17 Ballywalter Road, Black Abbey, Greyabbey, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2RF

This is a largely plain, two-storey gabled farmhouse, likely dating from the 1860s. It is situated approximately two miles northeast of Greyabbey, just off Ballywalter Road in the townland of Black Abbey. The main house is finished with lined render and features chamfered quoins, a plinth, and an eaves course to the gables. The roof is pitched and covered with Bangor blue slates, with narrow rendered parapets and two rendered chimney stacks to the gables. A mix of cast iron and PVC rainwater goods are present.

The front, or north, elevation is roughly symmetrical. It incorporates a large, hipped-roof PVC conservatory/porch that covers what was originally an elliptical arched doorway. To the left of the conservatory is a window with a PVC frame, with one window to the right and three smaller windows on the first floor, all with PVC frames. The east gable has a square three-pane PVC window on the first floor. The west gable has a PVC window on the ground floor, similar to that on the front. A full-height return extension with a low-pitch gabled roof (probably felt-covered) and various-sized PVC windows is located at the rear. This extension is finished with pebbledash and a recessed rendered base. A lean-to conservatory-like extension with a PVC door, large corner window, and felt roof is attached to the east side of the rear extension. Numerous PVC windows, matching those on the front, are also present at the rear of the main house. Modern farm buildings are located to the rear of the property.

An earlier building existed on this site as shown on an Ordnance Survey map from 1834. The current house was likely constructed around 1860. When first surveyed in 1971, the property still had its original sash windows, but it has since undergone modernisation. Valuation records from 1834-1859 and 1866-1930, as well as Ordnance Survey maps from 1860, provide further documentation of the property’s history.