The Cottages, 10 Spa Road, Ballymaglave, Ballynahinch, Co Down, BT24 8LU

The Cottages is a mildly picturesque house of probable mid-19th century construction, located on the east side of Spa Road, less than a mile south-east of Ballynahinch, County Down. Originally comprising two separate dwellings, it is still locally known as 'The Cottages', though the two properties were amalgamated sometime before 1975.

The building's distinctive character derives from its unusual composition: two projecting two-storey gabled end bays flanking a central single-storey 'link' section. A long single-storey section extends to the north, which appears to have been added possibly in the 1960s. The front elevation is asymmetrical, facing roughly west. The central single-storey linking portion is flanked by the two gabled end bays, with a further modern-looking single-storey extension to the north. A small hipped-roof porch abuts the north bay, featuring a timber-sheeted door to its south face and a small high-level modern-framed window to its west face. A large window sits to the right of the porch.

Each gabled west facade of the end bays has a single window on both floors. The south bay displays a small window close to the eaves on its exposed north facade, while the north bay has a similar window on its north facade and a slightly larger window to the left on the ground floor. The long northern single-storey section features a continuous window along its west facade.

The building is finished predominantly in plain cement render, with the northern single-storey section in painted brick. All roof sections are gabled; the linking section's roof was extended in 1985 to accommodate a new two-storey rear extension and is now level with the roofs of the end bays. The northern single-storey section roof has an uneven pitch. The entire roof features an overhang with shaped barge boards and finials to the tall end bays, finished in artificial slate with PVC rainwater goods. A small rendered chimney stack stands to the north-east. A Velux window appears to the front.

The property backs into steeply rising ground to the east and south, making rear and south elevations largely invisible, though it is clear the linking section has been extended to two storeys at the rear.

The site's history can be traced through Ordnance Survey maps of 1834 and 1858, which show a very small building that may correspond to the present linking portion. This original dwelling may have been associated with a small quarry located immediately to the north, possibly serving as a quarry-worker's cottage. Sometime after 1858, this original structure was either demolished or had two tall end bays added to it, creating two separate properties in the process. The building underwent substantial modernisation and extension in 1985, when the rear was extended and the shaped barge boards—which contribute significantly to the building's picturesque appearance—were added. All windows are of modern frames.