Blackstone Cottage, 30-32 Duncrun Road, Glebe, Bellarena, Limavady, Co Londonderry

Blackstone Cottage is a charming example of early Victorian estate tenant housing, successfully adapted for modern living while retaining its original character. The house was likely built between 1840 and 1859 and is constructed of rubble basalt with a gable natural slate roof. It is six bays long and was originally two semi-detached cottages, both entrances of which are still present. Three stone chimneys, two gabled and slated, are visible. The roofs rest on low stone walls, a characteristic feature of other tenant dwellings on the Bellarena estate. The windows are double-light casements with two panes each, featuring an accented central mullion. A French window opens onto a side garden on the north gable. A single-storey back return has been added to the rear, incorporating an ensuite bathroom within a ground floor bedroom. Small windows provide light to the end bedrooms within each gable, and a Velux rooflight illuminates the relocated staircase. The roof drainage is managed by metal half-round gutters and circular downpipes. The building stands parallel to Duncrun Road, set back approximately seven to eight metres, with the space between the house and the road covered in pea gravel and bordered by a high, clipped hedge providing a sheltered and tranquil setting.

The building was originally used as two police barracks around 1860, serving Magilligan and Bellarena, before relocating to another converted house in the 1920s. Subsequent owners carried out tasteful adaptations and renovations. The current owners, residing at the property since 1997, added a ground floor bathroom. The building exhibits both stylistic and proportional architectural merit, although later alterations detract somewhat from the original aesthetic. It holds local historical interest.