Bessvale, 63 Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, BT28 2NW

Bessvale is a Grade B+ T-shaped house of three storeys, constructed with thatch between tiled gables. The roofs feature wrap-over ridges and eaves cut at an angle, with the valley between them slated. Three rows of scallops are exposed at the ridge and one at the eaves. The external finish is whitened roughcast.

The property is approached by a long driveway extending southwards for approximately a third of a mile from the road between Upper Ballinderry and Lisburn, located just over a mile from the former hamlet. The front elevation faces north-east and appears as a single storey, overlooking a lawn accessed through modern metal gates hung on square pillars with projecting pyramidal caps. The enclosing wall is of similar construction. Each gable rises to a chimneystack with moulded capping and two Victorian-style pots.

The entrance, fronted by two tiled steps and positioned right of centre, comprises a six-panel raised and fielded door beneath a small segmental roughcast arch, flanked on either side by 6/6 vertically sliding windows with exposed framing. Only the leftmost window has sash stops; sill depths vary between intermediate and traditional. The side elevation of the front block presents a three-storey appearance to the street. The attic is lighted by a 2x2 casement with intermediate sill depth. Below this, a first-floor rear bedroom has a 6/6 vertically sliding window with sash stops and traditional sill depth, whilst the ground-floor parlour has a 4/8 vertically sliding window with sash stops and intermediate sill depth.

A two-storey thatched return is set back from the front block's gable, terminated by a tiled parapet rising to a similar chimneystack. Entry to the former kitchen is via a timber-sheeted folding centre-hinged door, flanked to the right by a 6/6 vertically sliding window with sash stops and traditional sill depth. Above both openings are 6/6 vertically sliding windows without sash stops and with intermediate sill depths. Beyond this extends a single-storey lean-to structure lighted by a 6/6 vertically sliding window with sash stops and traditional sill depth on the street face.

The south-west elevation overlooking the farmyard features an eight-panel raised and fielded timber door flanked to the right by a pair of 6/6 vertically sliding windows with sash stops and narrow sills. The side elevation displays a 4x4 casement with traditional sill depth followed by a 6/6 vertically sliding window with sash stops and traditional sill depth. This section is roofed with natural slate, hipped as it extends toward the inner courtyard and utilising red clay hip tiles. The return of the main house has a vertically sliding window with sashes divided horizontally into two, with sash stops and intermediate sill depths.

The rear elevation, from left at upper level, features a 6/6 vertically sliding window with sash stops and intermediate sill depth, followed by a 4/4 vertically sliding window with sash stops and intermediate sill depth. Beneath the latter is a 2x2 casement with the top two panes top-hung. The adjoining gable is lighted by a pair of two-pane casements, each with one side-hung opener.