7 Coastguard Cottages, Helen's Bay, Bangor, Co Down, BT19 1JY

Number 7 Coastguard Cottages is a two-storey, mid-terrace red brick house, one of a terrace of nine coastguard cottages built in 1856. It sits on the south shore of Belfast Lough, to the west of Helen's Bay, and was designed by Benjamin Ferrey under the direction of Lord Dufferin of Clandeboye Estate. Unusually for the period, its construction was not entrusted to the Board of Public Works — Lord Dufferin chose to retain personal control over the design and appearance of buildings on his estate. The architectural detailing of the asymmetrical composition is of good quality, and the building remains substantially intact, though some alterations have been made to the facade in recent years.

The cottage is roughly square on plan, with a single-storey return to the rear. The roof is pitched and covered in natural slate, with raised stone gables and two brick chimneystacks fitted with decorative terracotta pots. The walling is red brick laid in Flemish bond, enriched with decorative yellow and black tiles arranged in 'V' and 'X' patterns, and a tiled course at ground floor level. There is a shared niche to the right with a pointed timber arch. Windows are timber replacements, leaded to the top panes and opening on a hinge. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods are fitted with drive-in brackets and hoppers on overhanging sandstone eaves with red brick corbels; uPVC rainwater goods serve the rear return.

The principal elevation faces north and is a single bay wide. The entrance is reached by a single stone step and comprises a timber boarded door to the left, with a pointed arch leaded transom light above and a timber lintel. The east elevation abuts the adjoining property. The south rear elevation has two window openings at first floor level, while at ground floor it is entirely abutted by a modern extension containing a timber door with a single window opening to the left and skylights to the roof. The west elevation abuts the other adjoining property.

The cottage is reached down a long private lane to the north-west of Craigdarragh Road, Helen's Bay. Facing north, the terrace enjoys uninterrupted views over Belfast Lough and has direct access to the beach. There is a large lawned communal garden to the front, partially bounded by mature trees to the north and accessed from the east through a decorative cast-iron gate. Each cottage in the terrace has a private garden and car parking to the rear.

The history of the cottages is unusually well documented through surviving correspondence in the Dufferin Estate Papers. Lord Dufferin and his agent Mortimer Thomson oversaw the construction closely. Before leaving for London in January 1856, Lord Dufferin left Thomson with detailed instructions, specifying that the station should be finished before 1st May and that jet black bricks or recessed devices filled with coloured tiles should be used to carry out his intended decorative scheme. By 1st April 1856, Thomson reported that progress was being made but that they had been obliged to proceed without coloured bricks or tiles initially, recessing the devices to receive them later; tiles had by then arrived, and he expressed hope that suitable black brick could be sourced from Limerick. By 23rd July the houses were said to be almost finished, with three occupied since 1st June and the remainder expected ready by early August. A letter of 23rd September noted that two extra houses, originally built for letting as bathing lodges, were also being sought by the Admiralty commissioners, who had issued instructions to double the force at every station. The question of tiles and bricks evidently remained partially unresolved: in a letter dated 14th March 1868 from Grosvenor Square, Lord Dufferin suggested that the empty spaces might instead be filled with sanded board to imitate brick, at less expense — a solution that appears to account for the timber finish to the arches over doors and windows.

The station was known as Clandeboye Coastguard Station until at least 1890, when the name was changed to Helen's Bay Coastguard Station. The buildings appear on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858, captioned 'Coast Guard Station', alongside a 'Flag Staff' and 'Boat Ho[use]'. Griffith's Valuation of 1856 to 1864 lists the Coast Guard Station and land as occupied by the Board of Admiralty and leased from Lord Dufferin, with the buildings valued at £34 10s.

Surviving letters from station officer Richard Keane to Lord Dufferin, written between 1890 and 1898, show the crew's sense of being under his patronage, with Keane asking Lord Dufferin to use his influence to secure employment in Belfast for a son, a daughter, and a colleague. A further letter from Thomas Nester to Lord Dufferin, dated September 1879, appeals for help in avoiding a compulsory transfer to another station after six years at Helen's Bay, citing the disruption it would cause to his children's apprenticeships in Belfast. Nester recalls Lord Dufferin's promise of assistance made when Nester had accompanied him to Constantinople aboard the Melpomene with Captain Hewitt.

In 1898, the Dufferin Estate Office was still involved as landlord in the maintenance and development of the cottages, with correspondence referring to letters from the Board of Works and from a builder named Kerr giving probable costs of improvements and additions. It appears to be at this point that the rear returns were added to the cottages. The station is shown as 'Helen's Bay Coastguard Station' on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1900 to 1902. The 1901 Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory lists the crew as: John Pring, chief boatman; boatmen Palmer, Pinwell, Mackay, and Purdy Kerr; and coastguards McEwan, Telint, and Robertson. By 1907 the crew comprised: Henry Brunsen, chief boatman; boatmen T. Dickson and T. Dingley; coastguards T. Seagrove, A. White, and M. Gunning; with James Thompson as station master.

By 1925 the building was no longer in use as a coastguard station. A letter survives from a Mrs John Murry appealing directly to the then Prime Minister, Sir James Craig, for one of the houses, noting that she had been told a word from him would secure it. The Prime Minister's office referred her request to the Ministry of Finance for sympathetic consideration. Renovation works and an extension to the rear were carried out in 1992, and the dwelling remains in residential use.

The architectural significance of the terrace was noted by Thomas McKnight, editor of the Northern Whig, who observed in his discussion of the Irish land question that Lord Dufferin had spent comparatively more on his estate than perhaps any other Irish landlord, and that the houses he built for the coastguards and for workers at Clandeboye were in a style far superior to similar buildings on the estates of much larger landlords. Unlike many coastguard stations designed by the Board of Works during the second phase of station building — most based on designs by E. Trevor Owens, brother-in-law of Charles Lanyon — the Helen's Bay cottages do not feature the defensive elements such as gun loops found at some other stations. The Coast Guard in Ireland had been established in 1822, and by 1824 stations existed along the entire coastline. Its primary purpose in the first half of the 19th century was the prevention of smuggling, particularly of unprocessed tobacco, which was heavily taxed. The force was often unpopular locally and was regarded by many as a representative of the Crown. In 1856, the coastguard was transferred to the Admiralty and its functions were expanded to include acting as a coastal defensive force and naval reserve. The primary function of lifesaving was not made official until 1922, though many rescues took place beforehand — including in 1893, when the Helen's Bay coastguard rescued the crew of the schooner Clans of Chester, which had become stranded in the bay.