Templemoyle House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A 3 bay wide 2 storey house with shallow doublepile back return and a lean to extension on the S side. Wall smooth rendered, unpainted, gabled with central chimneys. Main roofs have natural slates while lean to has asbestos slates.

The main façade has a central door without sidescreens with broad flanking pilasters on either side and frieze cornice terminating in a shallow projecting flat roof almost level with the cill of the staircase window. On either side of doorway 2 storey polygonal bays with pitched faceted and slated roof with tiled hips. The bay roof eaves rise above the general eaves level and have a slight overhang. Each bay has 3 windows at ground and first floor level, the centre window wider than the others. These windows are sliding sash 2 pane in timber. The staircase window over the door by contrast, though sliding sash has 12 panes. The gable of the lean to has a simple 2 pane window top hung. While the entire external walls are smooth render unpainted, those of the bays are lined. Gutters and downpipes are PVC.

The lean to against the south gable has one corner chamfered and the other rounded and is the full length of the gable plus the back return. It has 2 windows similar to the gable. It has a low pitch roof slated with asbestos slates and plastic gutters and downpipes. The south gable of the main house has 2 metal casement windows of standard design with central chimney. The windows are assymetrical.

The west side is 4 bays long. The first is formed by the windowless gable of the lean to on the S side. The second, which is the first part of the double pile back return roof has 2 windows at ground floor and 2 at first floor, though central in the bay are not directly over other. The bay is gabled with central chimney stack. The third, has a central rear door with window over and a further window on its flanking wall at ground floor. The slated roof of this bay does not join the main roof thus creating a concealed valley. The fourth bay which is part of the rear of the main house has windows at ground and first floor set close to the wall angle. All roofs have natural slates, with PVC guttering and downpipes. There is no eaves overhang and no barges. Windows are all 2 pane, top hung plastic.

The north gable has windows near the corners at ground and first floors. These are 2 pane plastic top hung at the NW corner but sliding sash at the N E with 16 pane to the ground floor window and 12 pane to the one above it. The heads of the first floor windows are slightly above the general eaves line. The external character of the building would have been greatly improved if the small pane windows had been retained throughout. Placed below the chimney stack a plaster plaque with the named Maclurg and the date 1855 in the form of a shield.

To the rear of the house there are stone built 2 storey and single storey outbuildings. These have part slated and part corrugated asbestos roofs. Beyond these and behind high modern barns. There is a stone built lean to at the gable of the 2 storey outbuildings and against its flanking wall a cast iron water pump with the name McNiece of Ballymena imprinted on it.

The house has a neat garden on the south, east and north sides and there is a short length of random rubble wall 1.50 metre high forming a north boundary to it. It terminates just short of the N W corner of the dwelling with an engaged circular pillar which was repeated at the corner. There is a neat pair of gates to the garden from the main driveway.

The house is sited on rising ground to the west of the Drumrane Road and enjoys fine views across the Roe valley.

Historical information

The house was built in 1855 by the Rev. A Maclurg. His son was also a minister. Originally the house had only one bay, that to the south and was single storey. In the 1950s it was made 2 storeys and a second bay erected to match the existing. The smooth rendering to the west of the house appears older. The father of the present owner resigned from the Bovevagh Presbyterian Church in 1952 and retired to the farm at Templemoyle. He became President of the Ulster Farmers Union.

References

Primary Sources
1. Present Owner 19-08-1999

Secondary Sources
1. J.E. Mullan The Presbytery of Limavady p.55, 56

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

An example of a small mid 19th century farmhouse set on the crest of a ridge with extensive views over the Roe Valley. Crisply detailed with pleasing garden to east and south. The cast iron pump in farmyard behind is of interest.