the north gable.

The windows are modern rectangular PVC fixed lights with top-hung vents and double glazing, incorporating internal glazing bars to give the appearance of 2-over-2 panes and resemble the original sashed windows. They are set in raised lugged and heeled moulded surrounds surmounted by segmental pediments with drip mouldings and keystones, with projecting stone cills. The doorway contains an original panelled door incorporating shamrock motifs, set in a deep recess with a similar surround to the windows. It retains an original ornamented knocker and handle. Two cement-rendered steps lead to the front door, bounded by low sandstone plinth walls, with the southern one now spalling. Extending to the left is a screen wall to the yard, set back slightly; it is smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with rendered or concrete block copings.

The north gable is smooth rendered and lined, with raised quoins to the right-hand extremity and plain timber barge boards to the eaves. Two windows to the first floor are modern rectangular PVC replacements set in plain unmoulded openings with projecting stone cills. The ground-floor area is enclosed within a small yard and hidden from normal view, featuring whitened rubble stone walling. Projecting from the gable at the left-hand side is a single-storey return with slated roof matching the main building. The north gable of the return is smooth rendered with raised quoins to the left-hand extremity and a timber barge board to the eaves. One window in the north wall of the return is a modern rectangular timber fixed light with top-hung vent. The west face of the return has a similar window and a modern flush timber door; the wall is smooth rendered with PVC guttering and downpipe. Inside faces of the yard wall are whitened rubble stonework and smooth rendered, with a lean-to shelter running around the entire perimeter, supported on plain timber beams and timber posts, with corrugated iron and preformed metal roofing. The outer face of the yard wall to the north is smooth rendered with concrete copings; the outer face to the east is smooth rendered and lined, with painted stone copings. A rectangular doorway contains a modern flush door set in a timber frame.

The rear elevation has a slated roof matching the main building. The wall is smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with a plain projecting plinth and coved cornice, raised quoins to the extremities, and a timber eaves board with PVC guttering and downpipe. Two windows to the main block—one to the ground floor and one to the half landing of the stairway—are modern rectangular timber fixed lights with top-hung vents and projecting stone cills. The rear wall of the return extends to the right in the same plane with matching wall finish, topped by a course of ridge tiles. One window at first-floor level matches the others on the rear elevation.

The south elevation is rendered as the entrance front with overhanging eaves similar to the north gable. A canted bay to the ground floor features smooth rendered piers between windows, with three windows, one to each face, as modern rectangular PVC replacements set in moulded reveals. A moulded cornice with metal guttering and downpipe crowns the elevation. Above the canted bay is a pair of coupled windows, each a rectangular PVC light set in similar lugged and heeled surrounds surmounted by a segmental pediment.

The building stands within the built-up area of the town within the extensive grounds of the Roman Catholic church. It stands with its north gable overlooking the main road, set back from it slightly within a grassed area, with its front overlooking a tarmac driveway and area leading from the roadway to the former church, now redundant. The area is bounded to the road by a basalt rubble wall, smooth rendered to the road, and plain iron railings on a low plinth, with a gateway comprising a pair of original spear-headed iron gates mounted on plain square rendered piers with sandstone caps. The area is bounded to the west, facing the house, by a hedge. To the rear of the house is the modern church, built of basalt rubble.