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

Two storey double-fronted stuccoed terrace house of the 1870s, set on the north side of The Vennel in Glenarm. The building is of townscape importance.

The front elevation faces south and is symmetrical in composition. At ground floor level, a panelled timber door with rectangular fanlight forms the centrepiece. To either side are sash windows with Georgian panes (6/6), with three further identical windows arranged across the first floor. The façade is finished in painted render with plain quoins. The upper portion of the west gable is rendered but contains no openings.

Only the first floor level of the rear elevation is visible. Three windows with modern frames are present at this level, the centre window set at a lower half-landing. The rear façade is rendered in painted finish. The gabled roof is slated and incorporates two small Velux windows to the rear. The rainwater goods are a mixture of cast iron and PVC. To the rear of the main building is a long single storey return and small lean-to.

The property demonstrates relatively plain architectural treatment enlivened by its decorative door surround. Evidence from the 1859 valuation records indicates that a very modest single storey property of poor repair previously occupied this site with an extremely low rateable value of 15 shillings. Photographic and map evidence confirms the present house was in place by circa 1903. The building's style and proportions suggest construction in the latter decades of the nineteenth century, most likely the 1870s, consistent with the widespread rebuilding of the north side of The Vennel during this period. The Vennel itself was historically the main road to Glenarm from Larne and the south prior to construction of the Coast Road in the 1830s. Its name derives from the archaic Scots word 'vennel' meaning a narrow winding lane, and early leases from 1743 onwards refer to it as the 'Stinking Vennel', reflecting its topography and status as the least attractive of the village's four main streets.