The Booten (East), 102 Newtownards Road, Ballyrickard, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT23 5LD

The Booten (East), 102 Newtownards Road, Ballyrickard, Newtownards, Co. Down

A compact one and a half storey gabled farmhouse set at the end of a long lane approximately 1.5 miles north-east of Comber. The building may date from before 1834, but appears to have been refurbished in the later 19th century, when its present regular facade was likely introduced. A building marked 'Booten' is shown on Ordnance Survey maps of 1858-60 at this location, with an earlier structure visible on the 1834 map. The presence of an old rath a few yards to the north-west suggests the site has a long history of habitation.

The front facade faces roughly south and is symmetrical. At its centre is an 'Ards' doorway with a modern panelled and glazed door and plain semicircular fanlight, approached by three steps. To the left and right of the doorway are two narrow windows with modern frames. The west gable has a small window at ground floor level and two windows above, all with modern frames. Attached to the far left of this gable is a small section with a mono-pitched roof, continuing from a lean-to kitchen section at the rear. The east gable has a garage section with a mono-pitched corrugated iron roof attached to the ground floor, with two windows to the upper floor. To the right at the rear is a lean-to kitchen section featuring a large modern picture window with a smaller modern window beside it. The kitchen door faces east on this lean-to. On the main rear facade to the left are two small ground floor windows matching those on the gables, with an identical window at first floor level.

The front facade and gables are finished in pebbledash over a smooth rendered recessed base with chamfered quoins. The rear is finished in roughcast. The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates with rendered parapets. Two brick chimney stacks are present. The building now has PVC rainwater goods. The roof may have been raised in the later 19th century.

Twentieth-century alterations include replacement of window frames and fireplaces. The property has been in the current owner's family since 1910 and previously belonged to a Mr Campbell. The building retains much of its probable late Victorian interior layout, though some detailing is 20th-century. The property forms part of a locally significant group with interesting outbuildings to the rear, particularly prominent when approached from the laneway.