15 and 17 Ballyneill Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey five-bay former inter-war Police Station, now a house, finished in roughcast render with a hipped slated roof in a Neo-Georgian style.

It stands within the village of Ballyronan, facing the public road but set back slightly from it within its own grounds.

The main entance faces south.
The south elevation is symmetrical, with three windows to the first floor, centrally grouped, and three to the ground floor but alternated with two doorways. The central three openings on the ground floor are set in semi-circular arched recesses within a breakfront.

Windows are rectangular timber vertically hung sliding sashes, with horns, 6 over 6 to the first floor and 6 over 9 to the ground floor. Doors are rectangular timber six-panelled. Walling is of roughcast render with projecting smooth rendered plinth and moulded stringcourse which forms a cill to the first floor. The two doors represented separate entrances to the police station and the police house but now only one appears to be in use, the one to the right providing the entry to the house, the one to the left presumably being permanently closed.

The roof is of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with projecting eaves which have tongued and grooved timber sheeting to the flat soffits. There are three chimneys, one in the centre on the main ridge, the other two rising from each end gable, all of roughcast render with smooth rendered cornice.
Rainwater goods are of cast iron, comprising a moulded gutter, with plain hopper heads and circular downpipes on the two side elevations.

The west elevation is of similar character and materials to the entrance front, but the hipped roof is broken by a tall and prominent chimney with shaped gable rising from the wall. There is one window to the first floor and three to the ground floor, of similar type to the front, the northernmost one having a portion of blind walling between the lower sash and the cill, to the depth of one pane.

The rear or north elevation is of similar character, materials, and detailing to the entrance front, but the arrangement of openings is not symmetrical. There are both 9 over 9 and 4 over 4 windows to the first floor which is five windows wide, and to the ground floor which is six bays wide. The ground floor has two doors, rectangular timber sheeted with glazed panels of small panes, one of them set in a glazed surround. Downpipes are upvc.

Projecting from the western extremity is a small single storey enclosure flat roofed with corrugated sheeting to one side. Attached to the rear wall is a pump mounted on a timber post, with a cow-tail handle.

The east elevation is similar to the west except the ground floor windows are both 6 over 9.

SETTING:
The house stands in a garden which has lawns on all four sides, with a tarmac path across the front and along the sides, and a concrete flagged patio to the rear, with a boundary wall and gates to the front. This consists of a low wall of roughcast render and smooth rendered coping, with a square pier of similar materials to the western extremity and two sets of similar gate piers, one pedestrian and one vehicular. The pedestrian gate contains an original wought iron gate of simple design. The vehicular gateway contains a pair of later plain ironwork gates of shorter height and different design from the originals.
Within the garden stands a single storey corrugated iron shed of no special architectural quality.
On the adjoining site to the east stands a small single storey slated, gabled, and rendered repeater station of standard design dating also from the inter-war years. It contains an off-centre rectangular door in the road-front gable. To the rear of it stands a later red brick gabled and tiled associated building of larger size. This plot is bounded by tall iron-post steel mesh fencing topped by barbed wire.

Historical information

This building is first recorded in the annual valuation revision book in 1923 as a ‘Constabulary Barracks and yard’ with an Annie Wallace the immediate lessor, and the buildings valued at £15. As such, the building appears to have been one of the earliest stations built by the newly-formed Northern Ireland Government, for the new Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

Designed by Ministry of Finance principal designer T.F.O. Rippingham in the Neo-Georgian style which was to characterise 1920s and 30s RUC stations, the building remained in use as a station until 1939, when it was acquired by a Joseph Brown. It is recorded by the valuers as a ‘house’ in the same year, but later altered to ‘house and offices’. David Brown is recorded as the owner from 1955, and the following year he was leasing the building to a Robert V. Boal. Mr. Boal remained as tenant up until at least 1972.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/12B/34/4E Annual valuation revision book, Ballyronan ED, 1915-29
2 PRONI VAL/3C/6/16 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Magherafelt RD, 1936-57
3 PRONI VAL/4B/5/28 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Magherafelt RD, 1956-72

Secondary sources
1 Dixon, Hugh, ‘An introduction to Ulster architecture’, (Belfast, 1975), p.80

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

This is a very good example of an inter-war police station in neo-Georgian style, originally built to a standard type to the designs of the government architects, R.I. Smith and T.F.O. Rippingham, but now converted to a private residence. Despite the change of function it appears to be virtually unaltered externally with all essential elements intact, thus retaining its original architectural appearance and character. The police stations of this period in Northern Ireland were widely admired for their architectural styling which was of a restrained neo-Georgian type in simple materials which fitted well into rural localities throughout the country. This is one which enjoys a very pleasant garden setting which enhances the building's air of quiet distinction. As a largely unspoiled example of work by the country's leading official architects, and as one of a series of similar works, some almost identical, in other parts of Northern Ireland, it is clearly of great interest.