189-191 Galgorm Road, Galgorm, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT42 1DJ

189 and 191 Galgorm Road are an attractive group of attached one-and-a-half storey dwellings built in the mid-nineteenth century, prominently positioned close to the roadside east of Ballymena. The two houses are distinctly detailed despite being adjoined. No. 189 survives largely in its original form, while No. 191 shows hallmarks of later nineteenth and early twentieth-century modifications and may have been raised. A single-storey volume at the east may indicate the proportions of the original structures, with the rear east corner retaining vernacular character. A high proportion of historic fabric has been retained externally, and the group is enhanced by a pair of nicely detailed stone outbuildings. This is a prominent complex which has evolved over time, retaining evidence of its original form and proportion, making a strong contribution to local character.

The buildings form a double-pile arrangement. No. 191 is one-and-a-half storeys, while No. 189 is a slightly taller one-and-a-half storey linear volume with a dormer attic set back and extending to the east, appearing to have been remodelled in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. A later single-storey abutment projects from the south elevation of the rear volume. All roofs are pitched natural slate with rendered chimneystacks and plain painted bargeboards; the eaves to No. 191 are corbelled. Walls are painted roughcast render with quoins to No. 191. Windows are generally timber-framed sashes, either 6/6 or 2/2 panes, with plain reveals.

No. 189 has its principal elevation facing south with three equally spaced 6/6 windows. The west gable is abutted by a single-storey entrance porch offset to the right, featuring a flat roof, panelled timber door to the south with transom light and four-pane sidelights, and a bi-partite timber-framed window with geometric glazing on the west cheek. There are two windows to the first floor and one to the ground floor. The rear elevation has a window to the first floor and a glazed timber door, extended by No. 191's rear elevation. The east gable has two 2/2 windows to the first floor and a single window to the ground floor; the rear pile is fully abutted by No. 191.

No. 191 has its principal elevation facing south, abutted by a later single-storey porch with 2/2 windows and a modern hardwood door contained in a deep projecting entrance porch. There are two wall-head dormers with single and bi-partite sash windows. The west gable is fully abutted and the east gable is extended by a single-storey volume which appears to be part of one of the original structures. The rear elevation has three diminutive sashes grouped to the east end, including the single-storey volume; there is a large 2/2 stairwell window and other openings are enlarged mid-twentieth-century casements.

The group is set slightly back from the roadside with gardens to the front. The boundary wall to No. 189 is rubble stone with soldier coursing; that to No. 191 is reconstructed stone blocks. Gates appear to date from the early twentieth century. Two single-storey outbuildings occupy a large rear yard. To the west is a stone barn with roughly coursed rubble stone walls and dressed brick openings, generally rectangular although with a camber-headed stable door to the north end and a diamond-shaped window near eaves level, with an original iron gate fixed to the gable. The east side of the yard is bounded by a long stable block, also of rubble stone with brick dressed openings and modern stable doors, with a slate roof.

The present pair of houses is first shown as complete on the fourth edition Ordnance Survey map (circa 1921). The first edition map (circa 1835) shows small structures that do not correspond to the present dwellings. A pair of discrete structures appears on the second edition map (circa 1857), but are enlarged by later editions, indicating substantial amendment or partial rebuilding. It is possible that No. 191 was raised or enlarged. The L-plan outbuildings to the rear date from the mid-nineteenth century and are shown on the second edition map (circa 1857), with their footprint unchanged since that time.

The plot comprised nine small houses circa 1861, each with a rateable value of 10 or 15 shillings, owned by John Raphael, a linen merchant and manufacturer and son of George Raphael who established the linen business of Raphael & Co. of Galgorm and Ballymena. By the early 1870s only four of these small houses remained, and by 1874 their occupants had been removed. The present house appears to have been constructed at this time, likely incorporating fabric from some of these earlier buildings through insertion of an additional storey and extension work. The remodelled house and outbuildings, likely including the L-plan structure retained to the rear, were given a rateable value of £16 and noted to be under the ownership of John Young. The house was initially occupied by James Young until 1877, when Joseph Close took over, followed by Robert Close. By circa 1877 the plot also contained two small dwellings, each valued at £0 10s and occupied by James Taylor and Robert Simpson, though each had fallen vacant by 1902. The value of the main house and outbuildings remained unchanged until at least the 1930s, and by 1913 ownership passed to the occupier, Robert Close. Prior to the early twentieth century, linear ranges of outbuildings had been constructed to the north-east and north-west of the main house, as illustrated by the fourth edition Ordnance Survey map (circa 1921), though only some now remain, primarily those to the east and a small proportion to the west.

The house was split into two separate dwellings at some point during the twentieth century. The footprint has been little altered except for mid-twentieth-century porch additions to the front of what is now No. 189.