Bannbrook House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A solid gabled-ended five bay house of 1½-stories on a raised basement flanked by a substantial four bay two storey L-shaped extension with bowed end. The main house, which historical records suggests was built in 1691, has an early to mid 18th century appearance, while the extension, which incorporates a derelict ballroom and drawing room, was built by the Barnard family in the 1790s, apparently at the expense of the Earl-Bishop of Derry. There is an 18th century farm range to the rere, and the house is approached by a short avenue from the road, with entrance piers incorporating cut-stone work.

Main House: The front façade, which faces east-south-east, has a symmetrical five bay fenestration. The entrance in the centre is approached up a flight of steps, composed of nine sandstone steps with no flanking railing or wall; these were built in the 1960s to replace an earlier set of stone steps, which were flanked each side by a stone wall with coping. The entrance has a modern mahogany panelled door with fanlight in wooden frame above. The flanking windows have plastic top-hung windows, one over one, installed in the 1980s to replace wooden sliding sash frames, which originally held six panes over six. Formerly, there were four basement windows on the front elevation, each lying directly below the windows above, but only one original opening now survives – that on the south end. The two former basement windows of the north side of the entrance were replaced sometime in the 1960s with a single, large, centrally positioned opening with wooden door. This façade, like those on the other elevations of the main house, is rendered with a pebble dash, c.1960, with low cement plinth.
The north gable, onto which the adjacent wing is attached (see below), has no opening, but the south gable elevation has a small window opening at first floor level. This is placed at the east side of the gable and contains a plastic top-hung window (one over one). The rere elevation is complicated by two minor additions. One of these lies on the south end and comprises a two storey canted bay extension, added c.1960, whose eaves rises a few feet above that of the main house. This contains a plastic top-hung window (one over one), at the first floor level, and a plastic picture window on ground floor. At the north end of the main block, there is a small one-bay lean-to kitchen extension, whose roof-line continues the line of pitch of the main roof; this extension, added c.1920, contains a small window at front and a side door, now used as the main day-to-day access into the house. Between the two extensions there are two windows at ground floor level, one small picture window and the other a long rectangular plastic window (one over one), which apparently corresponds to an original window opening in the house.
The structure of the roof of the main house was replaced in the 1920s, and in 1956-7 it was re-slated. The roof contains no skylight opening on the front elevation, but at the rere there are two small skylight windows. A brick chimney rises above each of the end gables of the house; these were both rebuilt in the early 1920s.

The North Wing: Four-bay L- shaped extension with bowed end, added to the north-gable of the house. This narrow wing, although it has a relatively new roof, is currently in a derelict condition internally; it once contained very large and splendid reception rooms. The wing was built in two or three separate phases, all evidently late 18th century in date. The earlier portion, immediately adjacent to the house, is a two-bay building once accommodating a large room on the ground floor, probably a ballroom. On its western side there is a narrow two-storey extension with a lean-to roof, while on its northern side is a two bay, two storey block that terminates in a bowed end and contains a single room on the ground and first floors respectively. The walls for the whole wing are of random rubble, whose wall render has long fallen off, while all the openings, many now blocked, have or have had a brick trim surround. The present roof, formed of plastic tiles with a zinc coating, insulated below, was erected in the 1990s. According to the present owner, the earlier roof, which had collapsed around 1950, was composed of overlapping planks and had a ‘boat like-shape’. There is presently no chimney-stack on this extension, but one must have once existed rising from the centre of the building.
The east elevation of the wing is set well back from the front façade of the main house and has four bays. The line of the two main building phases of the wing can be seen in the centre. On the southern and older side there are two camber-headed and brick lined windows set just below the eaves. Impressions in the wall face below indicate that both these windows once formed the top half of a pair of tall (and no doubt magnificent) windows, which once lit the ballroom. On the ground floor, beneath these ghost windows, there is a brick-lined door opening, with batten door now disused, flanked by a derelict 20th century window with metal frame. Close to this lies a former door opening, now filled with breeze-blocks and a small window. The northern side of the east elevation had the ghost impression of a tall window at first floor level (this lit the drawing room), while on the ground floor below there is a brick-lined camber-headed door opening; this contains a batten door but is now disused.
The bowed end elevation has its original sliding-sash window (six over six), the surround being brick lined; it has a narrow stone sill and wooden lintel, curved to follow the face of the wall. Immediately below, lies a camber-headed, brick-lined door opening, giving access to the ground floor. This is flanked on each side by brick-lined and camber-headed almost square window openings; their frames are now missing. Above the original eaves line of the bowed end, the wall has been raised in brick to form what is perhaps best described as curved gable, providing support for the roof. Although composed of 18th century brick, this curious feature does not appear to be original.
The west elevation of the wing is in two parts. The north end has a long rectangular window opening at first floor level. This once lit the drawing room, but has lost its original frames; signs of later rebuilding over this window indicates that the original lintel here must have collapsed at some stage. At ground floor level, south of this window, lies another brick-lined and camber-headed almost square window opening, currently blocked with corrugated iron.
The southern end of the western elevation of the wing comprises a two-storey lean-to extension, added to the original part of the wing. This may be contemporary with the bowed drawing room extension, or may represent a separate phase. The line of its roof follows the same pitch as the main roof of the wing. The north gable end of this lean-to addition has at first floor level what appears to have originally been a circular brick-lined window; this has been altered in recent decades to accommodate a rectangular light with metal frame. The ground floor below has small rectangular opening and a brick band, seven bricks deep. The front elevation of this lean-to addition has been altered numerous times, as the ghost impressions in the wall testify. It presently has a single window opening a first floor level with no frame, and a door at ground level, giving access to the building. Until recent years there was a narrow 1920s farm building extending from the west side of this lean-to addition.
To the south west of the house lie substantial portions of a long rectangular office building, now used as a farm building. It is probably of late 18th century date, but has been much altered and is now in an unstable condition.. Originally it was a gable ended building of random rubble stone walls. Part of the building appears to have served as a coach house, suggested by the presence of two large blocked arches in the south wall.
A short laneway connects the main house with its road entrance. The double gates are of wrought iron bars, hung from square piers, that are each surmounted by a narrow block of sandstone. On three faces of the sandstone blocks are running dog or Vitruvian scrolls carved in relief. Each are surmounted by modern recumbent leapards made in recent years by the son of the owner. The piers are each linked by a curved and a straight quadrant wall to outer square piers with pyramidal caps.

Historical information

While the architectural evidence would suggest that the earliest house here dates to either the 1730s or the 1740s, the documentary evidence suggests that a house has existed here from at least the late 17th century. In 1835 the architect-sculptor David McBlain, who together with his father James had worked for the Earl-Bishop of Derry at Downhill in the 1780s, informed the compilers that Bannbrook House 'was built by Squire Ford in 1691, the sexangular part by Bishop Hervey' and that 'the Boyle family were the late inhabitants….after the Barnetts'. Another entry, also dated 1835, says that the house 'was built by William Ford Esquire in 1691, and an additional part was added by Lord Bristol in 1792’ adding that it was occupied in turn by ‘William Ford Esquire, William Ford Esquire Jr, Doctor Barnett (Doctor of Divinity), Miss Robinson, James Boyle Esquire and Hugh Swan, the present occupier.’ Jane Eccles (London 1996, p137), also mentions the date of 1691, stating Bannbrook 'or Bann Lodge' was once occupied by the Rev. Dr. Henry Bernard, rector of Maghera and son of William Bernard, former Bishop of Derry. Indeed, Eccles states that Bannbrook acquired the name ‘Barnard’s Lodge’ at one point. Apart from the question of the date, which as will be seen, cannot be proven through the documentary sources, much of the information from both of these sources appears to be largely correct, although the compilers of the Ordnance Memoirs are partly mistaken as to the names of the building’s past occupants.
The townland of Bannbrook Lower is situated within the parish of Dunboe. From the late 14th century onwards this parish belonged to the See of Derry, the position of Rector usually being filled by the Archdeacon of the Diocese. It remained as such until the early 1790s, when the fourth Earl of Bristol and erstwhile Bishop of Derry, Frederick Augustus Hervey, managed to secure it and the rest of the See lands in the area. After his death these were passed on to his relative, Sir Henry Hervey Aston Bruce, who inherited Downhill and all the Earl-Bishops Ulster estates.
The first person recorded as living at Bannbrook, 'Squire Ford' may been have the brother of the Rev. Roger Ford (born Drogheda .c.1657), who was Archdeacon of Derry and Rector of Dunboe from 1685/6 until his death in 1719. He rebuilt the church in 1691 and appears to have lived in the parish for at least part of this time, as his eldest son, also named Roger, was born there in 1703. His will stipulated that the lease of lands of Dunboe be sold and the proceeds divided between his nine children. Following his death, however, the family maintained an interest in the area; his younger brother William Ford refers to lands in the parish in his will of 1724, and, according to Canon Leslie, his 4th son, another William, 'settled at Dunboe' and is recorded as a churchwarden in 1732. The latter William is noted as ‘William Ford of Bannbrook’ in a genealogy of the family contained within the Groves Manuscripts. If the present house was indeed built in 1691, as both Eccles and the Memoirs state, then it is likely that the ‘Squire Ford’ referred to by McBlain and others, is William, the brother of Rev. Roger, and the ‘William Ford Esquire Jr.’, his nephew. Whether the parts of the present house were actually built in 1691 is another matter, but the evidence strongly suggests that the Fords had a residence in the area probably prior to 1732 and possibly before 1703. William Ford lived until at least 1738 (he was left a legacy of £50 worth of Classical books in the will of Richard Helsham MD of that year). The fate of both Ford and Bannbrook in the decades immediately following has not yet been established.
In 1761 Rev. Thomas Barnard, eldest son William Bernard, then Bishop of Derry, became Rector of Dunboe. According to the Parliamentary Returns of 1768, the parish did not possess a glebe house, so Thomas, like most previous incumbents, lived elsewhere, in his case Maghera. At some point, however, his brother, Rev. Dr. Henry Barnard, (Prebendary of Aghadowey, 1763-87 and Rector of Magherafelt from 1773), acquired the lease of Bannbrook. Henry -the ‘Dr Barnett’ referred to in the Memoirs- died in 1793 and Bannbrook passed to a William Henry Barnard [?his brother] and Miss or Mrs. Elizabeth Robertson, who appears to have been the sister or sister-in-law of his second wife, and who subsequently occupied the house.
By this stage, Bannbrook had become part of Bishop Hervey’s Downhill Estate, and a new lease was granted by the estate in May 1794. This lease was witnessed by Michael Shanahan, who as well as acting as the Bishop’s architect and planner, also fulfilled the role of an estate manager. It is very likely that Shanahan was responsible for the extensions to Bannbrook carried out around this time. The two-storey section to the north, with its rounded end (clearly the 'sexangular part' mentioned in the Memoirs) are quite typical of many structures on Hervey lands. Some of the interior detailing, most notably a Adamesque fireplace and plaster medallions are also clearly of this period. The various camber headed windows and the circular winbow in the wing can all be matched in the architecture of Downhill, notably in the buildings of the rere yard (1780s), while the ballroom at Bannbrook can be seen as a smaller version of the great picture gallery that the Earl-Bishop built in the west wing of Downhill (later the 'Winter Garden').
In 1805, Miss / Mrs. Robertson, (the ‘Miss Robinson’ in the Memoirs), sold the lease of Bannbrook to a James Boyle of Dungiven for £1,000. This action was forced upon her in order to help alleviate the financial problems of her nephew Andrew Francis Barnard, (the son of the Dr. Henry), a soldier who became involved in an expensive lawsuit in c.1803. Boyle, who added ‘3 fields of Little Bannbrook’ to the holding in 1813, remained at Bannbrook until some time before 1835, when it passed to a Hugh Swan. At some stage the Swans were apparently evicted by Sir Hervey Bruce Bart, the grandson of Sir Henry Hervey Bruce. In the valuation of August 1836, the building was rated at relatively respectable sum of £10, rising to £14-0-3 by the time of the second valuation of 1856. In the same valuation the occupier is listed as a James Craig and the dimensions of the house are noted as 47½ft x 29 x 20, with an ‘upper storey’ and a ‘lower storey’ (presumably of the northern annex) of 53 x 20 x 12 each, ‘returns’ of 12 x 9 x 22, 29 x 12 x 12 and 11 x 9 x 6, and two outbuildings, one measuring 82 x 21 x 14, the other, a thatched ‘shed’ of 55 x 15 x 6. The later valuations do not list any major changes to the house, however its rateable fell to £9 in 1862, falling again to £5 in 1886; it’s former status as a gentry residence obviously long past. The Craig family were still occupying the property at the time of the present survey (2007), the present occupant being the great great grandson of the James Craig mentioned in the 1856 valuation. The family carried out major repairs to the house in the 1920s, notably replacing the roof at that time. The roof of the late 18th century L-shaped extension collapsed in early 1940s and it was probably around this time that this wing was finally abandoned. In the 1950s the main house was unoccupied for five or six years. However, following its re-occupation the building was subject to a major refurbishment, including the addition of a canted bay to the rere. The house has been subject to various re-furbishments in the 1970s and 1980s.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI T/808 pp.8903-10 Groves MS Transcripts of the wills of Rev. Roger Ford (1718), William Ford (1724) and other Ford family notes
2 PRONI D/1514/1/6/1-144 Hervey / Bruce Papers Correspondence from Andrew Francis Barnard to his aunt, Mrs. Robertson, 1781-1805
3 PRONI D/1514/2/3/6/1 Lease for 21 years of the town and lands of Bannbrook, with a covenant for renewal, Sir Charles Davers Bt to Miss Elizabeth Robertson and William Henry Barnard…May 1794
4 PRONI D/1514/2/3/6/2 Lease…Sir Henry Hervey Aston Bruce to Miss Elizabeth Robertson, of part of the lands of Bannbrook…8 May 1805 [PRONI D/1514/2/3/6/3 is a copy of this lease.]
5 PRONI D/1514/2/3/6/4 Conveyance [of the lands of Bannbrook]…Mrs Elizabeth Robertson and Andrew Barnard, to James Boyle of Dungiven …1 November 1805
6 PRONI D/1514/2/3/6/6 Lease…Sir Henry Hervey Aston Bruce to James Boyle of Bannbrook… three fields of Little Bannbrook…1 October 1813
7 PRONI VAL/1A/5/3 OS map, Co. Londonderry sheet 3, with valuation
references, 1830
8 PRONI VAL/1B/55A-B First valuation, Dunboe parish, August 1830
9 ‘OS Memoirs Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of Co. Londonderry III, 1831-5’, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB, 1991), pp.46, 61 (1835)
10 PRONI VAL/2A/5/3 OS map, revised ed., Co. Londonderry sh.3, with valuation references, 1856
11 PRONI VAL/2B/5/5C Second valuation, Dunboe parish, 1856
12 PRONI VAL/12B/30/5A Annual valuation revision book, Bannbrook ED, 1862-64
13 PRONI VAL/12B/30/5B Annual valuation revision book, Bannbrook ED, 1865-80
14 PRONI VAL/12B/30/5C Annual valuation revision book, Bannbrook ED, 1881-88
15 PRONI VAL/12B/30/5D Annual valuation revision book, Bannbrook ED, 1889-98
16 PRONI VAL/12B/30/5E Annual valuation revision book, Bannbrook ED, 1899-1910
17 PRONI VAL/12B/30/5F Annual valuation revision book, Bannbrook ED, 1910-29
Secondary sources
1 Leslie, Rev. James B., ‘Derry Clergy and Parishes…’ (Enniskillen, 1937)
2 Eccles, Jane, ‘Downhill: A scrapbook of people and place’ (London, 1996)
3 Clergy of Derry and Raphoe’ eds. Rev. F.W. Fawcett and Rev. D.W.T. Crooks (Diocesan Council of Derry and Raphoe, and UHF, 1999)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This house, including gates and gate screen is an important component of the history of the Downhill estate and the Earl Bishop of Derry. While in poor condition, the wing of the house with its curved bow end and large ballroom and drawing room, is of great historical value. The house itself is of early 18th century date, but was remodelled and enlarged in the 1780s, almost certainly to the design of the Cork architect, Michel Shanahan, who served as architect and General Factotum for the Earl Bishop of Derry. As such it can be confidently added to the list of Shanahan designed buildings in Ulster. The association of the Bernard family, descendands of the William Bernard, one Bishop of Derry, gives the house added interest.