Colebreene

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A symmetrical three bay, single-storey-over-part-exposed-basement, mid-nineteenth-century villa, with two-storey rubblestone outbuildings arranged around a quadrangular courtyard. Built c.1840 and located to the west side of Loughan Road south of Coleraine. Rectangular plan with two-storey bowed bay to front and two-storey canted bays to north and south; single-storey extension to south; flat-roof porch projection and single-storey L-shaped modern extension (of little interest) to rear.

Hipped natural slate roof with leaded ridges and hips; red brick chimneystacks having decorative tall clay pots. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods on overhanging eaves with timber-sheeted soffits. Walling is Flemish-bonded yellow brick with blackstone quoins at ground floor and rock-faced blackstone with yellow brick dressings at basement; rear elevation is blackstone built to courses with red-brick dressings; blackstone string-course between floors. Windows are tall timber transomed and mullioned multi-paned casements to ground floor and 6/6 timber sash with horns in yellow brick stepped surrounds to basement; 6/6 timber sash without horns in red brick stepped surrounds to east elevation; all with projecting stone sills. Canted bays have, at ground floor, eight-paned casements flanked by pilastered frame and four-paned windows to left and right facets; ground floor has 6/6 timber sash flanked by 4/4 timber sash to left and right facet.

The principal elevation faces west; central bow bay is flanked to either side by a window at each floor, and contains double-leaf multi-paned glazed timber doors flanked by windows in the same style; stepped bridge over basement channel, having curved rendered walls with stone coping. Window to left and right of bridge at basement.

The north elevation has two-storey canted bay to centre.

The east (entrance) elevation has exposed basement to right side only. To centre is a flat-roof red brick projection on a stone plinth, containing original double-leaf bolection-moulded four-panelled timber door with bronze door furniture, surmounted by a plain transom light and in a fluted timber architrave with decorative patera to top corners. Right cheek of projection has a timber casement window at basement; left cheek is abutted by the projecting L-shaped rendered modern extension. To right of porch are two windows to ground floor over 4/4 window to basement left and central half-glazed door, accessed via a steep ramp with modern metal handrail. To left of L-shaped extension is a 6/6 window.

The south elevation has two-storey canted bay to centre; abutted at right by the single-storey extension (lower); of blackstone with 6/6 window in red brick surround to east; west face is flamish-bonded red brick on a blackstone plinth; segmental-headed red-brick archway to basement channel.

Setting:
Main access from Loughan Road to east; a long straight concrete drive flanked by hedges leads to a square courtyard accessed via square-headed carriage entrance. Original two-storey rubblestone outbuildings form a U-shape around a central concrete yard, enclosed to west by main house. Outbuildings have hipped slate roofs with angled ridge tiles and leaded hips; red brick chimneystacks, eaves and dressings. North and east blocks have been refurbished and function as a modern coffee shop and office, having replacement timber sash windows with projecting stone sills and timber-sheeted doors, all in red brick stepped surrounds (enlarged openings to north elevation). South block has modern timber casements and three 4/8 sash windows with exposed boxes at first floor, over large modern square-headed entrance at left and original elliptical-headed carriage-arch entrance at right. To centre at ground floor is a timber-sheeted door with five-paned transom light flanked by six-paned timber casement windows with five-paned transoms over. Abutted at far right by a projecting single-storey tack-room with original red brick chimneystack to west gable, timber-sheeted door and 3/6 window. Small garden to west is overgrown and enclosed by mature trees and plantings. Cast-iron pump to yard. Replacement cast-iron gates to east entrance of yard. Group of large modern agricultural units and gravelled car-park to east. Roughly coursed squared blackstone entrance walls with square piers supporting cast-iron gates to entrance at Loughan Road.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Flemish-bonded yellow brick and rock-faced blackstone
Windows: Timber sash and multi-paned timber casements
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

‘Colebreene’, built by the politician and religious controversialist, Lord Robert Montagu (1825-1902), is first shown, captioned, on the second edition OS map of 1849-53. The building, on a roughly cross-shaped plan is shown with outbuildings to the rear forming a stable courtyard. These have survived to the present day.

Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) lists the house and outbuildings at £25 and the occupier as Marcus Gage, descendant of the Gage family who had supplied two prebendaries of Agahdowey parish in the eighteenth century. (Mullin) The property was leased from Lord Robert Montagu, a Conservative politician who had a large house in Portstewart, probably a holiday residence. A sitting of the Royal Commission on the Irish Land Laws in 1897 heard that Montagu had constructed the ‘very substantial buildings’ on Colebreene farm some years before and the land had been thoroughly drained and well fenced in by him. (Griffith’s Valuation; Belfast Newsletter)

Lord Robert Montagu was Conservative MP for Huntingdonshire from 1859 to 1874, and a minister for education. He wrote a book on ship-building and advocated the establishment of a naval school of architecture and engineering to be modelled on the Royal Military Academy. He was politically liberal and declared trade unions to be ‘a natural right’ but in 1870 became a Catholic and was expelled from the Conservative Party three years later. He represented County Westmeath from 1874 to 1880 as a home-ruler. Having retired from parliament in 1880, Montagu devoted himself to religious controversy and rejoined the Church of England in 1882, campaigning against Catholicism in a series of pamphlets. He died at his home in London in 1902. (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography)

In 1890 the house passed to John Sharpe, farmer and merchant, who was resident at the time of the 1901 census with his wife and children. The family kept a live-in servant and the eight-room house was designated first class. In 1907 the valuation was reduced to £17 because the buildings were ‘old and out of repair’. By 1911 the farm had passed to farmer James D Hart and his sister and they were resident until 1941.

The building was revalued in the 1930s at £17 and £5.15s for agricultural buildings. Accommodation at that time comprised a porch, lounge, two receptions, four bedrooms and a kitchen. The cellar which had been the ground floor of the house was then a single room used as a wood store.

The house was listed in 1977 and in 1983 renovations and repairs took place. In the late 1990s some of the outbuildings were converted into holiday lets. (HB file; www.cottagesatcolebreene.com) The premises is currently used as a boatyard but the house itself is vacant.

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/12/1 First Edition OS Map 1832
2. PRONI OS/6/5/12/2 Second Edition OS map 1849-53
3. PRONI OS/6/5/12/3 Third Edition OS Map 1904
4. PRONI OS/6/5/12/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1923
5. PRONI VAL/12/A/5/4 Valuer’s notes 1907
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/14A-F Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
7. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/2 First General Revaluation 1933-57
8. PRONI VAL/3/D/6/3/P/2 First General Revaluation 1933-57
9. Griffith’s Valuation online
10. 1901/11 census
11. HB file – 03/06/001
12. Belfast Newsletter 16th October 1897

Secondary Sources

1. Mullin, Rev T H “Aghadowey, A Parish and its Linen Industry” Belfast, 1972
2. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online
3. www.cottagesatcolebreene.com

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Colebreene is a symmetrical three-bay, single-storey-over-basement, mid-nineteenth-century house, with substantial two-storey rubblestone outbuildings arranged around a quadrangular courtyard. Built c.1840 and located to the west side of Loughan Road south of Coleraine. Retaining a wealth of historic fabric, including a variety of nineteenth-century fenestration, architectural detailing is well-preserved, and despite some modern additions to rear, the original character is largely intact. A courtyard arrangement of two-storey rubblestone outbuildings to rear, not only enhance the quality of the setting, but make an important contribution to the historic interest of the site as do the cast iron water pump and the gate screen. Of special architectural and historic interest, Colebreene is of significant social importance and local interest to the surrounding community.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance also apply