Former coach house, courtyard buildings and gate screen, Glenarm Castle, (off Straidkilly Road), Glenarm, Ballymena, Co Antrim, BT44 0BD, (Also known as 1, 2&3 Castle Demesne)

Former coach house, courtyard buildings and gate screen, Glenarm Castle estate, built 1875

This is a group of four long buildings — partly two-storey, partly single-storey — comprising dwellings, stables and outbuildings, all built in 1875 to serve the Glenarm Castle estate and arranged around a central courtyard. The complex sits at the northern end of the Glenarm demesne, south of Straidkilly Road and north of the castle itself. Immediately to the south, a separate group of estate dwellings and outbuildings arranged around a smaller yard is recorded separately.

The group was constructed in 1875 to replace a larger courtyard complex destroyed by fire the previous year. It is unclear whether anything survived the fire and was incorporated into the present buildings; evidence from the Ordnance Survey map of 1857 suggests all earlier buildings were demolished. The Antrim Papers held at PRONI contain a bundle of documents relating to the 1874 fire. Earlier valuations of 1833 and 1859 record outbuildings within the Glenarm estate prior to the construction of the present complex, though neither indicates which building stood where.

The courtyard-facing elevations of the stable block, the dwelling block and the small stores to the south are all built in squared, semi-coursed, rock-faced fieldstone, presumably basalt, with red sandstone dressings. The west side of the courtyard is enclosed by a long, single-storey plain rendered building accessed from outside the yard. The courtyard is entered through a decorative gate screen to the northwest.

Stable Block

The former stable block — now largely used as a store — lies to the east side of the courtyard. On its west (courtyard-facing) front, slightly right of centre, is a large sliding timber-sheeted door with an exposed rolled steel joist lintel and smooth red sandstone dressings. To the left are two sash windows with Georgian panes (6 over 6), each with smooth in-and-out red sandstone dressings and a shallow pointed relieving arch above. To the far left is a stable door with matching dressings, and to the right of that is a further window of the same type. To the far right is a wide panelled door with a plain rectangular fanlight. At first-floor level, to the left, is a large Georgian-paned fixed-light window centred within a small gabled half-dormer. To the right are two squat Georgian-paned sash windows (3 over 3), followed by a further half-dormer with a matching window, and then two more squat sash windows of the same type. All first-floor windows have dressings matching those at ground floor. The north and south gables abut the adjoining buildings and are not visible. The east elevation is finished in plain unpainted render and is blank. The roof is hipped and covered in natural slate, with cast iron rainwater goods. The façade sits on a small chamfered plinth.

Dwelling Block

The dwelling block occupies the north side of the courtyard. It originally appears to have contained three dwellings and a stable with an office or apartment above. It now contains three dwellings, with one incorporating the former stable. At some point, probably around the 1960s, the block was altered to form two larger dwellings: one taking in the former stable area to the east end, and another to the west end formed by amalgamating two of the original dwellings. The third, central, dwelling appears to have remained unaltered.

On the courtyard-facing south elevation, to the far left, is a Georgian-paned sash window (6 over 6). To its right is a bricked-up door opening, then a door that is part sheeted and part glazed, followed by three windows of the same type as the first. To the right of these are two timber-sheeted doors, the right-hand one being narrow with a plain fanlight. At the far right is another window; above it is a segmental stone relieving arch and an exposed rolled steel joist — the window sits within a large blocked-up former doorway, and the remains of the stone dressings of that former doorway are visible to either side. At first-floor level there are seven unevenly spaced sash windows. All windows and doors have in-and-out stone dressings; ground-floor doors and windows also have small pointed relieving arches.

The east elevation merges with the east face of the stable block and is blank. The west elevation has a now bricked-up door to the right and a window to the left; at the centre of the first floor is a further window. These windows match those on the south elevation. The right side of this elevation merges with a tall rendered yard wall, while the left side merges with the gate screen. On the north elevation, to the right side, is a slightly recessed stone panel; further right is a projecting stone chimney stack rising from ground level to well above the eaves. The remainder of the north façade is finished in plain render. At ground-floor level there are eight windows of varying size set at varying levels. All are sash windows apart from the fourth from the left, which is a very small window with a four-pane frame that appears to be top-hung. The eighth window also appears to have a sash frame, though this may also be top-hung. The first and sixth windows have Georgian panes (6 over 6); most of the remainder have vertical glazing bars (2 over 2), apart from the seventh which is plain. The second window sits within a small arched recess, possibly once a door. At first-floor level there are six slightly unevenly spaced sash windows with Georgian panes (3 over 3), varying slightly in size and set at slightly differing heights.

The rear of the houses opens onto a cattle yard with modern steel pens. The north side of the cattle yard is bounded by a two-storey, hipped-roof, rubble-built byre with three-centred colonnaded openings. To the northeast of the byre there are a number of modern shed extensions. The south and west elevations, along with the right side of the north elevation, are finished in squared black stone; the remaining faces are in plain render. The roof is hipped and covered in natural slate, with cast iron rainwater goods. The façade sits on a small chamfered plinth. There are two stone chimney stacks, each with a chamfered base and a copestone, and both without pots.

Small Stores

Along the south side of the courtyard is a line of single-storey lean-to stores. To the far left is a doorway without a door; to the right is a small sash window (2 over 2). Further right is a timber-sheeted door and another sash window (2 over 1). To the right again is a wide opening, within the east reveal of which is a timber-sheeted door opening into a small store. To the right of this wide opening is a further door flanked by sash windows (both 2 over 2). At the far right is another timber-sheeted door. All door and window openings have in-and-out red sandstone dressings. The east, west and south faces abut adjoining buildings recorded separately. The mono-pitched roof is slated and merges with the roof of the building to the south.

Larger Store

On the west side of the courtyard is a single-storey, plain rendered store with a slated gabled roof. The courtyard-facing elevation is blank and rendered. The north gable has a Georgian-paned sash window (6 over 6) centred within the upper part of the gable. The west elevation has two large openings to the left: the far left has timber-sheeted sliding doors, the other has hinged timber-sheeted doors. To the right, the block merges with an adjoining office section recorded separately.

Gate Screen

Near the north end of the west side of the courtyard is a decorative gate screen. The gate pillars each have square ashlar sandstone shafts set on rock-faced chamfered black stone plinths. The shallow cornice is surmounted by square pyramidal caps with curved faces and ball finials. The north pillar is inscribed '18' and the south pillar '75', together giving the construction date of 1875. Beyond each pillar is a low wall in squared rock-faced fieldstone with sandstone coping and decorative railings above. Where these side walls meet the walls of the north and west courtyard blocks there is a small respondent pier. The heavy decorative cast iron gates and matching railings have spear-head tops; the innermost railing is topped with the crest of the Earl of Antrim.

Outbuildings to the North

To the north of the courtyard complex is a cattle yard with various pens and stalls. Further north is a long two-storey, hipped-roof outbuilding, partly rendered and partly in painted rubble. On the south elevation at ground-floor level there are three large segmental arched openings with various loft doorways above, the central of which sits within a gabled half-dormer. A large modern shed, partly clad in corrugated iron, has been attached to the north side.