Wheyburn, 10 Weyburn Road, Ballygalley, Larne, Co Antrim, BT40 2RD

Wheyburn is a Grade B1 listed building — a Georgian house of largely unaltered character that exhibits interesting and uncommon architectural features.

The building is a two-storey, three-bay house with attics and basement, dating from the early 19th century (1800–1819). It appears on the first Ordnance Survey map of 1833 and is now listed as a rarity of regional interest. The house was acquired by its present owner in 1935.

The main entrance faces east. The east elevation is symmetrical, with a recessed central bay containing a segmental arched opening that houses the entrance and a window above. The walls are constructed of stone, rendered with dry dash of crushed stones, although some areas of smooth cement render patching and exposed stonework are visible. Cement-rendered quoins frame the extremities and surround the recessed bay. A square eaves cornice with dentils on the soffit runs along the roofline. The roof is laid in Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with a chimney at each extremity. These chimneys are slate-hung — an unusual feature — and topped with angled slate pots, which is a rare occurrence.

Windows throughout are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung without horns. The first floor has 2-over-2 sashes, whilst the ground floor contains 6-over-6 sashes. Basement windows are set below ground floor level but are now blocked. The entrance doorcase is particularly fine. A panelled wooden door, original to the building, is flanked by patterned sidelights with looped and curvilinear glazing bars. The fanlight and lintel feature a curved band of coved ornament below a delicate dentil course. Rendered pilasters with moulded capitals rise to a moulded archivolt enclosing the entire doorcase. An ornamented Victorian knocker adorns the door. A flight of concrete steps ascends to the entrance.

The south gable is slate-hung, including the chimney. Two sashed windows — one to each floor, both 2-over-2 — are set into this elevation.

The rear elevation is two-storey and three-bay, arranged symmetrically. The walling and roof match the front elevation. A central doorway with a plain round head contains a rectangular flush door and smooth rendered panel above. Windows are sashed in the same manner as the front elevation, mostly 6-over-6, except for the ground floor window on the left-hand side, which is a later 4-over-4 sash in a shortened opening with a raised cill. A metal gutter, now partly collapsed, is fitted with a cast iron downpipe. A low rubble stone wall projects forward from the right-hand extremity, whilst a single-storey slated link block extends to the left, connecting the house to outbuildings. The north gable is constructed of rubble masonry with traces of old render visible. It contains one rectangular 6-over-6 sashed window, though its appearance is compromised by pipes attached to the wall that partially obscure it.

The outbuildings to the rear are of rubble stone with some modern materials introduced and possess no features of special interest. Gate piers are similarly unremarkable.

The setting is rural and secluded. The house stands in farmland, set well back from the road and hidden from view amongst trees at the end of a long lane. A wide open meadow lies to its front.