‘Rockfield’, 12 Ballyphilip Road, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1RB

Rockfield is a long single-storey gabled cottage dating to around 1834, located on the east side of Ballyphilip Road on the eastern outskirts of Portaferry. The building has been substantially modernised and extended in recent years.

The long front façade faces roughly west and is asymmetrical in composition. A large modern door screen with PVC door and sidelights is positioned left of centre, with three relatively tall windows with PVC frames to its left and four similar windows to its right. The north gable is abutted by a modern single-storey extension with a flat roof, which links to a two-storey gabled outbuilding. Part of the interior of this outbuilding has been integrated with the house, with modern windows inserted in the process. The south gable is blank. The rear façade of the main section contains four windows of varying size, all with PVC frames. The front façade and south gable are rendered and painted, whilst the rear, extension and outbuilding are finished in rough cast. The main section has a gabled roof covered in asbestos slate, with mainly PVC rainwater goods. Further single-storey outbuildings are positioned to the rear.

The garden contains two wrought iron pedestrian gates which may date to the 19th century.

Ordnance Survey maps dating from 1834 and all subsequent maps show a building on this site. The 1838 valuation returns describe the building as 'a new house', alongside a slightly older 'potato house' and barn and stable to the rear. The property was then in the hands of David Lawson. The revised Ordnance Survey map of 1860 marks the property as 'Rockfield'.