Shanreagh Cottage, Ballykelly Road, Lisnakilly, Limavady, Co Londonderry BT49 9DS

Shanreagh Cottage is a small, pre-1830 house exhibiting classical architectural details beyond its size. It is a storey-and-a-half, three-bay, rendered farmhouse situated over a basement and facing south on the Ballykelly Road near Lisnakilly. The house is of interest as an unaltered example of its type, although it is currently in a state of decay that prevents it from being considered for listing.

The cottage has a slate roof with rendered chimneys on each gable. It features twelve-pane sliding sash windows with painted stone sills on either side of a simple boarded front door; a fanlight is absent. The basement windows are casements and are now boarded up. Six steps lead to the front door, which is arched over a basement lightwell. A small lean-to projects from the east gable. A south-facing window is located at basement level, and a wide twelve-pane sash window faces east on the ground floor. The rear wall has an irregular arrangement of windows. An arched, Georgian window, featuring twelve panes with a radiating head, is centrally located and illuminates the staircase. The basement level now functions as ground level. A small lean-to is attached to the front facade, and a larger return extends from the west side. A further lean-to extends along the west gable’s side, along with two small, blocked-up windows, and is covered by a corrugated asbestos roof.

The cottage is surrounded by a circular arrangement of mature trees, some of which have been removed. It is approached by an avenue from Ballykelly Road, where a patterned brick wall with stone coping and a wrought iron gate mark the entrance.

Shanreagh Cottage was depicted on an Ordnance Survey map from 1831 and named ‘Shanreagh Cottage' from maps between 1848 and 1925. It was confused with a nearby cottage, Lisnakilly Cottage, and was included in the 1997 Ulster Architectural Heritage Society Buildings at Risk Catalogue, number 4. The building is recorded as being derelict.