The Rock, 16 Spa Road, Ballymaglave south, The Spa, Ballynahinch, Co Down, BT24 8LU

The Rock is a large, rambling house of formalised vernacular character, set on the west side of Spa Road less than a mile south of Ballynahinch, County Down. The building is part single storey and part two storey, and appears to have assumed much of its present form during the 1830s, though evidence suggests it has been extended at the rear and substantially restored and rebuilt around the year 2000.

The asymmetric east-facing front façade features a shallow flat-roofed porch projection at right of centre, containing a modern period-style panelled door with a plain fanlight above, reached by four stone steps. To the right of the porch is an 8/8 Georgian paned sash window, and to the left are two further 8/8 windows.

The north elevation is two storey to the left and single storey to the right. The two storey section may have been added recently. The long single storey section to the right has three evenly spaced 6/6 sash windows. The two storey section to the far left has two 6/6 sash windows to the ground floor and two similar but shorter windows to the first floor. The ground floor windows to the left are set considerably lower than those to the right, suggesting a change in internal floor level.

The rear (west) façade is two storey. A projecting gabled portion on the left side features a 6/6 sash window to the left of the first floor, while to the right of the ground floor is a half-glazed door. The remainder of the east-facing rear has two evenly spaced 6/6 top-hung windows to the ground floor and two similar windows to the first floor.

The south elevation is single storey to the left and two storey to the right. The two storey section has a modern 6-pane window to the far right, with a half-glazed door to its left. A 6/6 sash window is positioned to the left of the first floor. The single storey section to the far left contains two 6/6 windows. The rear face of the front section has a modern multi-pane window to the right and a sheeted timber door. The right side of the south face of the front section has a recessed panel containing a 6/6 sash window.

Walls are finished in painted rough cast. Roofs are mainly hipped and covered with natural slate. Rainwater goods are cast iron. A large two storey barn stands to the south, finished in part with rough cast and part with plain render.

A house is shown on this site in the Ordnance Survey map of 1834, with a plan largely similar to that of the present building. Contemporary valuation records from 1834–1838 indicate that the house was, as now, part single storey and part two storey, and that a new two storey portion was being added at that time. It is possible that at least part of the house visible today is the same structure. During the 1830s and possibly for much of the 19th century, the property was occupied by a family named Graham. At some point before the 1970s the property was divided into two dwellings, but by around 1999–2000 had been reunited as a single dwelling. Major renovation work and rear extension were underway at the time of documentation in September 2000.