65-67 King Street, Newcastle, Ballaghbeg, Co Down, BT33 0HD

Unusual single storey Free Style house of 1895, built by Mrs Ross Thompson. The property stands on the south-west side of King Street on the slope of the Mournes, south of Newcastle town centre. It has a distinctly seaside cottage character enhanced by a large open porch to its front.

The front façade faces roughly east and is asymmetrical, comprising two gabled bays. The left bay is largely recessed with the gable supported on timber posts, creating a veranda-style open porch. Within this porch, the main entrance consists of an original glazed and panelled door with a fanlight above featuring abstract pattern stained glass. To its right is an identical door functioning as a large sidelight. To the left of the doorscreen stands a square bay window with mullioned and transomed glazing and smaller glazed panels above as a fanlight, with moulded in and out quoins. The right bay is flush with its gable and contains two narrow casement windows with glazed panels above as fanlights, set in simple moulded surrounds. Both front bay gables are finished in fish-scale-like red tile cladding, topped with small red clay finials and small acroteria to the gable ends.

The south elevation shows the main front gable section and a single storey rear return. The main gable has a hipped roof greenhouse against it, while the return's south façade contains two 2-over-2 sash windows with horizontal glazing bars. A lean-to timber conservatory covers the right side of the rear west façade of the main front section. The return's gable appears blank. The north elevation is similarly arranged but handed, with a modern timber garage against the main gable and two sash windows to the left of the return's north façade. A modern single storey extension with a casement window, timber sheeted door to the north face and a small single pane window to the east gabled face stands to the right. The short rear west façace of the main front section has a single 2-over-2 sash window with horizontal glazing.

The façade is finished in roughcast, painted to the front but only to certain sections on other elevations. The roof is covered in natural slate with decorative red clay ridge tiles to the main front section and plain red clay ridge tiles to the return. Three modern rooflights sit to the south side of the return roof. Original decorative rendered chimney stacks flank the side gables of the main front section, with a single plainer stack to the return. Original cast iron moulded guttering runs along the front with a cast iron downspout featuring a square hopper; later PVC rainwater goods serve the rear. A low rendered wall stands at the front with steps leading to the porch.