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Portballintrae harbour is a nineteenth-century harbour situated on the County Antrim coast near Coleraine. Built to serve the local fishing and trading communities, the structure was constructed upon bedrock formed from Paleogene flood basalts, ancient mafic volcanic rocks that underlie much of this region. These dark, dense basalts provided a naturally robust foundation for the harbour's stonework, though their hard nature would have presented considerable challenges to the masons who quarried and dressed the stone for the quays and breakwaters.
The harbour reflects the maritime economy of nineteenth-century north-east Ireland, when the coast was dotted with small ports designed to handle both fishing vessels and coastal trading craft. Its location along the dramatic basalt coastline, where the Paleogene volcanic sequence meets the sea, positioned it to serve both local agricultural hinterland and wider commercial networks. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference HMN 13290, acknowledging its importance to the industrial and cultural heritage of the Coleraine area and the broader story of Irish maritime development.
Portballintrae harbour. harbour is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 13290. View the official record →
Portballintrae harbour is a nineteenth-century harbour situated on the County Antrim coast near Coleraine. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 13290.
Portballintrae harbour. harbour dates from the c19th period, and is classified as a harbour. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Portballintrae harbour. harbour is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 13290.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Church of dunkelisp. post-medieval church & graveyard, on site of medieval parish church (2.4 km), Chapel field. church, graveyard (site of) & souterrain (2.4 km), Carnkirk castle. round cairn (3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Portballintrae harbour. harbour's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Portballintrae harbour. harbour stands on Cenozoic volcanic rocks, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is flood basalt(s); mafic volcanic rocks.