Stableyard

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A U-plan stableyard set to N of Knockballymore House (HB12/01/001A) and set flush with its right gable.

Stableyard is entered by a pair of semicircular-headed t+g doors to E elevation leading to a barrel-vaulted brick ceiling. Yard is gravel with cobbled path running its length from the coach house.

All three blocks are two-storey and similarly detailed. Hipped natural slate roofs with over-hanging eaves and skylights to rear pitch of coach house. Half-round cast-iron rainwater goods. Walls are rubble stone with brick dressings. All doors are t+g sheeted with sandstone keyblock surrounds and semicircular-headed brick arch over. All windows are 6/6 sliding sashes with stepped brick reveals and stone cills.

The entrance block is aligned N-S and is four-bay. The right bay is slightly higher with chimney to left gable – exposed section is blank. Its right gable is completely abutted by the return of the house. To extreme left-end of block is semicircular-headed arch opening; to its right is a door opening with window opening aligned above. Bay 2 has a window opening to left with a door opening to its right. Bay 3 has a door to left and a window to its right; above to first floor centre is a window opening. Right bay has a door set to right – to its left each floor has two windows.

The coach house, aligned E-W is three-bay with a central projecting gable with dressed and stepped stone quoins, brick eaves course and surmounted by a harled bellcote with bell. To ground floor of gabled bay is a semicircular-headed opening containing a pair of doors. Above is a sash window with cambered head. Left bay has a door set to right; to its left are two windows - aligned above to first floor right is a window (diminished in height). Right bay is similarly detailed but is one window wide.

Stableblock aligned N-S enclosing the yard is five windows wide to first floor. Ground floor has three t+g sheeted doors and the remaining openings are windows.

The rear elevations are blank.

Historical information

Knockballymore was erected by the Earl of Erne for his agent about 1740. Many of the outbuldings are shown on the 1834 OS 6” map. However, the extensive use of brick trim around window and door openings suggests that much of this complex dates from the mid 1800s.

Primary sources:
1. OS maps, 1st edition, 1834, Co Fermanagh 40.

Secondary sources:
1. A. Rowan, ‘North West Ulster’ (Harmondsworth 1979), p.338.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A well proportioned U-plan stableyard set to N of Knockballymore House (HB12/01/001A) constructed in rubblestone with fine brick and sandstone dressings. Many original horse-boxes remain in-situ.

General comments

This record was previously numbered HB12/01/003.