Burleigh Hill, 36 Middle Road, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, BT38 9DN

Burleigh Hill is a detached, symmetrical three-bay two-storey farmhouse dating from the eighteenth century, situated on an elevated site on the north side of Middle Road, Carrickfergus. The building is rectangular in plan and flanked by lower two-storey wings on either side, with a single-storey lean-to extension at the rear.

The roof is pitched and slated with blue and black clay ridge tiles. Smooth rendered corbelled chimney stacks with tall decorative clay pots rise at the gables. Cast-iron half-round gutters and round downpipes form the rainwater goods. The walls are roughcast rendered over a smooth rendered plinth.

The principal elevation faces south and contains a central entrance door. This door, which retains original cast-iron ironmongery, is recessed within a round-headed opening with a decorative fanlight above and is flanked by moulded timber pilasters. The entrance is accessed by seven masonry steps and is enclosed on each side by alcoved roughcast walls with flat smooth rendered coping. The principal elevation contains two windows to the right and two to the left at ground floor, with five windows at first floor.

Windows throughout are predominantly replacement square-headed uPVC casements with extended masonry cills, unless otherwise stated. Exceptions include replacement double-glazed 6/6 sliding sashes with exposed boxes on the rear elevation. The rear elevation is multi-bay with a single-storey lean-to extension to the right. This section features a timber panelled door at ground floor (six glazed panes over two fixed panels) with transom light above, and a central round-headed 8/8 window with a window above. Two windows flank these at first floor, with those to the right being 1/1 timber casements. The right gable abuts a lower two-storey return, which has a small six-pane timber casement at attic floor level.

The single-storey lean-to extension is roughcast rendered with a corrugated metal roof and metal casements to the north elevation. Its right side abuts the ruins of random rubble outbuildings, while its left cheek has a timber sheeted door to the right and a timber 6/6 sliding sash to the left.

The west (left) return mirrors the detailing of the main block. Its south elevation comprises two 1/1 timber casement windows at ground floor and a central timber 6/6 sliding sash window at first floor. The west gable contains a timber panelled entrance door to the left and a 1/1 timber casement to the right, with a 6/6 timber sliding sash window to the left at first floor and a small fixed timber four-pane window to the right. This entrance door is accessed by steps and is abutted to the left by a roughcast rendered wall enclosing the rear of the house.

The east (right) return is similarly detailed as the main block, with its south elevation comprising two windows at each floor. The east gable has a projecting east side, with an exposed section containing a uPVC replacement door to the right and a window to the left, plus two uPVC casements at first floor. The north (rear) elevation has a replacement uPVC door and adjoining windows at ground floor, with two uPVC windows at first floor.

A roughcast rendered wall abutts the left side of the east return, adjoining a random rubble pillar. The property is bounded by a garden to the south. To the north lies a series of multi-bay one and two-storey outbuildings. The most notable is a well-constructed random-rubble outbuilding with a pitched slated roof, located to the east of the house, which has a pair of random rubble round pillars with cast metal gates abutted to its north. The rear yard is accessed to the east of the house through random rubble pillars with large random rubble pointed caps and cast metal gates; matching pillars are also found to the west. The house is accessed by a lane from Middle Road to the south.