1-6 Coastguard cottages, Langdale Lane, Islandmagee, Larne, Co Antrim, BT40 3TB

A terrace of six coastguard cottages, dating from the late 18th century (1780–1799), situated in an isolated rural position along a lane in the townland of Ballykeel, Islandmagee. The group has considerable quaint charm and vernacular appeal, forming a picturesque composition, though spoiled in detail by inappropriate replacement materials, with evident modernisation to some interiors having taken place. A small annexe is attached to no. 6, now known as no. 7.

Originally built as accommodation for "waiters" — the 18th-century equivalent of the coastguard, whose duty was to watch for smugglers — the cottages numbered 1 to 6 appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1831, while no. 7, at the eastern end, first appears on the OS map of 1858. Nos. 5 and 6 were previously one house. Asbestos roofs were put on some of the cottages by the present owner's father during the 1930s; prior to that they were thatched.

The terrace comprises single-storey and one-and-a-half-storey cottages, with varying ridge heights stepping down a slight slope. Nos. 1 to 6 each have a projecting lean-to porch, and all have a red brick chimney, rebuilt. Roofing, wall finishes, windows, and other elements vary from cottage to cottage as described below.

SOUTH (ENTRANCE) FRONT

No. 1: Bangor blue slates in regular courses; cast iron gutter; rubble wall harled and whitened, with later smooth cement render around the window; one rectangular timber fixed light with top-hung vent; ledged timber door; concrete area in front with red and yellow tiles outside the door.

No. 2: Roof continuous with no. 1; cast iron gutter and downpipe; wall as no. 1; two windows — one upper timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1, with horns; lower window as on no. 1; ledged and glazed timber door; concrete area in front.

No. 3: Roof continuous with nos. 1 and 2; wall as previous; four windows — two upper and two lower, as on no. 2; ledged timber half-door with plain rectangular fanlight; rough stone cobbled area in front, with a small concrete area outside the door and loose stones enclosing planted areas to each side.

No. 4: Roof of asbestos slates in regular courses with small rooflight; gutter and downpipe as no. 3; wall rendered with dry dash of limestone chippings; two windows as on the ground floor of no. 3; door as no. 2; concrete area in front.

No. 5: Roof as no. 4 with small rooflight; wall roughcast using crushed stones; PVC hopper and downpipe from porch; one window as previous to ground floor; door as no. 4; concrete area in front.

No. 6: Roof continuous with no. 5; walls and door as no. 5; one window as previous to ground floor. At the right-hand extremity, a lower single-storey outbuilding with one timber fixed light on each side of a ledged timber half-door; roof as nos. 1–3; concrete area in front.

No. 7: Single-storey; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with chimney on the right-hand gable; rubble masonry wall, harled and whitened, with a black-painted strip around the base; brick jambs to doorway, painted white; ledged timber half-door in the centre between two windows — to the left, a timber fixed light with wooden head tucked up into the eaves, painted reveals, no cill; to the right, as previous but with the head clear of the eaves; concrete area in front.

EAST ELEVATION

East gable of no. 6: smooth cement rendered; one timber fixed light with top-hung vent to the first floor left-hand side; plain reveals, no cill. East gable of no. 7: wall as the entrance front; blank.

NORTH (REAR) ELEVATION

No. 7: One window wide; roof slated as front; rubble masonry wall, harled and whitened, with some roughcast using crushed stones; one old timber fixed light, two panes with a horizontal glazing bar, wooden window head, brick jambs painted, concrete cill painted.

No. 6: One window wide; asbestos slates in regular courses with two flush rooflights (original); metal gutter, no downpipes; rubble basalt wall, harled and whitened, with patches of original masonry showing; one timber side-hung casement, two-pane replacement; plain reveals, no cill.

No. 5: Two windows wide; roof continuous with no. 6, with cement upstand to coping on the left; two flush rooflights (original); wall as no. 6 but with a large projecting boulder of basalt to the right-hand side; gutter as no. 6; two new timber fixed lights with top-hung vents and concrete cills; recent cement render to the reveals and head of the left-hand window; crack in the window head plasterwork of the right-hand window.

No. 4: Three windows wide; roof of asbestos slates in regular courses contained by cement coping to the gable on the left; one old flush rooflight; rubble basalt wall, harled and whitened in part, with a projecting basalt boulder at ground level at the left-hand extremity; two large timber fixed lights with top-hung vents, wooden heads, concrete cills, and painted brick jambs; one small three-pane central pivoted window tucked up into the eaves on the right-hand side.

No. 3: Two windows wide; roof of Bangor blue slates ending flush with the left-hand gable; metal gutter, no downpipe; wall as no. 4 but with some painted brickwork at the left-hand extremity. Two ground-floor windows: to the left, a timber fixed light with top-hung vent, plain plastered reveals and head, concrete cill; to the right, an original timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 2 over 1, with horns, set in a similar opening. Two first-floor windows, both timber sliding sashes, vertically hung, 1 over 1, with horns, with wooden heads tucked up into the eaves.

No. 2: One window wide; roof and gutter continuous with no. 3; two old flush rooflights; rubble wall, harled and whitened, with projecting basalt boulders along the base; one new timber fixed light with top-hung vent, new concrete cill, recent cement render to the reveals.

No. 1: Two windows wide; roof, gutter, and wall continuous with no. 2. Two ground-floor windows: to the left, an old timber side-hung casement with wooden head and no cill; to the right, an old timber fixed light with top-hung vent, plain plastered reveals, no cill. One first-floor window to the left: a very small original timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1, with horns, tucked up into the eaves, no cill.

WEST GABLE OF NO. 1

Eaves flush with wall; rendered wall with some cracking and some render missing at the left-hand corner where rubble stones are revealed; two first-floor windows — timber sliding sashes, vertically hung, with horns, 2 over 2, with horizontal divisions; wooden heads plastered over; no cills. To the right of the gable, a square cement-rendered pier with a concrete slab on top, with a modern gate mounted on an adjacent circular pier of harled rubble with a conical cap on a slate cornice.

SETTING AND APPROACH

Opposite this gateway, on the other side of the lane, stands a matching pair of piers, though the conical cap of the circular one has a cement-rendered finish. The approach lane has a limestone grit surface with hedges on each side and some stone revetments. Rubble stone walling, whitened, links the opposite gateway to a white-painted rubble stone-fronted shed with a corrugated iron roof. Adjacent to the shed is a series of strip gardens facing the cottages, bounded by low rubble stone walls to the front. The cottages stand in an isolated and remote position in open countryside along a lane, not visible from main roads, with a distant view to the sea.