Gatescreen at Charles Shiels Institution, 48 Larne Road, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim BT38 7EA

A freestanding entrance gatescreen to Charles Shiels Institution, located on the west side of Larne Road in Carrickfergus. The gatescreen marks the entrance to a striking complex of Gothic Revival former almshouses and is a fine example of Victorian brickwork detailing, remaining in good repair with original signage.

The gatescreen is constructed in stretcher-bonded red brick and consists of two pairs of square pillars connected by alcoved walling. Each pillar comprises a chamfered square shaft with broach stops and diapered blue brick detailing. The pillars are topped with a blue brick string course and angled course, surmounted by stepped coping with splayed headers. The connecting walls each contain six chamfered recessed panels and are surmounted by a splayed header course with corbelled coping. The central pair of pillars supports decorative wrought iron gates. The gatescreen marks the east entrance to the Institute, with wire fencing bounding the remainder of the site to Larne Road. A central avenue leads through the private garden directly to the tower house, which forms the central dwelling of the complex.

The almshouses themselves were built in phases. The original twenty-one houses (numbers 7 to 27) were constructed in 1868 to designs by Lynn and Lanyon. A second group (numbers 28 to 31) was added in 1901 to a complementary design by Young & Mackenzie. The final blocks (numbers 1 to 6) were built in 1915 to a slightly different design by R M Close, at a cost of approximately £3,600.

The benefactor was Charles Shiels, a philanthropist who left £90,000 to provide housing for the needy in Armagh, Dungannon, Killough, Stillorgan and Carrickfergus. Ahead of his time, Shiels stipulated that each group of houses was to be managed by a local committee comprising four members each from the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Presbyterian Church, with rules stating that "no religious disputes of any description will be tolerated". The tower house, number 2, bears an inscription over its archway reading "Charles Sheils Institution 1868" and retains the original working timepiece in its clock tower. Four other Shiels houses were built in Killough, Armagh, Dungannon and Stillorgan.

The gatescreen has group value with the listed almshouse blocks and represents both the architectural quality and philanthropic purpose of the wider complex.