Demesne House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Demesne House is a large, red brick, two and a half storey gentleman’s residence of 1910 in typically Edwardian ‘Free’ Tudor Style, designed by James Hanna. It is located on the north-eastern outskirts of Lurgan, to the south of Kilmore Road, within grounds (formerly belonging to the demesne of Brownlow House) which originally amounted to approximately 15 hectares, but which various sales over the last century have reduced to a small area immediately surrounding the building of less than half a hectare.

The entrance from Kilmore Road has a modern metal gate. The drive is largely tree-lined and leads to an expansive tarmac-covered forecourt directly in front of the house. To the west is of this is irregular-shaped area of lawn with another lawn to south of the house beyond which (and relatively close to the house itself) is the course belonging to Lurgan Golf Club. A narrow strip of lawn spans the rear (east) of the building. To the north lies a ‘formal’ garden with hedging etc. Further to the north, east and west, the garden remains untouched, although a section of stone walling to the north along Kilmore Road (part of the original demesne wall dating to the later 18th or early 19th century, has been demolished.

Facing roughly west, the house has an irregular plan form. Basically this consists of of a cube-like block with assorted -mainly full-height- gabled bays and other single-storey protrusions to all sides, with a large single-storey return to the east which contains a double garage and other store rooms. To the immediate south-east there is a relatively spacious yard which is enclosed to the southern side by a high brick wall with large openings.

The house is constructed almost wholly in finely pointed red brick with diaper work in darker brick to some of the gables, and cut-sandstone used for dressings to the entrance bay and some of the windows. The roof is relatively steeply pitched and has an overhang with plain bargeboards and exposed purlin and rafter ends, although one of the gables to the north diverges from this pattern, having a parapet with kneelers, stone coping and a ball finial. The roof itself is covered in green-hued Cumbrian slates and has several flat-roofed dormers and assorted lofty brick chimneystacks, some with conjoined octagonal stacks and others with square versions set in diamond formation. The rainwater goods are cast-iron and include rectangular hoppers with various embossed motifs (mainly Tudor roses), with the cypher ‘CW’ or ‘WC’ on the spout brackets, and decorative curling brackets supporting the guttering. The window openings are of various sizes -most of those to the garden fronts relatively large- but of uniform appearance, most having metal mullion and transom frames with leaded panes, sandstone lintels and slim unobtrusive sills (some of which are painted).

The front elevation is asymmetrical with the left hand bay recessed and an uneven gable to the centre. Set marginally off-centre is a broad single-storey porch projection, with bevelled ends, ‘castellated’ parapet and sandstone quoins. The entrance itself is centrally positioned within this, set in a shallow gabled bay and consisting of a panelled and studded timber Tudor door surrounded by a moulded sandstone reveal with spandrel panels and drip stone over. Over this, to the apex of the gable, there is a square panel which looks as though it was designed for an armorial- although there is no apparent evidence of one having been there. The entrance bay is flanked by continuous windows which span the rest of the porch.

The north elevation of the main block has a projecting gable to the centre and a broader gable to right which projects even further. Set to right within the former is a side entrance whilst the latter has a single-storey hipped-roof bay window with a sandstone mullions and transom and pointed-arch upper lights. To left (east) this elevation merges with the garage / store return. The garage -which has been extended northwards in flat-roofed fashion at some point- has a frontage made up of a large set of folding timber and glazed doors.

A large pair of symmetrical gables, with attic level windows, make up the left half of the south elevation. To right of this the facade is recessed, topped with a hipped roof and composed of brick of a slightly different hue than the rest of the building which is not wholly tied-in with neighbouring brickwork. All of this suggests that this portion is a later extension, a notion supported by the thickness of the internal walls as well as the documentary sources; however in terms of external detailing this ‘addition’ blends successfully with the whole, having, for instance, a canted bay similar (but not identical) to that on the north side of the building. The remainder of the south elevation is set back within the yard and consists of part of the main block of the building as well as the rear side of the garage / stores (which contains a side entrance). The former is topped with a large flat-roofed dormer, whilst the latter, which has a plain appearance, has been extended to this side by means of a flat-roofed section.

The rear (eastern) elevation is made up of the hipped roof ‘addition’ to the left, and a large gable - with attic level windows- to right, as well as the end of the garage / stores, which is partly gabled partly flat-roofed. To the eastern side of this elevation there is a basement level doorway which leads into the boiler house

Outbuildings etc.
A few metres north of the garage is a small freestanding single-storey building in similar style as the house, having brick (American bond) walls and a slated overhanging pyramidal roof with decorative finials, and decorative brackets to the guttering as those to the house. The building has a symmetrical east and west sides with two windows flanking a doorway to each. The original function of this building is uncertain.

To the north of the house, situated between the ‘formal’ garden, former tennis courts and the rear drive is what appears to have been a large productive garden. To the mid-point of the north side of this is a single-storey building which may have been a shed. This has brick walls and a hipped roof, originally covered in red asbestos tiles, but now partly destroyed due to a recent fire. To the front (south) there is a central gable within which is an elliptical-headed arch which leads through the structure. To the right of the arch is a wide window opening with timber mullioned frame, now largely covered up. There is a similar window to the western face of the building.

Set parallel to each other to the immediate east of the present entrance close to the road side are two one and a half-storey outbuildings. These were originally linked to the north side by a longer but lower lean-to wing which backed directly on to the pavement, but this has recently been demolished. The remaining buildings are of similar size and construction with brick walls and part hipped part gabled roofs covered in asbestos tiles. That to the west has a relatively large timber ventilation ‘cupola’ with lead-covered roof, whilst that to the east has a tall chimneystack to its north end. All of the openings to both structures have been covered over, however the western building appears to have a large vehicle entrance as well as a pedestrian doorway to its inner (eastern) side, with several pedestrian doorways to the ‘inner’ face of its neighbour. The latter also has some small window openings to the east side. Loft doorways to gables of both buildings.

The original gate screen at the head of what was the main drive along Antrim Road is still in place. This has been inserted in the original demesne wall and has sweeping quadrant walls with square gate and outer piers. These are all constructed in squared dark stone (?basalt) with dressed limestone courses, bases and caps to the gate piers; the coping and base course of the walls are in similar stone. The outer piers have lost there caps and the gates themselves have been removed. The original site road boundaries are enclosed with a prominent c.2M high rubble basalt wall, part of which on the Kilmore Road, was recently demolished.

Historical information

Demesne House (also known as ‘The Demesne’ and ‘The Demesne House’) first appears in the valuer’s notebook in 1911, indicating that building work was either completed within that year or, at most, that immediately preceding. It was built by Thomas B. Johnston, a linen merchant and partner in the weaving firm of Johnston Allen & Co., who according to Kathleen Rankin, wanted a sizeable dwelling in order to accommodate visiting trade representatives as ‘no hotel was available in Lurgan’. The Dictionary of Irish Architect attributes the design to James Hanna.

The house is described in the 1911 entry in the valuer’s notebook as built of ‘first class materials’ and workmanship and design’, and containing ‘3 reception [rooms], 9 bed[rooms], 2 baths. Principal rooms on ground and first floors have oak floors, wainscoting of halls and stairs of similar materials [and] hot water radiators throughout.’ The valuer also states that the cost of construction to have ‘amounted to about £3,000’ exclusive of the ‘private installation for electric light’. An accompanying plan of the building shows it much as today, but without the hipped roof section to the south-east, and with a smaller garage. Unfortunately subsequent valuations are not entirely clear on when the former was added, but judging from its design it may have been within a decade after the initial building work. The rise in the valuation itself from £80 to £85 in 1915 could indicate that it was built in or just before this date. The garage was extended somewhat later, possibly the 1970s.

Internal changes were made to the property c.1960s-70s (the date is not clear -the present owner believes they are of the latter decade), when the additional rear staircases were added. This is thought to have been part of a scheme to subdivide the property to serve the needs of various members of the Johnston family.

The last member of the family to occupy the house was T. Carter Johnston, the son of the first owner, who remained there until his death in 2005. In 2011 the house was sold to the present owner. It is currently (August 2011) for sale once again.

The valuers 1911 survey states that the property then possessed ‘about 37 acres’ (15 hectares). This may have been reduced in 1923 when land to the south of the house held by Thomas Johnston was acquired by Lurgan Golf Club for a new nine-hole course. The course was extended to 18 holes in 1970, bringing it to within a few metres of the south side of the building. By this stage ground to the west had also been sold off to make way for a separate property, ‘Forest Glade’ (built c.1960- ?and since rebuilt).

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/14/10A-C Annual valuation revision books, Lurgan Rural ED, 1894-1929
2 PRONI VAL12A/2/29 Valuers’ office notebook, Lurgan Rural District, 1909-18
3 PRONI OS6/2/6/5 OS map Co. Armagh sheet 6, 1935
4 PRONI VAL12F/2/5/4 Annual valuation revision book, Lurgan Rural ED, 1930-35
5 PRONI VAL3B/2/6 Annual valuation revision book, Lurgan Rural ED, 1935
6 PRONI VAL3C/2/10 Annual valuation revision book, Lurgan Rural ED, 1936-57
7 PRONI VAL4B/2/12 Annual valuation revision book, Lurgan Rural ED, 1956-72

Secondary sources
1 Rankin, Kathleen, Linen Houses of the Bann Valley, (Belfast, 2007), pp.
2 Dictionary of Irish Architects website - James Hanna - Works

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Demesne House is a fine example of an Edwardian gentleman’s villa, designed by James Hanna, a prominent architect, which remains largely intact both externally and internally. The building's interior contains much original high quality finishes and detailing and the survival of most of the contemporary outbuildings is also significant. The importance of the house is further enhanced by its mature setting which was originally part of the Brownlow House demesne.