Lodge at Hillmount

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single-storey three-bay gate lodge with roughly rendered and whitewashed walls and hipped roof with wide eaves overhang.

Main entrance faces south-east. Entrance front comprises a central semi-circular entrance recess fronted by a recessed timber lintel and central keystone, painted blue, flanked by a rectangular window either side. Windows vertically hung timber sliding sash, 6 over 6; stone cills. Panelled door is set off-centre in recess.

Roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with a tall centrally placed red brick chimney; two pots in buff earthenware. PVC gutter but part of it missing; returns of gutter and gutter to rear include sections in tin and asbestos, all inappropriate; two asbestos downpipes to rear.

Extending to left-hand side of entrance front, and set back, is yard wall, rendered and painted white, with flat sandstone coping mounted with chisel-capped sandstone crenellations; rectangular doorway in yard wall.

Side and rear elevations of lodge are of plain character, with one window in side wall to right-hand side; similar character to front windows.

SETTING: The building stands in a rural area, in a secluded
setting surrounded by trees, together with a gateway, close to the main road and facing onto the driveway leading to the main house (HB06/03/022). The gateway consists of two circular iron posts with ball finials, on which are mounted a pair of plain iron gates. There is a small pedestrian gate to the left-hand side, and rubble screen walls roughly plastered and whitewashed extend in a curve to each side of the gates: crudely re-rendered in part.

Historical information

Built as the gate lodge to Hillmount (Ref no. HB06/03/022). It appears on the first OS map of 1833 and may be dated to c. 1800.

References - Primary

1. OS Map 1833, Co Antrim 35.

Secondary

1. J.A.K. Dean, The Gate Lodges of Ulster (UAHS, Belfast, 1994), p 17.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A late Georgian gate lodge of much charm which retains most of its original features including its unusual porch arrangement.