165 Belfast Road, Ballybarnes, near Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 4UA

This is a two-storey house dating from approximately 1840 to 1850, situated on the north side of Belfast Road near Newtownards. The front façade presents a symmetrical appearance and features an “Ards” style doorway with a semicircular arch head, a keystone, plain pilasters, and a sheeted timber door with a fanlight. A window to the right of the doorway has been replaced with a modern timber frame incorporating glazing bars designed to replicate the original sash window style. A similar window is located to the left, with three windows to the first floor. The north gable has a small, modern timber window, matching the style of the front, on the first floor.

The south gable has a small window of a similar style to the front, also located to the right on the first floor. A large, two-storey extension dominates the rear of the house, blending with the north façade. This extension features modern timber windows of varying sizes. The front facade is finished with plain render and painted. The original roof is gabled, while the extension’s roof is mainly hipped. All roof sections are covered in asbestos-free slates, with two gabled dormers containing modern windows and PVC rainwater goods. Two rendered chimney stacks are also present.

An Ordnance Survey map from 1858-60 depicts a building on this site, likely corresponding to the original section of the house. Earlier maps from 1833-4 show buildings located to the rear of the present site. These may relate to a gabled house to the west, which has also been recently modernised. The rear extension was added around 1990. Historical records indicate that in 1833, William Kerr owned two houses located to the rear of the site, which at that point did not yet include the present house.