Fair Acre, 134-136 Barnfield Road, Lisburn, Co Antrim, BT28 3TQ

Fair Acre is a one-and-a-half-storey Victorian farmhouse comprising two joined rectangular dwellings of different periods, located on Barnfield Road at the junction of Mount Eagles Mews in a rural setting now increasingly affected by modern housing development.

The earlier building dates from around 1850 and the later from around 1900. The structure has an irregular plan with the two sections offset against each other. The roofing comprises multiple pitched natural slate with clay ridge tiles and decorative finials. Roof rafters are exposed at the eaves, and gable ends are finished with barge boards. Rainwater goods are cast iron, with ogee moulded gutters to the rear and semicircular to the front, with circular cast-iron downpipes. The walling is ruled-and-lined smooth render. Decorative moulded string courses exist to the rear between ground and first floor levels, with plain banding around the front canted bay.

The principal east-facing elevation is asymmetrical. The front door, a UPVC replacement, is located off centre to the left. A large two-storey canted bay with a finial stands to the left of the door, and a smaller single-storey canted bay is positioned to the right. Ground floor windows to both canted bays are UPVC replacements. At first floor, three uniformly positioned gable-end dormer windows with UPVC frames are arranged to the right side of the façade. The dormers are crowned with finials and smooth render banding to their gable ends. First floor windows to the canted bay are original Edwardian sliding sash windows with small panes to the top sash. The first floor windows to the canted bay are original Edwardian sliding sash windows with small panes to the top sash. A large horizontal window opening is positioned further right. The north elevation comprises two gable ends, the left projecting forward approximately 10 metres. The left gable has modest detailing with plain barge boards and no decorative mouldings, with single windows at ground and first floor. The left-hand gable features a modestly proportioned two-storey canted bay of earlier construction with highly decorative barge boards and exposed purlin ends. The roof finish to the bay has been removed, exposing the sarking boards. A moulded string course runs between ground and first floor across three sides of the bay only. The west elevation is asymmetrically arranged with a slated porch located off centre to the left. Two single windows are positioned to the right of the porch at ground floor, with one single window opening to the left. At first floor three uniformly arranged dormer windows are positioned across the façade, each crowned with a segmental pediment. A moulded string course runs the length of the façade between ground and first floor and supports a cast-iron gutter. The north-facing elevation is multi-gabled with an adjoining single-storey curved-roof barn projecting from it, and a small single-storey lean-to shed extending from the façade.

The interior of the older section has been lost. The interior of the more recent addition is not of special interest. Adjacent outbuildings are of little interest.

Historical records indicate that the first Ordnance Survey map of 1833 shows a large rectangular building on the site with a small adjacent outbuilding, though the Townland Valuations of 1828–40 make no reference to it as a dwelling. The 1853 OS map shows two buildings on the site, one matching part of the present building, and the other a smaller building to the east. The earlier of the two farmhouse parts was likely erected around 1850. The Griffith's Valuation of 1861 records both buildings occupied by James Watson and Hugh Russell, who were lessors to James Tate, who occupied a large house north of the site and owned the surrounding estate. Both tenants remained in the premises, valued at £0.10, until 1889, when John Sloan Larmor, founder of the Ulster Weaving Company, took over the estate. In 1905 the Larmor family moved into the larger of the two dwellings and began developing the site with extensive additions to the south and east, visible on the 1904 OS map. These additions likely correspond to the canted bay building seen today. By 1912 both dwellings had been incorporated into one and were valued at £14. John Sloan Larmor died in 1917, leaving £37,426 5s 3d to his wife and son Hugh G M Larmor, a linen merchant. The Larmor family remained in the dwelling until 1923, when it was taken over by Clarke, with the house then valued at £20. The 1938 OS map captions the building as Fair Acre and indicates the full extent of extensions and site development with extensive outbuildings. The building continued as a dwelling and was purchased by the present owner's family in 1965. Since around 2000 both buildings have been vacant and have suffered from vandalism.