Black Island, 158 Movilla Road, Loughriscouse, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 3RL

Black Island is a single-storey, gabled house likely dating to the early nineteenth century, between 1820 and 1839, situated on a slight rise at the end of a laneway approximately three miles northeast of Newtownards. A building is depicted on Ordnance Survey maps from 1834 and around 1860, thought to correspond to the current house.

The front, or South, facade features a centrally placed doorway with a plain stone surround, now painted, and a PVC door. To the left of the doorway is a window with a modern frame and wooden shutters, and a further two similar windows are located to the right. Attached to the gable ends are tall castellated walls; the western wall incorporates a doorway within an arched recess, while the eastern wall has a similar arched recess without a doorway. The eastern gable has a window similar to those on the front facade, and a small, single-storey lean-to ‘shed’ with a corrugated iron roof and a timber-sheeted door on its northern facade. The western gable is blank. The rear, or North, facade has a window to the left mirroring the front facade, followed by two smaller, similar windows to the right. A large, single-storey, flat-roofed extension with PVC windows and a door is attached to the far right. The central and right portions of the rear facade are unified by a long, flat-roofed dormer featuring large, modern windows. The entire facade is finished in rough cast rendering. The pitched roof is covered with concrete slates and includes two large Velux windows to the rear left, and two rendered chimney stacks, one of which is unusually positioned on the roof slope. The building has PVC rainwater goods. The castellated walls are likely later additions.