Highlands, 37 Farranfad Road, Farranfad, near Seaforde, Downpatrick, BT30 8NH

Highlands is a large, irregular two-storey gentleman's residence built around 1840, situated at the end of a curving drive approximately one mile north-east of Seaforde and four miles west of Downpatrick. The building displays a mixture of Tudoresque and Celtic baronial architectural styles, characterised by a profusion of gabled projections and half-dormers.

The design bears close resemblance to Delamont House following its remodelling in the 1840s. As both Highlands and Delamont House belonged to members of the Gordon family during this period, both buildings may be the work of the same architect.

The east-facing front elevation is asymmetrical and complex in composition, divided into six bays, each topped with either a gable or a gabled half-dormer. The bays contain a variety of flat arch windows with Georgian paned frames, some featuring sash mechanisms and others with small hopper openers. Unusually, the elevation has two doorways. The main entrance is a timber panelled double door with simple thick granite surround in the second bay, flanked by tall four-pane sidelights with a relatively small flat-roofed oriel window directly above. To the left is a slightly projecting bay with a ground-floor mullioned and transomed window with upper openers and a first-floor tripartite sash window. The third bay is recessed and topped with a tall half-dormer, containing a large mullioned and transomed ground-floor window and a small sash window at first-floor level within the half-dormer. The fourth bay projects and contains a glazed and panelled doorway with a plain Tudor arch fanlight and heavy granite surround featuring a keystone, with a sash window to the first floor. The fifth bay mirrors the third bay, being recessed with similar fenestration. The sixth bay projects slightly with fenestration matching bays three and five, but features a proper gable rather than a half-dormer.

The south elevation has a central projecting gabled bay containing a large mullioned ground-floor window, a small first-floor casement window, and a pair of French doors on the western face. The eastern face has a ground-floor window matching those to the front, while the main south façade either side of this bay contains windows as the east face of the bay, with large double sash windows set within tall half-dormers at first-floor level on each side.

The north elevation is shorter and more utilitarian in character, featuring a central ground-floor sash window and a small first-floor casement window to the right.

The long rear (west) elevation is similarly complex. To the far left is a gabled bay with a timber sheeted door at ground level, a small window at an intermediate stairwell level, and a first-floor sash window. To the right is a large utilitarian bay containing two ground-floor sash windows, a shorter casement window, and a pair of French doors, with a single centrally located first-floor sash window featuring 8 panes over 8 (compared to the 6/6 arrangement used throughout the rest of the building). The right portion of the rear elevation projects, with its western face divided into three bays. The first bay (to the left) has a ground-floor sash window and small first-floor window with modern frame, with further windows on the north-facing gabled face. The second bay contains a large mullioned ground-floor window and a large double sash window at first-floor level within a tall half-dormer. The third bay, which is gabled, replicates the fenestration of the front elevation's comparable bays, with a small flat-roofed bay containing a large mullioned and transomed ground-floor window and a large tripartite sash window at first-floor level.

The façade is largely finished in plain painted render with granite quoins to many bays and a thick granite eaves course. A tall granite base runs the length of the building, with ground-floor windows to the front, south, and part of the rear resting on a granite sill course that forms part of this base. The large ground-floor windows have thick plain painted surrounds. The gables and half-dormers resemble those found on Irish and Scottish tower houses, featuring stone coping and granite kneelers. The roof is slated with three tall granite-capped chimney stacks, and incorporates a small north-facing gabled dormer with casement windows at its rear. The building is fitted with cast iron rainwater goods.