18 The Vennel, Glenarm, Ballymena, Co Antrim, BT44 0AN

18 The Vennel is a relatively small, plain two-storey double-fronted terrace house of approximately 1876, built in a modest town vernacular style with a stuccoed finish. The property is situated on the north side of The Vennel in Glenarm.

The front elevation faces roughly south and is asymmetrical. A panelled timber door is positioned to the right of centre at ground floor level. To the left of the doorway is a sash window with horizontal glazing bars in a 2/2 configuration, with an identical window to the right. The first floor contains three similar windows. The front façade is finished in painted lined render with plain quoins. The upper portion of the west gable is exposed and rendered but has no openings.

To the rear, the property has been extended. At ground floor level of the rear elevation there is a full-length flat-roofed projection which, to the right (west), merges into a large single-storey flat-roofed extension with modern windows, added in 1999. A recent partly glazed door and small window with modern frame are present on the projection. The first floor rear of the main section contains three windows matching those on the front elevation.

The gabled roof is slated to the front with asbestos tiles to the rear. A brick chimneystack is positioned to the west. Cast iron and PVC rainwater goods are present.

The house forms part of Vennel Street's development history. Prior to the construction of the Coast Road in the 1830s, The Vennel was the main road from Larne to Glenarm. The name, derived from archaic Scots meaning "a narrow winding lane", and its sloping topography made it the least attractive of the village's four main streets. Early leases from 1743 onwards referred to it as the "Stinking Vennel" and noted "waste tenements". John O'Hara's map of 1779 shows many small densely packed dwellings along both sides. During the 19th century, much of this earlier housing was replaced. The 1859 valuation records show the property then had a lowly rateable value of £1-15-0, strongly suggesting it was a very modest single-storey dwelling at that time. Photographic and map evidence indicates the present house was in place by circa 1903. The current owner's deeds indicate a construction date of 1876, consistent with the widespread late 19th-century rebuilding evident on the north side of the Vennel.