Broom Cottage, High Bangor Road, Donaghadee, Co Down, BT19 6NA

Broom Cottage is a single-storey two-bay vernacular house pre-dating 1830, located on the south side of High Bangor Road between Hawe Road and Kylestone Road in Donaghadee. The building survives as an increasingly rare example of vernacular tradition in North Down, notable particularly for its direct-entry plan form with a close to the gable-end and central hearth to the left—a rare arrangement that has remained largely unaltered.

The structure comprises combined mud and rubble stone construction, cement-rendered and white-washed, though the north-west gable end was rebuilt in concrete block with cement render around 2008. The principal north-east elevation is asymmetrically arranged, with the front door positioned on the right-hand side and two single windows to the left. Windows are 1/1 single-glazed timber sliding sash with large stone cills. The original slate or tile roof has been replaced with corrugated fibre cement sheeting dating to around 1950, which covers surviving thatch and gable skews. The roof structure itself, including remnants of thatch, survives beneath the later sheeting and is of considerable note. Cast-iron rainwater goods with semi-circular gutters and circular downpipes are fitted. Two brick chimneys are present: one on the south-east gable and one positioned centrally on the ridge with a clay pot, both white-washed.

The south-east gable elevation is abutted by a single-storey white-washed stone lean-to with an external door facing north-east. The lean-to has varying-sized window openings in its south-east face and a blank north-west face; its height and pitch were altered around 2000. The rear south-west elevation contains three varying shaped and sized window openings, with one installed around 1975. The north-west gable elevation is blank.

The dwelling is set in a rural context on a small wedge-shaped plot midway along the main Bangor to Donaghadee Road. The immediate surroundings include a modern single-storey dwelling to the east and distant farm buildings. The plot is bounded by hedgerows and timber fencing, with a portion cordoned off to enclose a small vegetable garden. A partially gravelled area for vehicles lies adjacent to the road at the rear.

Historical records show a house on this site from the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833. Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64 records the building comprising two separate dwellings, occupied by William Lightbody and John Gibson, who rented from Alex Kinnaird, a smallholder with a farm to the west whose descendants continue to own the house. Each dwelling with its garden was valued at 12 shillings and availed of 25 perches of land.

By 1900, Jane Moore and Jane Finlay had moved in as tenants. The 1901 census describes the house as comprising three rooms with two front windows, classed as second-class accommodation—considered comfortable by contemporary standards. Jane Moore was an unmarried mother and seamstress; Jane Finlay, also a seamstress, worked from the house. By 1911, Jane Moore had moved away, and Jane Finlay, then aged 66, remained as the sole occupant. The house had deteriorated: it now contained only one window and a single room, and the roof had changed from slate, iron or tiles to thatch, wood or other perishable material, downgrading the property to third-class. Alexander Savage occupied the building by 1915, after which no further changes are recorded.

The current owner reports the building remained inhabited until the 1950s, when the thatch was covered with corrugated fibre cement sheeting. It subsequently served as a scout hall in the 1960s. A window was replaced in the 1970s, and repairs were undertaken around 2000. Between 1973 and 1995, the house was used as a studio by local artist John Kane. Currently, it is occupied by a family using the vegetable garden as an allotment.

Although alterations have been made over time, the building has retained much of its character and proportions. The survival of the original roof structure with thatch remnants, combined with the rare plan form which remains substantially unaltered, makes this cottage a significant record of vernacular building tradition in the region.