18 York Avenue, Whitehead, Co. Antrim, BT38 9QT

Detached multi-bay two-storey rendered house, built c.1900, set on an L-plan facing east, with a cast-iron veranda and balcony, a square-plan tower, three projecting bays and a three-bay two-storey return. Pitched natural slate roofs, terracotta ridgecomb tiles and ball finials to gables with decorative timber bargeboards. Pyramidal roof to tower with cast-iron weather-vane and deep moulded timber eaves. Several rendered chimneystacks with corbelled caps and terracotta chimney pots. Deep moulded eaves (returning to the gables) supporting ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering and cast-iron downpipes. Flat-roof to the square-plan south bay window, hipped natural slate to the canted bays, all having deep moulded cornice to the ogee-moulded guttering. Painted pebbledash rendered walling and moulded plinth course. Segmental-headed window openings with moulded architrave surrounds on continuous moulded sill courses to both floors. Many window openings have a keystone with a sheaf of wheat in relief. Segmental-headed four-over-one timber sash windows with ogee horns. The window to the east gable (at first floor level) is a Wyatt style tripartite window. Single-pane timber sash windows to the return. To the base of the square-plan tower is an arched window opening with a fixed-pane window and a square-headed door opening from the veranda to a small entrance porch (formerly an open porch). A new timber glazed door opens into the porch which has an encaustic tiled floor. The original timber doorcase comprises a timber panelled door flanked by sidelights with a dentilled cornice lintel and tripartite overlight. The door and sidelights have decorative etched glazing. Front elevation (east) is three bays wide with a single-bay gable to the south containing a canted bay to the ground floor, square-plan tower to the centre containing the entrance porch with a segmental-headed window opening to the porch. To the right of the porch is a cast-iron veranda cast at ‘DAVID KING & SONS, KEPPOCH IRON WORKS, POSSILPARE GLASGOW’. Comprising four decorative columns with foliate capitals and decorative bracket panels supporting a timber deck with a decorative cast-iron balustrade over. The south side elevation is two bays wide with a flat-roof bay to the right and a modern conservatory to the left. Rear elevation (west) not visible. Tall rubble stone wall encloses the site close to the rear elevation. North side elevation is a single bay gabled elevation with a three-sided canted bay to the ground floor and a lower three-bay two-storey return. Set on an elevated site overlooking the sea, accessed by a long gravel avenue to the north with mature trees, opening onto York Avenue through a pair of rubble basalt and yellow brick piers flanked by rubble basalt walls. Roof: Natural slate / terracotta ridgecomb tiles Walling: Painted pebbledash render Windows: Timber sash Rainwater goods: Ogee-moulded cast-iron