'Burn Houses', 132-140 Shore Road, Ballyhalbert, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2RP

Burn Houses is a terrace of two-storey dwellings located on the eastern shoreline of the Ards peninsula on the northern edge of Ballyhalbert. Built between 1820 and 1839, the terrace is shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey Map and takes its name from a small stream that once ran at the rear of the houses.

The terrace has been significantly altered and partially demolished. Numbers 130-132 have been demolished and replaced with three modern houses. Of the remaining original dwellings, Number 138 is the least altered. It is finished in rough cast render with an off-centre timber glazed door and windows that attempt to simulate original sliding sash and case design. All window openings appear original. This house is roofed with Bangor Blue slates.

Number 134 is a single-fronted house finished in rough cast render with a plain timber sheeted door to the right and a large modern multi-pane timber window to the left, with two narrower multi-pane windows to the first floor. It has Bangor Blue slates to the roof.

Number 136 is a much larger double-fronted house finished in limestone chip render with smooth cement render surrounds to door and windows. It has an off-centre plain sheeted double door with a large modern PVC window and three modern PVC windows to the first floor, though two of these are smaller than the right-hand window. The roof is Bangor Blue slates.

Number 140 displays random rubble construction and is not rendered. It has a PVC glazed door to the right with a large single pane of glass, single-pane PVC windows to the left and two similar windows to the first floor, with smooth cement surrounds to all openings. The exposed north gable is rendered, and the roof is Bangor Blue slates. Two modern Velux windows have been inserted in the roof.

The terrace has a mixture of rendered and brick chimney stacks, and various combinations of PVC and cast iron gutters and downspouts. There are remains of outhouses. The rear of the terrace shows various returns with mainly modern windows.

Historical records indicate that at the time of the 1834 map, a wind mill stump stood a few yards to the north and a corn mill operated just to the south. Local tradition suggests that a tunnel may have run under the terrace and that secret passages or rooms once existed, possibly used by smugglers.