Red House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

First Survey Description July 1971
A two storey three bay façade with two storeys and basement at sides and rear together with a small two storey later projection at rear. The walls are roughcast and the hipped roof is slated. Side elevation to river, four bays wide, retains glazing bars in D/H windows. The opposite side has some casement windows. The façade has a central nine pane window on upper flooor flanked by casements. The entrance in an eliptical arched opening with radial fanlight is flanked either side by a twelve pane D/H window.

Second Survey description
A former detached, two-storey-with-basement roughcast three-bay house with a hipped and slated roof, now completely demolished.

Setting
A vacant overgrown plot located in a mature
setting on the southern bank of the River Bann to the south-east of Coleraine, a short distance from the village of Ballyness. The entrance gates remain along Castleroe Road having rendered brick walls and square piers supporting decorative iron gates. In conjunction with an overgrown bridge which spans a small river and two ruinous buildings to each side, there remains no evidence of the former house itself. The area is bounded by mature trees and the adjacent timber works which was located a short distance to the south-east, has been recently demolished.

Roof: None
Walling: None
Windows: None
RWG: None

Historical information

The first survey description describes Red House as ‘A two-storey, three bay façade with two storeys and basement at sides and rear together with a two-storey later projection at rear. The walls are roughcast and the hipped roof is slated. Side elevation to river, four bays wide, retains glazing bars with D/H windows. The opposite side has some casement windows. The façade has a central nine-pane opening (unintelligble) on upper floor flanked by casements. The entrance is an elliptical-arched opening with radial fanlight is flanked either side by a twelve pane D/H windows.’

First shown captioned ‘Bann View’ on the second edition OS map (1849-50), the house was set within formal gardens and located a short distance to the west of Castleroe House. As illustrated by the first edition OS map (1830), the building replaced two earlier structures, previously on site. Valued at £10 in Griffith’s Valuation (1856), Bann View House was listed under the ownership of Thomas Bennett Esq and after a period of laying vacant following construction, it was first occupied by Charles Frazer in 1856. By the General Revisions (1860-63) the house and out-offices had increased to a value of £14 5s, a figure which did not significantly change.

According to the contemporary OS Memoir (1835) the house was constructed to the designs of Matthew Colwell in 1834, for Stephen Bennett Esq of Greenfield. Described as being square on plan, two-storeys high and constructed of dark stone with an ‘umbrella’ roof, the building was noted for its setting near to the picturesque ‘Cutts’ waterfall. At this time (1835) the house was stated as being unoccupied, with little works having yet been carried out to the immediate surroundings.

There were various occupants in the following decades with the house remaining under ownership of the Bennett family until the early 20th century. As illustrated by the General Revisions (1889-98), the name was changed from ‘Bann View’ to ‘Red House’ in 1896 when the Rev. Edmund Bennett became both the owner and resident of the property. The building was first captioned ‘Red House’ on the first edition OS map (1904; 25-Inch).

Contemporary maps show there was little change to the out-line of the building from its construction apart from an extension to the rear. During the late 20th century the house became vacant and falling into a deteriorated state, the building was demolished c1988 (HB File).

In March 1988, HBC were consulted on the demolition of this building and advised that this was justifiable as it was in very poor condition and unlikely to be lived in again due to the close proximity of an industrial plant.

References

1. PRONI OS/6/1/11/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map (1830)
2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (1849-50)
3. PRONI OS/10/5/7/11/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey 25-Inch map (1904)
4. PRONI OS/6/5/7/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1923)
5. PRONI OS/6/5/7/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1949)
6. PRONI OS/11/21/1/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey 25-Inch Irish Grid map (1967-8)
7. PRONI VAL/1/B/59 – Townland Valuations (1830s)
8. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/9B – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/20A- General Revisions (1860-63)
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/20B- General Revisions (1864-79)
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/20C- General Revisions (1880-88)
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/20D- General Revisions (1889-98)
13. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/20E- General Revisions (1899-1910)
14. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/20F- General Revisions (1911-29)
15. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/2 – First General Revaluations (1935)
16. HB File (HB03/14/002)

Secondary Sources

1. Day, Angélique and McWilliams, Patrick (eds) ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs; The Parishes of Co. Londonderry [Vol. 22] VI 1831, 1833, 1835-6, North-East Londonderry’ Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast [1993]
2. Mullin, Rev. T.H. ‘Coleraine in Georgian Times’ Century Services Ltd. Belfast (1977)
3. Rowan, Alistair ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ Yale University Press, London (1979)
4. Curl, James. S. ‘The Londonderry Plantation 1609-1914’ Phillimore & Co, Chichester (1986)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

The original two-storey three-bay detached house c.1834, has been completely demolished c1988. No trace of the building remains and the site is currently vacant and overgrown.