Moorlough Shooting Lodge, Napple Road, Dunamanagh, Co Tyrone BT82 0RL

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached two-bay two-storey stone former hunting lodge, built c.1850. Rectangular on plan, facing east, located on the west side of Napple Road with a large entrance porch and full-width lean-to extension to rear.
Pitched corrugated iron roof with cement skews, pair of symmetrically-placed brick chimneystacks and metal rainwater goods. Random coursed and snecked rubble stone walling with rough-hewn squared quoins. Square-headed window openings with stone lintels and sills and redbrick reveals.

Symmetrical two-bay two-storey front elevation with central large gable-fronted entrance porch having corrugated iron roof, round-arched opening formed in redbrick timber boarded floor and two concrete steps. Square-headed door opening within porch with timber door frame. Narrow window openings to the cheeks of porch with hood mouldings. Timber frames to all window openings, timber shutters to first floor; to ground floor window openings are blocked up half-way in concrete block with remnants of 3/3 timber sash windows.

South side gable is blank with an elliptical arch formed in redbrick to the ground floor, now blocked up in stone and a stone lintel to the first floor, now blocked up in stone.

Rear elevation abutted by lean-to with corrugated iron roof and three former window openings formed in redbrick, now blocked up in concrete block.

North side gable has a segmental-arched former opening to the first floor formed in redbrick, now blocked up in stone. To the ground floor is a three-sided canted bay constructed in stone, a ruined natural slate roof and a square-headed window opening to each side having concrete lintels, redbrick reveals and timber frames. Behind the bay is a further segmental arch formed in redbrick.
Facing east the house is accessed via a long curved lane opening onto Napple Road to the northeast.

Roof Corrugated iron
Walling Rubble stone
Windows Timber sash and casement
Rainwater goods Cast iron

Historical information

The building first appears on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1854 captioned ‘Moorlough Shooting Lodge’. ‘Moor Lough’ is shown a short distance away to the east.

Griffith’s Valuation initially lists the occupier as James Rouse, sportsman, who leases it from the Marquis of Abercorn. This is later deleted and the Marquis of Abercorn is the owner in fee. It is a house, offices and land (later amended to ‘sportsman’ house). The buildings are valued at £1.5s and later increased to £1.10s. The surrounding land is turbary (land over which the tenant has rights to cut turf) belonging to the Marquis of Abercorn. A marginal note reads that ‘the Marquis will pay all taxes as he wishes to preserve the game”. Dimensions are given for a house, porch, addition to the house and an office or outbuilding. By 1886 James Rouse leases the lodge from the Duke of Abercorn and he becomes the owner in fee in 1915 under land purchase legislation of the early twentieth century.

By 1934 William Rouse is the owner and the building is now described as a ‘house used as office’ and valued at 15s.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/6/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1854)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/6/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1905)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/6/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1952)
4. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/6 – Griffiths’ Valuation Map
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/43A – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/44/22A-F – Annual Revision Records (1860-1924)
7. PRONI VAL/3/D/7/10S/2 – First NI General Revaluation: Valuers’ RV Binder (1933-57)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Three-bay two-storey rubble stone house located on the west side of Napple Road. Now in a ruinous state this house has some unusual features for its size and location such as, a large entrance porch with oversized arch, a brick arch to either gable end and a three-sided canted bay. While the original use of this building is uncertain, it displays some quality masonry, a pleasant symmetrical composition in a remote rural setting. This picturesque shooting lodge in an unspoiled setting has lost its interior and whilst of some historical interest is not of sufficient interest to warrant listing.