Chapel Road, Ballinderry Upper, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT29 4LY

A derelict single-storey three-bay vernacular cottage pre-dating 1830, located at the end of an overgrown lane off Chapel Road, approximately 1.5 miles north-east of Aghalee. It is a good example of a hearth-lobby plan form dwelling with byres under a single roof at either end, a building type once common to the area.

The cottage is constructed of lime-rendered field stone rubble masonry, now largely weathered and exposing the stone beneath. The pitched roof is covered in corrugated tin, though some original thatch remains, along with an unsawn truss visible in the northern byre. Red brick upper courses appear at eaves level. Cast-iron rainwater goods are present.

The principal elevation faces east and is asymmetrically arranged. A timber-sheeted windbreak porch is located centrally, with two windows to the right (one a replacement) and one to the left. The windows are timber sliding sashes with horizontal glazing bars and masonry cills. Timber-sheeted doors to the byres occupy either end. The right gable is blank. The rear elevation is similarly asymmetrical, with various sized windows serving the three central bays. Blocked-up doors appear at the far left and right, and a rooflight is positioned to the right of the chimney. The right gable is completely deteriorated.

Historically, the dwelling first appears on the 1832 Ordnance Survey map as an oblong building with two small outoffices. By the early 1830s it belonged to John Haddock, and by the Townland Valuation of circa 1833-37 had passed to James Haddock, a local farmer. The valuation recorded the farmhouse as a 2nd-class single-storey dwelling measuring 37 feet by 19 feet, valued at £1 19s. 4d., with the entire farm site valued at £2 13s. The property included a barn, stable, and potato house. James Haddock remained in occupation until his death around 1879. The valuation held steady at £2 10s. from 1859 until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1928.

John Haddock, James's relative, took possession from circa 1879 and remained there with his family. The 1901 Census records John Haddock (aged 43) living at the farm with his wife Mary Kirk (aged 42, married circa 1884) and their four sons and three daughters. The census building return notes the house had a thatched roof and consisted of three rooms, described as a 2nd-class dwelling. By 1901 the farm's outoffices comprised a stable, cow house, two piggeries, a fowl house, potato house, and barn. The 1911 Census showed John Haddock, his wife, and five of their nine children in residence. At least three of his sons—George Martin (born circa 1888), William Henry (circa 1886), and Robert (circa 1893)—volunteered during the First World War and survived; they are commemorated on a memorial plaque in Ballinderry Memorial Hall. A James Haddock is also listed among those who died in the conflict, though it remains unclear whether this was another of the sons.

Ordnance Survey maps from 1832 to 1920 show little discernible change to the site, except that a small square outoffice located south-east of the house, visible in 1832, does not appear on the circa 1900-01 edition; by the fourth edition in 1920-21 a larger L-shaped building appears in its place.

The house now stands in a derelict state and has been vacant for some time. The former outbuildings are similarly dilapidated. The dwelling is well secluded from public view, situated at the end of a short overgrown lane lined with hedgerows, with some modern outbuildings located mid-way along the lane. Remains of outbuildings and a single-storey lean-to roof structure stand to the front on the north side of the site, with corrugated iron barns to the rear. The site is bounded by hedgerows and overgrown vegetation, beyond which lies open rural landscape.

Although representative of local vernacular building traditions, the cottage has suffered considerable loss of character due to decay of original detailing. It is not considered to meet the criteria for listing, as better examples of vernacular dwellings of this type are already listed in the area.