Belmont, 96 Beltoy Road, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, BT38 9BZ

Belmont is a detached four-bay house built around 1830, located on the west side of Beltoy Road, Carrickfergus, within a quadrangular farmyard complex. The building is rectangular in plan with an off-centre gabled entrance to the left, flanked by two-storey hipped canted bays on either side. A glazed conservatory adjoins the left gable, with a series of single and two-storey extensions to the rear.

The roof is pitched natural slate with blue and black clay ridge tiles, leaded to the hipped canted bays, with smooth rendered moulded verges. Two brick chimneystacks with terracotta pots sit on the gables, with a third to the party wall. Rainwater goods are ogee-profile cast iron, with replacement cast metal to the rear.

The external walls are ruled-and-lined rendered with raised stepped chamfered quoins and a smooth rendered plinth. Windows are square-headed timber sliding sashes with one-over-one panes, set within moulded surrounds with keyblock detail, except to the rear where surround detail is absent. Painted masonry cills are used throughout unless otherwise stated. External secondary glazing is present to the principal elevation only.

The principal elevation faces south and features the off-centre gabled entrance porch with natural slate roof. This porch contains a replacement timber sheeted door with frosted glazed sidelights and a radial fanlight, recessed within smooth rendered pilasters that rise to a segmental-headed moulded archivolt with keyblock. The two-storey canted bays to each side have hipped slated roofs and contain paired windows to the south elevation, with a single window to each cheek and continuous cill with moulded cornice detail. The left gable is abutted by the lean-to glazed conservatory with two windows at first floor. Above on the principal elevation are two windows to the right, with a dormer above having a flat roof.

The rear elevation shows considerable later additions. A single-storey return with pitched roof adjoins the left side; this is further extended by a two-storey block with pitched slated roof. The right side is abutted by a single-storey lean-to extension. The exposed rear section contains two replacement timber casements, with the left diminished. The right gable has two windows at each floor. A single-storey pitched return, hipped to the north gable, has a natural slate roof and roughcast rendered walls with replacement uPVC casement windows.

The west elevation contains a canted bay window to the right with a single window to each side (the left diminished). To the left is a hardwood six-panel door followed by double timber sheeted garage doors. The north gable is abutted by a perpendicular outbuilding, slightly lower, with a hipped slated roof.

The east elevation features a six-panel hardwood door with three windows to the left and four to the right, of which the two at the left are diminished. A two-storey pitched return with natural slate roof is detailed as the main block, with a projecting first-floor block that was added to an original single-storey return. The north gable has a single window at first floor, with a blank left cheek and a window to each floor on the right cheek. A single-storey lean-to extension has an original timber door, comprising a fixed panel with a large glazed pane over, set within a heavy exposed box frame. Windows flank this door, with the right diminished. The left cheek is blank, and the right cheek abuts a single-storey outbuilding with pitched natural slate roof.

The property is situated on the south side of the quadrangular farmyard, which contains similarly detailed outbuildings. A second dwelling occupies the north-west corner of the courtyard. Access to the house is from Beltoy Road to both the north and south of the building. The north entrance gives access to the rear, while the south entrance, the original approach, accesses the principal elevation. This entrance comprises stepped alcoved entrance walls with two smooth rendered piers with pyramidal caps on each side; the inner piers support original cast-iron entrance gates. Mature landscaped gardens to the east and south conceal the house from the road.

The building first appears on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857, captioned 'Belmont'. Griffith's Valuation of 1859 records the property as a house, offices and land, occupied by Joseph Hamilton and leased from Marriot Dalway, valued at £17. Valuation Revisions show the occupier as Edward Kinsey in 1888 and the lessor as Joseph Holden in the same year. The occupier changed to William Hunter in 1925 and John Spratt in 1913. No change in the building's valuation is recorded across these revisions.