Barn

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A roughcast rendered two-storey slated outbuilding to yard of St Margaret’s Rectory (HB03/03/008A); pre-dating 1830 and located to the north side of Crevolea Road in Aghadowey, south of Coleraine. Rectangular on plan.

Pitched natural slate roof with blue/black angled ridge tiles and plain bargeboards to gables. Plastic rainwater goods on red-brick eaves course. Walling is replacement roughcast render with applied modern sandstone quoins; random rubblestone to rear with remnants of lime render. Windows are to northeast elevation only and are a variety of timber casements in plain reveals with concrete lintels and cement sills.

The principal elevation faces southwest and has timber-sheeted loading doors to left and right at first floor. Ground floor has three centralised openings, all with replacement timber-sheeted stable doors. To left is a square-headed carriage-arch entrance, with replacement timber-sheeted doors. Exposed pattress plates.

The northwest gable has an original timber-sheeted door in a segmental-headed recess at first floor, accessed via dressed stone steps supported on a red-brick arch resting on a rubblestone wall.

The northeast (rear) elevation has three openings at first floor, at irregular heights. Opening at left is covered with plastic and has a red-brick relieving arch. Three window openings at ground floor of varying sizes; six-paned window to centre with red-brick relieving arch. Concrete block infill to apron of window at left. To left of centre is a timber-sheeted door in a concrete block surround with red-brick relieving arch.

The southeast gable has a replacement timber-sheeted door in a segmental-headed recess to centre at ground floor.

Setting:

Situated to the north side of the yard at the rear of the main house (HB03/03/008A) with concrete perimeter paving to southwest and southeast. Yard is gravelled and enclosed to north by a rubblestone garden wall with pointed-headed arch entrance of red-brick leading to main garden at north and east of house. To northwest is a kitchen garden, still in use. To northwest gable is an original wrought-iron gate. Bounded to road to south by a roughcast rendered wall with cement coping, having square piers with pointed cement caps and supporting replacement cast-iron gates. Wall mounted post box.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Roughcast render and rubblestone
Windows:
RWG: Plastic

Historical information

The barn is pre-1830s in date and appears to be contemporary with the main house on the site, St Margaret’s Rectory. The house, assessed by Rowan as a ‘curiously pretty’ and ‘waywardly irregular’ Regency house was extended c1840 and was a linen mansion before later becoming a rectory. (Rowan) It is shown, uncaptioned, on the first Ordnance Survey map of 1831-2 as rectangular on plan with a small return and the large barn is also shown. A large expanse of bleach green was laid out beside the house.

At the time of the Townland Valuation (1828-40) the occupier was Henry Hunter and the house and offices were valued at £15.2s. Henry Hunter appears to have owned the adjoining bleaching concern in partnership with Messrs McFarland and Hemphill. (OS Memoirs) OS Memoirs state that the bleach green in Ballybritain is the oldest in the parish and therefore predates 1744, suggesting that the house itself may also be, at its core, of an early date. (OS Memoirs)

The house was subsequently taken over by the Orr family who had come to the Aghadowey district in the mid-eighteenth century. William Orr, captain in the 75th Regiment, (died 1873) married Susan, daughter of Averil Lecky of Castle Lecky and had two daughters, Margaret who died as a child in 1836 aged 13 and Alicia who also died prematurely of consumption. The current house is named ‘St Margaret’ after Orr’s lamented elder daughter. (Mullin; Will of William Orr)

Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) lists William Orr as the occupier and values the house and outbuildings at £27. The house sits on a plot of over 89 acres and is shown on the second edition of 1849-52 as significantly extended in size both to the front and to the rear. William Orr died in 1873 leaving everything to his ‘dear wife’ Susan and requesting her to distribute twenty pounds among the poor of the parish. (Will of William Orr) After the death of Susan Lecky Orr in 1883 (Will of Susan Lecky Orr), the house was taken over for use as the rectory for Aghadowey parish, the Rev William Colquhoun listed as occupier from 1885, when the valuation was also reduced to £22, perhaps in view of the change of use.

Residency of the house then changed with incumbency of the parish. At the time of the 1911 census the rector was Englishman Robert W W Alexander, 39, who retained a cook as a domestic servant. (1911 census) The barn was listed in 1987 and major renovation schemes took place in the 1980s and 90s, during the course of which the roof and upper floor of the barn were renewed. (HB file)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/11/1 First Edition OS Map 1831-2
2. PRONI OS/6/5/11/2 Second Edition OS map 1849-52
3. PRONI OS/6/5/11/3 Third Edition OS Map 1904
4. PRONI OS/6/5/11/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1923
5. PRONI VAL/1/B/51 Townland Valuation (1828-40)
6. PRONI VAL/12/A/5/1 – Valuer’s Notes c1900
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/1A-F Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
8. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/1 First General Revaluation 1933-57
9. PRONI VAL/3/D/6/3/A/2 First General Revaluation 1933-57
10. Griffith’s Valuation online
11. 1901/1911 census online
12. HB file – 03/03/008B
13. PRONI Will of William Orr died 2nd December 1873
14. PRONI Will of Susan Lecky Orr died 2nd December 1883

Secondary Sources

1. Day, A., P. McWilliams, English L., eds. “OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Londonderry VI, 1831, 1833, 1835-6, Vol. 22.” Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1993.
2. Mullin, Rev T H “Aghadowey, A Parish and its Linen Industry” Belfast, 1972
3. Rowan, A “The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster” Penguin, 1979

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A roughcast rendered two-storey slated outbuilding to yard of St Margaret’s Rectory (HB03/03/008A); pre-dating 1830 and located to the north side of Crevolea Road in Aghadowey, south of Coleraine. The building retains its original proportions, along with the red-brick arch bridge to entrance at gable, and the barn remains an important example of a Georgian agricultural building to a middle-sized country house. The barn has group value with the house (HB03/03/008A) and is of local interest.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; also applies.