19 Lisleen Road, Lisleen, Comber, NEWTOWNARDS, County Down, BT23 5QD

A single-storey two-bay direct-entry vernacular dwelling built around 1850 and located in a rural position east of Lisleen Road in Castlereagh. This is a rare survivor of a building type that was once common in the area.

The dwelling is symmetrical and rectangular on plan, constructed with pitched roof covered in natural slate with blue and black angled ridge tiles. A raised cement verge runs along each end, with two replacement chimney stacks. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods and downpipes provide water run-off. The walling is lime-washed rubble stone.

The principal elevation faces south and features windows to either side of a sheeted entrance door. The windows are 2/2 timber-framed sliding sash with horns and exposed sash boxes, though these are replacements. The west gable is blank. The north elevation has a 2/1 window to the right. The east gable is also blank. The external architectural character is largely intact and the original floor plan has been retained.

The dwelling is situated in a rural location with lawned ground to front and some surviving mature trees to the west. A rubble stone cottage of similar date, though much altered, stands directly to the rear. A modern bungalow built in the 1980s now occupies the site to the west, accessed via a gravelled driveway, which detracts from the overall setting.

A dwelling is shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833, though the plan form differs considerably from the present building. The second edition map of 1858 shows two rectangular structures which survive as the present dwelling and an outbuilding to the rear. At the time of Griffith's Valuation (1856-64), the house was occupied by John Beattie and leased from W Mussenden Esq. The property comprised a house, offices and over 15 acres of land, with buildings valued at £2.

The farm changed hands several times. From 1872 the Watson family were in residence, first Alexander, then William. In 1894 the occupier was Samuel Ferris, listed in the 1901 census as a married man living apart from his wife. His household included a female cook from Fermanagh and an eighteen-year-old farm servant from County Limerick. The census records one window to the front façade, three rooms, and a roof of non-perishable material. Outbuildings included a stable, cow house, piggery, fowl house and barn.

David J Wilson took over the house in 1909 and is listed in the 1911 census as a farmer living with his wife and their ten-year-old granddaughter, who had been born in Belfast. A female domestic servant, also from Belfast, was in residence. In 1913 John Hanna took over the house, and after his death in 1923 his widow Isabella Hanna occupied it. In recent years the building was used as a holiday cottage but currently lies vacant.