5 Coastguard Cottages, Helen's Bay, Bangor, Co. Down, BT19 1JY

No. 5 Coastguard Cottages is a two-storey, two-bay, mid-terrace former coastguard cottage built in 1856, located on the south shores of Belfast Lough to the west of Helen's Bay. It forms part of a terrace of nine cottages, all built in 1856 by Lord Dufferin of Clandeboye Estate under the supervision of his agent, Mortimer Thomson, and likely designed by architect Benjamin Ferrey, who was working for Lord Dufferin at the time. The terrace is architecturally notable for having been built outside the normal process: rather than being entrusted to the Board of Public Works — which oversaw most Irish coastguard station construction in this period, typically to designs by E. Trevor Owens — it was built privately because Lord Dufferin wished to retain greater control over the appearance of buildings on his estate. As a result, the cottages lack the defensive features such as gun loops found on some Board of Works stations, and are considered architecturally superior to comparable buildings on other Irish estates. Thomas McKnight, editor of the Northern Whig, observed that Lord Dufferin had "spent more on his estate than perhaps any other Irish landlord" and that the coastguard and workers' houses were "in a style far superior to similar buildings on the estates of much larger landlords."

No. 5 was originally two separate dwellings — Nos. 5 and 6 — and has since been converted into a single dwelling, resulting in the loss of some original fabric. It is now rectangular on plan with a single-storey return to the rear.

The roof is pitched natural slate with raised stone gables and a brick chimney stack with decorative terracotta pots. The walls are laid in Flemish bond red brick, enlivened by decorative yellow and black tiles arranged in 'V' and 'X' patterns, with a tiled course at ground floor level. There are shared niches to left and right, each with a pointed timber arch. Windows are timber replacements with leaded top panes and flat brick lintels; at first floor level there are also pointed timber arches above square-headed brick lintels. The principal elevation faces north, and following the conversion into a single dwelling, presents a double gable, each a single opening wide. Both original entrance doors survive, each with timber boarding and decorative cast-iron hinges and door furniture, topped by a pointed arch over-light. The cast-iron half-round rainwater goods have drive-in brackets and hoppers on overhanging sandstone eaves with red brick corbels; uPVC rainwater goods are used to the rear return.

The south (rear) elevation is painted and contains four window openings at first floor level. At ground floor, the building is abutted to the west by a modern extension containing a double-leaf half-panelled timber door and skylights to the roof; to the east, the yard is enclosed within a painted masonry wall with a round-headed timber latch gate. The east elevation abuts the adjoining listed building to the east, and the west elevation abuts the adjoining listed building to the west.

Surviving correspondence between Lord Dufferin and his agent illuminates the construction of the station in considerable detail. Before leaving for London in January 1856, Lord Dufferin left Thomson with instructions to finish the station before 1st May, specifying that if jet black bricks could not be obtained, the decorative devices should be recessed to receive coloured tiles instead, and that bricks in the main body of the building should be carefully selected for uniformity of colour. By April 1856, Thomson reported that progress was being made, that tiles had arrived, and that the recessed devices were ready to receive them. By late July, three houses had been occupied since June and the remainder were expected to be ready by early August. The station originally included two additional houses intended for letting as bathing lodges, but these were ultimately taken over by the Admiralty, which had issued instructions to double the force at every station. A letter from Lord Dufferin in March 1868 suggests that the question of tiles in the arch recesses over doors and windows remained partially unresolved even after completion, and that he eventually proposed filling the spaces with sanded boards imitating brick — which appears to explain why the arches were finished with wood.

The station was known as Clandeboye Coastguard Station until at least 1890, after which it was renamed Helen's Bay Coastguard Station. The crew of the station maintained a relationship of patronage with Lord Dufferin over many years; surviving letters include requests from Station Officer Richard Keane for Lord Dufferin's assistance in finding employment in Belfast for family members and colleagues, and a letter from coastguard Thomas Nester in September 1879, asking Lord Dufferin to use his influence to prevent Nester's transfer to a distant station after six years' service, on the grounds that his children were learning trades in Belfast. In 1898, the Dufferin Estate Office, as landlord, was still involved in the maintenance and development of the cottages, and it appears to have been at this point that the rear returns were added.

The 1901 Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory lists the crew as John Pring (chief boatman), with boatmen Palmer, Pinwell, Mackay, and Purdy Kerr, and coastguards McEwan, Telint, and Robertson. By 1907, the crew comprised Henry Brunsen (chief boatman), boatmen T. Dickson and T. Dingley, coastguards T. Seagrove, A. White, and M. Gunning, with James Thompson as station master. By 1925, the station was no longer in coastguard use, and a letter survives in which a Mrs John Murry appealed directly to Prime Minister Sir James Craig for one of the houses, saying she had been told "a word from you would get one for no one would go against you." The Prime Minister's office referred her request to the Ministry of Finance for sympathetic consideration.

Refurbishment works including installation of a heating system, re-roofing, and replacement of four windows were carried out around 1980, with further refurbishment works around 1992 and 1995. The property remains in residential use.

The cottage is set down a long private lane to the north-west of Craigdarragh Road, Helen's Bay. Facing north, the terrace enjoys uninterrupted views over Belfast Lough with direct access to the beach. There is a large lawned communal garden to the front, partially bounded by mature trees to the north and accessed from the east through a decorative cast-iron gate. To the rear, each cottage has a private garden and car parking.