17 Vennel Street (The Vennel), Glenarm, Ballymena, Co Antrim, BT44 0AS

17 Vennel Street is a small, plain two-storey rendered terrace house built around 1910, situated within the stepped terrace on the south side of Vennel Street in Glenarm. It is of considerable townscape importance within the conservation area.

The front elevation, facing roughly north, is asymmetrical. On the ground floor to the left is a panelled timber front door with a plain rectangular fanlight. To the right is a sash window with horizontal astragals in a 2/2 configuration. The first floor contains two evenly spaced windows of the same design but smaller in size, set close to the eaves. The front façade is finished in painted rough cast with simple moulded surrounds to the openings.

The rear elevation is finished in unpainted rough cast. On the right side of the rear elevation is a panelled timber door, with a window to its left. Two further windows are positioned on the first floor. The gabled roof is slate with a large Velux window to the west side of the rear slope. There is a rendered chimneystack to the west, and the rainwater goods are PVC.

Evidence suggests the house was completely rebuilt in 1988 apart from the front wall, which remained in place. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive funded a scheme at the property during that time.

Historically, Vennel Street (from the archaic Scots word 'vennel', meaning a narrow winding lane) was the main road from Larne to Glenarm before the Coast Road was built in the 1830s. Early leases from 1743 onwards refer to it as 'Stinking Vennel' or 'Stinking Vennel Street', reflecting its low status and sloping topography. John O'Hara's map of 1779 shows many small densely packed dwellings along both sides of the street. Most of this housing was subsequently replaced; the 1832 Ordnance Survey map shows a large gap on the south side, while the 1900s maps and photographs of around 1910 indicate that most of the present south side consists of early 20th-century buildings. The valuation map of 1859 shows eight small dwellings on this site, replaced by the present terrace of five houses (nos. 11–19); the 1903 Ordnance Survey plan records six properties, and photographs from around 1910 show ruined single-storey dwellings. Based on its design, which matches that of no. 19, the property was probably built shortly after 1910, likely between 1910 and 1915.