Dispensary House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A 2-storey 5-bay gabled house with a small single-storey gabled block to the north side. Main entrance faces east.

MAIN HOUSE –
East elevation: roof slated, oversailing gable walls; two chimneys, one to each gable, in rustic brick with red pots. Moulded cast gutters. Wall smooth cement rendered, and painted, with raised quoins to extremities; projecting plinth and platband. Timber eaves board. Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 2 over 2, with horns, set in moulded surrounds; projecting stone cills, painted. Central entrance comprises a rectangular timber glazed and panelled door surmounted by a semi-circular fanlight, recessed in a moulded semi-circular arched surround, with keystone, set between ornamented plaster brackets carrying a moulded cornice. Stone doorstep. Extending to the left-hand side is a screen wall, smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with stone coping. Extending to the right is a single storey block, the former dispensary, described separately below.

South elevation is a blind gable, smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with painted quoins to right-hand extremity. Oversailing timber barge boards with tongued and grooved sheeted soffits. PVC downpipe.

Rear or west elevation: 2 storeys on a part basement to the right. Roof slated as previous; pvc rainwater goods; wall smooth rendered, lined and blocked. One window to right of rear return, at first floor, rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 6 over 6, without horns, set in plain reveals. Ground floor contains a pair of French windows, modern rectangular timber, small paned, with small paned fanlight; opens onto a small terrace projecting from rear wall supported on rear steps, a brick nib wall, and iron girders.
At basement level is a timber boarded door. Rear elevation to left of rear return contains one window to first floor, as previous.
Rear return is 2-storey, rendered as to rear of main block: pvc rainwater goods; windows sashed 6 over 6, both with and without horns. Modern window to north side, small paned fixed light and top-hung vents. Two modern windows to south side also fixed lights with top-hung vents. Modern glazed timber doors to south side. Tongued and grooved sheeted door to gable, at basement level. Lean-to porch to north side, containing a modern panelled door within a timber sheeted and corrugated iron roofed open porch.

SINGLE STOREY 'DISPENSARY' BLOCK –
East wall smooth rendered, lined and blocked; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; timber eaves board and barge boards. Three windows, rectangular timber sliding sash 6 over 6, with and without horns. Projecting cills, two of concrete, one of stone. Extending to the right is a 1-bay block with parapet wall, containing a timber panelled door.

Rear elevation comprises a gabled original block, slated as previous, with smooth rendered walls, lined and blocked, and a later red brick lean-to block with a basement. Sashed window and pvc rainwater goods to original block; red brick block has rectangular timber fixed lights and metal top-hung vent; sashed window and tongued and grooved sheeted door to basement.

SETTING: The building stands facing the main street of the town, overlooking the pavement. On the pavement, in line with each main gable are two octagonal stone posts. Extending to the north of the single storey block is a gateway comprising square piers, smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with tooled stone capstones; modern timber boarded doors. Gateway leads to a rear yard with gravelled surface. Concrete brick paving skirts the rear of the buildings, with a sloping grassed area beyond.
To the north of the gateway is an old gabled building used as a garage. There are other freestanding gabled outbuildings of no special interest. Projecting from the gable of the rear return is a single storey gabled shed of no special interest.

Historical information

Precise date of building not recorded. A building is shown on the site on the OS map of 1834 but the present building appears to be a later refacing or remodelling or almost complete rebuilding. Marked on the OS map of 1908 as a 'Dispensary', although that function appears to have been attached to the site from at least the early 19th century as recorded in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs in the 1830s: "The dispensary, situated at the north end of the town of Loughgall, is a plain stone dwelling house, not built for the purpose of a dispensary. It is rented for its present purpose at 12 pounds per annum". On the basis of its stylistic appearance the present building appears to date from the mid-19th century.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1834, Co Armagh 8.
2. OS Map 1860, Co Armagh 8.
3. OS Map 1908, Co Armagh 8.

Secondary Sources
1. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol I: Parishes of County Armagh, 1835-8 (Belfast, 1990), p 76.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

This is a building of probably mid-19th century date which retains original features and is of local interest as having been the dispensary for the village.