60 Kilcarn Road, Ballymacashen, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6SE

Large two-storey former farmhouse, possibly dating from the mid-19th century (circa 1860s), situated to the west of Kilcarn Road approximately 1.5 miles west of Killinchy village. The building has undergone substantial unsympathetic extensions to the rear and now has PVC window frames throughout.

The front south-east facade is symmetrical, with a central timber-panelled door featuring an elliptical arch radial fanlight and three-pane sidelights with panelled aprons. The doorway is surrounded by moulded voussoirs. On either side of the entrance is a single window with simple surround, now fitted with PVC frames. The first floor has three similar but smaller windows. The south-west gable contains windows matching those of the front facade on both ground and first floors. The north-east gable is blank. Both gables merge into very large rear extensions which are entirely modern, though evidence suggests an older two-storey gabled return which the new extensions have been built around. The original facade is covered in lined cement render with chamfered quoins and plinth. An eaves course runs along the front. The original section has a roof with concrete tiles, an overhang, and plain barges. Two gable yellow brick chimney stacks are present, with one located to the rear on the gable of the original rear return. PVC rainwater goods are fitted. Extensive but mainly badly dilapidated outbuildings stand to the rear of the house.

Historical records show that the 1834 Ordnance Survey map depicts a much longer building on this site, whilst the revised map of 1859-60 shows a building with a similar plan to the present house, excluding the modern extensions. The property likely dates from between 1835 and 1859, with a date closer to 1859 appearing more probable, though rural houses with a seemingly Georgian symmetry and appearance were popular in the Irish countryside well into late Victorian times. If built in the mid-19th century, the current render and possibly the chimneys suggest renovation around 1880-1900. The 1861 valuation returns record the building as the property of John Lowry of the nearby Close Park to the south, a member of a family who held much of the land in Ballymacashen during the 18th and 19th centuries.