'House', The Berrins, (off Berne Road), Portstewart, Co Londonderry, BT55 7PB

The Berrins is a very small, low two-storey building constructed of basalt rubble with a slated gabled roof, located on the shoreline at Portstewart, south of the town centre. A hexagonal plaque on the front elevation claims the building dates from around 1600 and was originally a fisherman's cottage associated with the Berne salmon fishery, though this cannot be verified from available evidence. The building is documented on the Ordnance Survey map of 1830 and was likely constructed sometime before that date, possibly between 1820 and 1839.

The property sits directly on the shore, backing onto a rocky outcrop with views across a narrow public footpath (the Port Path) towards the rocky shoreline. The western front elevation is asymmetrical, with a doorway positioned right of centre, now fitted with a plain sheeted timber door and a recent concrete lintel. The doorway opening and surrounding area have been patched with cement render. To the left of the doorway is a small boarded-up window with a cement-patched reveal; to the right is a similar opening. A cement-rendered platform extends from the base of this elevation.

Only the upper half of the north gable is visible as ground level is higher on this side, retained by a battered rubble wall abutting the gable's right edge. An outline visible in the masonry suggests an earlier single-storey building once stood to the north, removed prior to around 1830. The south gable features a doorway with a timber sheeted door on the upper level, reached via a stone ramp. The doorway has timber jambs and lintel, with a course of concrete bricks above. Much of the flue area has been patched in brick, which appears to date from the early to mid-19th century. A brick chimneystack with a projecting slate course rises from the south gable; this has been extended in narrower rendered brick and is topped with a recent clay pot.

The rear elevation is only partially visible at upper floor level due to the higher ground level. There are no openings on this side. The façade is random basalt rubble, with part of the south gable patched in brick. Significant areas, particularly the front elevation, have been repointed in cement, with some repointing overdone in places. The gabled roof is slated with flat rendered parapets and has no rainwater goods.

Historical records suggest the building belonged to the nearby Rock Castle estate until 1872. Valuation documents from around 1862–63 indicate it was held rent-free by Robert and Henry O'Neill, who were responsible for attending to fishing operations, and the property was then referred to as an 'office' or outbuilding. Subsequent leases to Daniel Christie (1878), Mrs Dunne (1887), Matthew Black (1889), and William Casement (1894) are recorded. By 1909, under the ownership of Henry O'Hara O'Neill and leased to Mrs Agnes Gilmore, the valuation notebook describes it as a 'house, yard and grounds'. The building appears to have remained in O'Neill family ownership through much of the 20th century and has been used as a store, particularly for fishing equipment, for at least the latter half of that period.

While The Berrins salmon fishery has clearly been worked for centuries, no buildings are shown in this location on a McDonnell estate map of 1734, making the claimed 1600 date unverifiable. The building was certainly constructed before 1830 and may once have formed part of a terrace, as suggested by masonry markings on the north gable, though physical evidence is inconclusive on this point. The structure represents a modest vernacular building of local historical interest tied to the longstanding salmon fishery, though various 19th and 20th-century alterations, particularly cement repointing and patching, have compromised its character.