Outbuildings at Magheramorne House, 59 Shore Road, Magheramorne, Larne, Co Antrim

These outbuildings form a one- and two-storey complex of basalt rubble walls with brick dressings, arranged around a rectangular courtyard. The main entrance faces north.

Exterior: North (Entrance) Elevation

The north elevation presents a symmetrical composition. A large gabled vehicular entrance occupies the centre, flanked by short single-storey wings that terminate in two-storey hipped end bays. These end bays return along each side to form the side elevations.

The walls are built of basalt rubble laid to courses, with squared edges to the quoins at the extremities. The central entrance has red firebrick jambs with quoins, and similar surrounds appear at the windows. A projecting brick eaves course runs along the elevation, with red sandstone blocks at the corners. The roofs are covered in Bangor Blue slates laid in regular courses, with black ridge tiles and metal hip coverings. Cast iron gutters serve the elevation, with four circular downpipes—one at each extremity and one to each wing. All downpipes are PVC except for one cast iron example on the left-hand wing.

The entrance itself is gabled with overhanging moulded barge boards of varnished pitch pine featuring shaped ends. A pitch pine finial crowns the apex, fitted with a modern ironwork weathervane. The exposed purlins also have shaped ends. Three collar beam trusses carry the roof over the entrance, closed at each end by vertical boarding with shaped ends. Shaped red sandstone corbels support each truss. The double doors are of ledged pine with large plain iron strap hinges painted black.

The left-hand end bay contains two windows to each floor, those on the first floor slightly smaller than those below. All are segmental-headed timber sliding sash windows, vertically hung and glazed 2-over-2, with horns—except the left-hand ground floor window, which is 1-over-2. The windows have recessed frames set in segmental brick arches with brick dressings to the sides and projecting sandstone cills.

The single-storey wing to the left of the central entrance has a similar segmental-headed window, sashed 2-over-2, with three small high-level vent openings to the right. These vents have deep reveals, segmental brick arched heads with brick dressings to the sides, and projecting sandstone cills. The first two vent openings are closed at the rear; the third is glazed.

The single-storey wing to the right of the main entrance has a segmental-headed window to the right, sashed 2-over-2 with an exposed frame, and two small high-level vent openings to the left. Of these vents, the left one is blocked and the right one glazed.

The right-hand end bay mirrors the left, with two windows to each floor. All are sashed 2-over-2, and the upper windows have exposed frames to the head.

Exterior: East Elevation

The east elevation comprises the two-storey side of the end block returning from the entrance front. It is one window wide, with one window to each floor, sashed as on the entrance front and with recessed frames. A single-storey windowless extension projects to the left.

The roofs are hipped and slated as on the entrance front. Cast iron gutters run along the elevation with two cast iron downpipes. A television aerial is affixed below the eaves of the two-storey bay. The walling matches the entrance front, but the single-storey portion has a white limestone base course that runs into the slope of the hill to the left. A red firebrick chimney with modern clay pots serves the two-storey bay, while two modern boiler flue pipes emerge from the single-storey portion.

Exterior: South (Rear) Elevation

The south or rear elevation is asymmetrical. From right to left, it comprises:

The end of the east return wing, single-storey and partly built into the hill. The walling matches the entrance front, with a brick and sandstone eaves course. The cast iron gutter is partly missing. A flue pipe emerges from the hipped roof, which is slated as elsewhere.

To the left stands a red brick door screen containing a rectangular timber ledged door. This is reached by winding concrete steps descending from higher ground at the rear of the building. The steps are contained by red brick walls, with a curved retaining wall to the east and a red brick former outside lavatory to the west, now stripped of fittings and door.

Further left, a low curved basalt rubble wall with rough copings forms a parapet to the flat lead roof of a single-storey block that abuts a two-storey gabled block on axis with the main front entrance. The gabled block has a steep pitched roof slated as elsewhere, with overhanging timber barges and finial matching the entrance. A brick chimney sits on the ridge.

The gable walling is of basalt rubble as on the entrance front, with some red brick quoins. Two windows sit level with the ground, with red brick flat arch heads, red brick long-and-short dressings to the sides, and sandstone cills flush with the wall. These windows are now blocked up with red brick. Above the window openings, a recessed circular panel of red brick sits in a red brick surround.

To the left of the gable, a single-storey wing in red brick with a brick cornice contains two rectangular timber windows, sashed as elsewhere, with projecting sandstone cills that appear cut down from a longer cill. The roof is slated as elsewhere and overhangs the wall without a gutter. Two PVC soil pipes serve this wing.

Further left, the wing extends into the end of the west return, also in red brick and in the same plane. It has a hipped roof, slated as elsewhere and overhanging without a gutter. Two rectangular timber windows appear here: one sashed 2-over-2 as on the rear elevation, the other small and sashed 1-over-1 with translucent glass and a cut-down sandstone cill. A PVC soil pipe stands at the left-hand extremity.

Exterior: West Elevation

The west elevation comprises the two-storey side of the west return, running into the hill on the right-hand side. The roof is hipped and slated as elsewhere, with one chimney across the ridge near the left-hand end. The walling is of basalt rubble with a squared edge to the quoins at the left-hand extremity; red brick quoining to the right-hand extremity has been newly pointed. A cast iron gutter with a cast iron downpipe runs along the elevation, but the gutter stops before the right-hand end without being closed.

From left to right, the windows and other openings are as follows:

A segmental-headed timber window to the ground floor, sashed 2-over-2 as on the entrance front, with an exposed frame to the head, set in a brick surround with a projecting sandstone cill. A similar window sits directly above on the first floor, but smaller in size and with a recessed frame.

To the right, a pair of coupled rectangular timber sliding sash windows, vertically hung and glazed 2-over-2, with horns and exposed frames to the heads. These are set in original segmental brick arches, with the intrados levelled off with smooth cement render in each case. The jambs and central pier have been rebuilt in new firebrick. Projecting sandstone cills sit beneath.

Directly above on the first floor, a very narrow rectangular timber window, sliding sash, vertically hung and glazed 1-over-1, with horns and an exposed frame to the head, sits in an original brick surround with a projecting sandstone cill.

To the right, three more similar narrow sashed windows serve the first floor, above four vent openings in deep reveals. All vents are blocked at the rear of the recess.

At the far right-hand end, a slit opening dressed in brick with a recessed cill serves the first floor. The reveals splay inwards to the interior, with a fixed light of plate glass.

Interior: Courtyard

The main entrance on the north elevation leads into the courtyard. The entrance area is roofed over with tongued-and-grooved pine sheeting. The surface underfoot is cobbled with loose chippings to the margins and granite kerbing to the exterior edges. A pair of modern concrete tapering hexagonal bollards stand at the interior line. The gable of the entrance way facing into the courtyard has an end truss faced with vertical boarding, as on the outer face.

Courtyard: North Side

The courtyard elevation on the north side has a single-storey wing on each side of the entrance opening. The walling is of basalt rubble with red brick dressings to the openings, some partly rebuilt. Translucent glass fills fanlights over modern ledged doors with modern brass door handles. The jambs of the main entrance opening on the courtyard side have rounded edges.

Shaped red sandstone shoulders to the original opening carry a deep timber beam, now closed in with later basalt walling. This contains a rectangular sashed window, 2-over-2, and a rectangular ledged pine door with a tongued-and-grooved pine panel above.

Courtyard: East Side

The courtyard elevation to the east side has a new doorway in a short angled red brick wall in the corner, with three bays of new tongued-and-grooved pine walling. These contain rectangular timber sash windows, 2-over-2, and rectangular ledged pine doors with translucent fanlights, inserted between the large timber posts of the original openings. One cut-down sandstone cill and one concrete cill are present.

The courtyard roofs are slated as elsewhere, with PVC gutters and downpipes.

Courtyard: South Side

The courtyard elevation on the south side comprises a central three-storey gable on axis with the main entrance, flanked to the left by a single-storey high wall of basalt and red brick containing two doorways, and to the right by a two-storey block.

The central gable has a segmental arched doorway flanked by two narrow slit openings to the ground floor. On the first floor, a segmental arched window, sashed 2-over-2, sits alongside a segmental arched doorway created from a similar window, now lowered. An ocular window in a recessed red brick surround fills the apex of the gable. The gable has overhanging barge boards and a finial matching the entrance way.

The two-storey block has a segmental arched doorway with a new ledged pine door, flanked by high-level slit openings, to the ground floor. Two segmental arched doorways in a red brick gablet appear on the first floor. All doors are new in ledged pine.

A modern iron stairway on circular iron posts steps up from left to right and returns across the west side of the courtyard as a first-floor balcony with a double return flight of steps symmetrically arranged.

Courtyard: West Side

The courtyard elevation on the west side is two-storey, of basalt and red brick. Two segmental-headed windows on the ground floor are sashed 1-over-1 with projecting sandstone cills, flanked on each side by new doors—those to the right in newly created porch recesses.

Three doors appear on the first floor, each set in a small gablet with overhanging barge boards and finials. These are separated by two segmental-headed windows, sashed 2-over-2 with exposed frames. The central gablet has a sandstone shield in the apex with the date 1881 in raised letters, partly broken off.

Setting

The building stands on an elevated site within the grounds of Magheramorne House, in a pleasant rural setting with distant views of Larne Lough to the north. No other buildings stand in close proximity. Close by to the rear is a public road. The building is seen against the backdrop of a well-treed hillside, with sloping grassed areas to each side and a gravel-surfaced car parking area to the front.

To the north stands what appears to be a contemporary silage pit consisting of a small rectangular concrete area bounded on three sides by rubble walls, of modest scale and no architectural pretension.

The boundary to the road at the rear is formed by a low basalt rubble wall. A pedestrian gateway sits immediately to the south of the building, and a vehicular gateway to the east. Both have square piers of basalt rubble laid to courses with block quoins of red brick, weathered concrete caps, and ironwork gates. The smaller gateway has plain wrought ironwork, while the larger gateway has ornamental cast ironwork in High Victorian style.