Lake View, 18 Derryola Bridge Road, Aghalee, Craigavon, BT67 0DJ

Lake View is a low but substantial two-storey gentleman-farmer's residence, built in random rubble with a slate roof and a large Classical-style portico. The main front block dates from around 1794, with a largely sympathetic rear return added in the 1870s and further outbuildings dating to 1901. The property is not listed, primarily due to the replacement of all original window frames with uPVC units and several other recent alterations.

The house stands on the west side of Derryola Bridge Road, 10.4 kilometres north of Lurgan town centre, with a garden immediately to the south and a large complex of farm buildings immediately to the north. The main front section is a gable-ended rectangular block lying roughly on a northeast-southwest axis. The rear return — also gable-ended — is set at an angle on an east-west axis, and incorporates a wide full-height gabled bay to its north side, a lower two-storey projection, and a single-storey flat-roofed extension to its west end.

The walls of the original section are random rubble with brick dressings to the openings and as walling below the ground-floor windows. Various patches of brick to all sides indicate former openings that have since been blocked, though the character of these alterations suggests they were carried out some considerable time ago — possibly in the early to mid 19th century. The return is built in a more angular, semi-coursed rubble (which may be basalt), also with brick-dressed openings, while the extension is partly rendered, with its north side consisting of an older wall of part rubble, part brick construction. The roof appears to be covered in natural Welsh slate, though this is difficult to confirm with certainty. It has raised parapets with skews and rebuilt brick chimneystacks. All windows throughout have replacement uPVC frames and what appear to be concrete cills.

The front (east) elevation presents a formal arrangement with aligned openings: two windows, a doorway, and a French window. The entrance is surrounded by a large flat-roofed Classical-style portico with Tuscan columns, which is possibly an addition of around 1820. The doorway itself has a relatively broad panelled timber door with a small overlight above. The French window to the left was undoubtedly originally a standard window that was later lengthened, as it retains the same width as the other windows.

The south elevation — comprising the south side of the rear extension and return, and the southwest-facing gable of the main block — has a window and doorway to the extension, while the return proper has two windows to each floor of various sizes. The gable has a doorway to the left with a first-floor window directly above.

The north elevation — covering the north side of the extension, the return, and the northeast-facing gable of the main block — has a ground-floor window to the right of the gable. The return has, at ground floor level, a doorway, a window, a doorway set within a small gabled projecting porch, and a further window; at first-floor level there are four windows, with the window to the far right on the projection at this end. The north side of the extension could not be seen in its entirety but appears to be blank.

The west elevation has a window to the far right at ground-floor level in the main section, and two widely spaced windows at first-floor level. The west end of the return and the extensions to this side could not be seen.

To the north-northeast of the house stands a large two-storey, L-shaped outbuilding with a hipped roof, whose east-facing façade runs directly along the roadside. This building is very much in keeping with the house itself, with rubble walls, brick-dressed openings, and a slate roof. The outer (north- and east-facing) walls are blank, while the south and west sides have elliptical-headed carriage archways and small windows or loft doorways. To the far right on the west-facing side, a large flat-arched vehicle entrance has been inserted. A date stone of 1901 is visible on the south-facing side.

The history of the house is well documented. The main front section appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1832, marked as "Lake View," with a much smaller return to the rear at that time, an outbuilding to the immediate rear roughly on the site of the present garage, and an L-shaped outbuilding to the north similar in plan and position to the one standing today. In the first valuation of 1835, Mr. William Beatty is recorded as the occupant. The house is described as a "not new" slated building in good condition (grade 1B+), with the main front block measuring 48 feet by 21½ by 16, and the return measuring 16½ by 12½ by 7½. A thatched gig house, cart house, and barn are also recorded, with dimensions of 14 by 12½ by 5, 45 by 19½ by 5½, and 60 by 19½ by 7½ respectively, along with a mud-walled outbuilding of 37 by 20 by 6, and "several old offices, not worth measuring," with the whole rated at £8. The house and outbuildings are shown unaltered on the revised Ordnance Survey map of 1857.

William Beatty, or a relation of the same name, was still in residence at the time of the valuation of around 1860, with the house recorded as measuring 17 yards by 7 by 2 storeys, and 5 by 3½ by 1, with the outbuildings — still thatched — measuring 14 by 6 by 1, 20 by 7 by 1, 15 by 7 by 1, 12 by 7 by 1, and the lot rated at £7-10-0. A marginal note reads "lease 1794," suggesting the house may have been built in that year or shortly afterwards — a date consistent with its being considered "not new" by the valuers in 1835.

William Beatty MacDonald (presumably a relation) is noted as occupant in 1867, and Anna McDonald in 1877. In 1869 the rateable value had increased by ten shillings to £8, and rose again to £9-10-0 in 1877, suggesting that the present return may have been added by the latter year. The 1900–01 Ordnance Survey map shows the return in place, along with a large projection stretching northwards from the west end, roughly in line with the present single-storey extension, and the main front block appearing to extend slightly further to the southwest. The 1965 map shows a conservatory to this side, which would account for the additional length and also explains the presence of a doorway there.

Between 1904 and 1918, valuations indicate that more outbuildings were added to the site, raising the rateable value to £20 by 1920. Another William Beatty McDonald — son of the above — is listed as occupant and freeholder from 1898. In the 1901 census, William is recorded as living here with his widowed mother Anna, his sister Elizabeth, and two young servants, Thomas Henry Totton and Eliza McAlinden. The house is noted as a first-class dwelling with 14 rooms in use by the family. By 1911, William and Anna had been joined by Amelia Blair, listed as a companion to Anna, and two new servants, Annie Green and Robert McDonald, with the house still recorded as a first-class dwelling but with 12 rooms in use. William Beatty McDonald held the property until at least 1930. It was later acquired by the Mairs family and subsequently by the family of the present owners.

The long projection at the west end of the return, visible on the 1965 Ordnance Survey map, has since been demolished, with the current flat-roofed extension apparently fashioned from part of it.