Castle Farm, 3 Castle Lane, Glenarm Demesne, Glenarm, Ballymena, Co Antrim, BT44 0BQ

Castle Farm

Castle Farm is a picturesque two-storey estate farmhouse built in 1855, located within the Glenarm Castle estate approximately one mile south-west of both the castle and the village of Glenarm. It was originally constructed as the residence of the manager of the Glenarm estate farm.

The front elevation faces south and is asymmetrical in composition. A single-storey gabled porch occupies the centre of the ground floor. The south-facing gable of the porch contains a four-panelled timber door with a pointed arch incorporating a three-pane fanlight, while the east face has a small pointed-arch fixed-pane window.

To the left of the porch stands a large projecting two-storey gabled bay. The ground floor of the south face contains a 2/2 sash window with vertical glazing bars, set within a smooth cement surround with drip moulding and label stop. The first floor has a matching window, while a small pointed-arch fixed-light window sits at the apex of the gable. The west face of the bay features a 2/2 sash window at ground level and a stone shield carved with the date 1855 at first-floor level. The east face is largely obscured by the porch.

To the right of the porch is a further 2/2 sash window. The west gable contains a large 3/3 sash window (with vertical glazing bars) to the left on the ground floor, and two smaller 6/6 sash windows at first-floor level with label moulding. The east gable has a 6/6 sash window to the right on the ground floor and two first-floor windows, with a small fixed-light window at the apex. All windows except those at the apexes carry label moulding.

The rear (north) elevation is more complex. At the left side, a small single-storey return merges with a long single-storey outbuilding. The return's east face has a window and doorway; its west face has a store door and a recessed porch with a panelled door. The main two-storey section to the right features a tall window with a fixed light in a semi-circular arched frame with margin panes, and a large kitchen window with a Georgian-paned double-sash frame (3/6, 3/6). A 3/6 Georgian-paned sash window appears at first-floor level to the left.

The façade is covered in relatively recent rough-cast rendering. The slated gabled roof has an overhanging eave with plain barge boards. Two rendered chimneytstacks rise above the east and west gables. A small Velux window is present at the rear, and cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout.

The property forms an attractive group with its associated outbuildings, which comprise a courtyard of single and two-storey farmyard buildings with whitewashed stone walls and double-pitched natural slate roofs. Later open sheds with curved corrugated roofs on steel lattice trusses are located within the courtyard. These farmyard buildings add significantly to the character of the complex.

Historical records show that the farm was leased to William and Thomas Orr in 1857, with the lease specifying "the farm steading and offices, thrashing machine...and...water power". The farmhouse and its associated buildings appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1858, along with a saw-mill and miller's house to the north and west. Archival sources document the farm's operation through account books, cash books, and sales records dating from 1870 to 1937.