Boat House to east of, Beach Road, Whitehead, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, BT38 9QS

Boat House to East of Beach Road, Whitehead

This detached single-storey boat house was originally built around 1870 to house the lifeboat, in conjunction with a terrace of coastguard cottages. The building is rectangular in plan and situated on the east side of Beach Road, set in a low site below the road level, bounded by a timber fence, with access from the north.

The walls are constructed of coursed basalt rubble with fieldstone quoins and later brickwork repairs. The roof is half-hipped with corrugated tin covering, though the roof has deteriorated in places exposing timber rafters. The bargeboards are ornate fretted timber. The principal elevation faces north and features a large square-headed opening with a steel lintel, flanked by brick and vermiculated sandstone quoins, containing double-leaf timber vertically sheeted doors with a window to the right. The east elevation has a small window to the eaves at centre. The south elevation is blank. The west elevation is abutted by a concrete block retaining wall serving Beach Road. Windows are square-headed with flush sills, now mostly blocked with brickwork. The building is in poor repair, though original features including the ornate timber fretted bargeboards and stone detailing remain partially intact.

The coastguard service at Whitehead was established in 1820–1, originally recorded as being at Black Head. An earlier group of coastguard cottages stood at Marine Parade, recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1832. The terrace and boat house were built in 1870 to replace these cottages at a cost of £1,732 18 shillings and 2 pence, providing accommodation for a chief boatman and five coastguards. The Coastguard was then administered by the Admiralty as a naval force maintained to suppress smuggling, aid shipwrecked vessels, and serve as a navy reserve. A December 1871 letter from D. Hornby, Secretary of the Office of Public Works, confirms the Admiralty's request to take possession of the new buildings upon their completion.

Early photographs show that the Captain's house was originally constructed in brickwork like the other cottages, later rendered with stone. The same photographs indicate that entrances to the cottages on the east shore side were added in the latter half of the twentieth century. Local information suggests a passage formerly ran the length of the terrace from the Captain's house to a fortified watchtower, aiding freedom of movement between cottages in the event of attack, a theory supported by the presence of gunports and musket loops throughout. Renovation of the terrace, including replacement windows, doors, and kitchen extensions, was carried out between 1986 and 1989.

The boat house has strong group value with the adjacent coastguard cottages terrace and shares the same historical and architectural interest as a fine remnant of the maritime history of the area. It is situated within a conservation area, with a railway line to the east and a concrete bridge to the beach, constructed in 1927.