Lighthouse Keepers Cottages, Cantrick Head, South Walls

This is a lighthouse constructed in 1858 by David Stevenson, alongside two single-story keepers' cottages and various sheds, all situated on the island of South Walls. The lighthouse is a 22-metre circular tower built of brick and whitewashed. It is surrounded by long and short stones around the openings, with advanced cills. A base course is present, topped by a band course. An entrance door is located on the northwest side, with single windows in the second and third stages, centred above. A window is positioned on the fourth stage facing southeast, and another on the northeast side. Stone corbels support a walkway at the sixth stage, which has metal railings. The seventh stage features a conical roof to the lantern with lattice glazing. A flagpole stands to the north of the lighthouse.

The interior features a timber boarded door with a metal grille gate and a brass lock inscribed 'NL' (Northern Lighthouse) and a brass knob on the interior. The ground floor has painted tongue and groove panelling. Stone steps spiral upwards around a central space, formerly housing a clock pendulum mechanism, to the second and third stages. A landing is located at the fourth stage. A cast-iron step-ladder leads to the lantern, accompanied by a brass handrail. The fifth stage contains a semi-circular battery room, while a work room (previously containing a clock) is located at the sixth stage, providing access to the exterior walkway. The lantern at the seventh stage houses a modern lens, a slatted floor and a concave ceiling.

The keepers’ cottages, also built in 1858, are two single-story structures, brick-built with stugged long and short quoins and a whitewash finish. A paraffin shed is situated at the northeast end of the range. The main, or southeast, elevation features two doors, flanked by windows, with an additional window on either far left and right. A door is also located on the far right. The southwest elevation is plain gabled. The northwest elevation incorporates two later lean-to porches, flanking a single window on each side. The porch gable walls also feature windows, and each porch contains a door in its inner return. The northeast elevation has a window to the left gable wall and a door to the right gable wall. They have timber sash and case windows and inset timber boarded doors with fanlights. The roofs are double ridge Welsh slate, with coped gable end stacks to the southwest gables, a coped ridge stack to the front and rear, and a central coped stack.

To the northeast of the lighthouse is an engineer’s shed, single-story and rectangular in plan, with a flat roof and canted corners to the east. The shed is rendered, featuring a plain base course and cornice. It includes a door to the left and a metal grille gate to the doorway, along with an inset timber boarded door. Windows are located on the north, east, and south sides. Additional single-story sheds are situated in the north corner of the boundary wall and are whitewashed brick. One has a piended roof, a door, and a window on the right flank. Another has two central doors, with windows to the right and left, and a door on the far right, flanked by single windows. A pitched roof, covered in Welsh slate, is present along with a coped ridge stack to the centre left. The sheds feature timber boarded doors, fixed lights and sash and case windows. A detached, half-pitched shed is located to the left, constructed of whitewashed brick.

A square-plan rubble boundary wall painted white is topped with rough coping stones. Plain square-plan gatepiers are located to the northeast, featuring a base and conical coping stones, with a replacement metal gate. A fluted cast-iron sundial pedestal (without the sundial) stands to the west of the keepers' cottages and is painted white.