Fool's Haven, 33 Boneybefore, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, BT38 7EQ

Fool's Haven is a semi-detached, street-fronted dwelling built around 1800, occupying a prominent position on Boneybefore in Carrickfergus. It is a three-bay single-storey house with an attic storey and a single-storey lean-to extension to the west, facing south.

The building is constructed of rubblestone walling, now painted with rendered finish, though the eastern end has been partly rebuilt in concrete block. The roof was originally thatched with wheat straw, featuring a pitched design with a roll-over ridge, hazel lattice-work, hazel withies, and hazel and wire scallops. The roof was destroyed by fire in 1989, subsequently re-roofed and re-thatched around 1990. The thatch is now encased in chicken wire, and a rebuilt rendered chimneystack with terracotta pot rises through the rendered gable. The lean-to extension has an artificial slate roof with metal rainwater goods and timber fascia.

The windows are square-headed openings with concrete lintels, sills and smooth render surrounds, fitted with replacement timber casement windows. The front door, dating to around 2004, occupies a square-headed opening with smooth render surround and features vertically-sheeted timber half-door with brass furniture. A further square-headed door serves the lean-to extension with identical detailing.

The front door opens directly onto the public pavement, with cement paving to the west. A small rear yard is enclosed by a concrete wall and leads to a raised gravel garden.

The property has been substantially altered in the last decade, resulting in the loss of most original fabric except the rubblestone walling. An extensive refurbishment was undertaken around 2002. Historical records show the building originally formed part of a three-property complex, documented in the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857 and in Griffith's Valuation of 1859, where the properties are recorded separately. Fool's Haven and the nearby Andrew Jackson Centre are now the last remaining thatched dwellings in a village that was once largely composed of thatched houses.