Dunminning Cottage, 147 Ballywatermoy Road, Dunminning, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT44 9EU

Dunminning Cottage is a single storey, two bay direct entry house located about three and a half miles north of Cullybackey, at the north-east corner of a crossroads on Ballywatermoy Road, facing south-west. Dating from the early 19th century (c.1820–1839), it is a rare example of a landlord-influenced, hipped-roof dwelling of the gate-lodge type, as identified by architectural historian Alan Gailey. Only a small number of such hipped-roof constructions survive; another example exists at Lower Ballinderry, County Antrim, and others have been recorded in Fermanagh.

The building is characterised by its hipped thatched roof with a corbelled red brick chimney rising at the centre of the ridge. The walls are whitewashed plaster finish. A small skylight, now obscured, was set into the rear slope of the thatch. The base, extremities, and window sills of the front elevation are painted in a contrasting shade.

The front (south-west) elevation contains three pointed openings. From the south-west corner, a sheeted entrance door is flanked to the right by two vertically sliding sash windows with Y-shaped astragals in the top sashes and four-pane divisions in the bottom sashes, with narrow sills. A sixteen-pane casement window (4x4 arrangement) is positioned in the south-east gable, whilst the opposite gable is windowless.

Two single storey extensions occupy the rear, both roofed with corrugated iron and plastered finish. The first extension, extending from the north-west corner, has a composite roof of pitched form developing into a lean-to. Its north-east elevation is dressed with timber bargeboard and fascias; a pair of timber ties fixed to the bargeboard support a mast with an electric lantern. A timber sheeted door and metal-framed window are located on the south-east side. The second extension is roofed in lean-to form, with a timber sheeted entrance door and two metal-framed windows in the north-east wall.

Historical records indicate the building appeared on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832–33 and is shown on the 1834 map in its present form without the rear extensions. It does not appear in the first valuation records of c.1835 but is listed in the c.1860 valuation as a gate lodge occupied by John Hamilton, with John Patrick as lessor. According to C.E.B. Brett's 'Buildings of County Antrim' (1996), the property is said to have been built to house the toll-keeper of the nearby Dunminning Bridge. When responsibility for the bridge passed to the Grand Jury, the house was purchased by the Patricks of Dunminning as a residence for their gardener, and a matching doorway was opened in the demesne wall immediately opposite the cottage. This historical context aligns with the c.1860 valuation evidence, as gardener's houses and gate lodges frequently functioned interchangeably. The building's planned picturesque appearance lends credence to its original role as a toll-keeper's house.

The hipped roof construction is unsuitable for lateral extension, making retention of the two bay layout a material consideration for the building's preservation. A re-thatching scheme was completed by 1994, at which time monitoring inspections noted that the structure required repair. The property is privately owned and remains in residential use.