Packolet House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey / two bay early 19th century gentleman's house with large two and a half storey return, in mature grounds to NW side of the Ballyardle Road/Corcreaghan Road crossroads.

1. Main block
Main block has a hipped natural slate roof with flat top and two painted rendered chimneys running parallel with garden front (each has three octagonal 19th century chimney pots.) A third chimney rises from left cheek (parallel to facade and with one pot). Projecting eaves course supports scrolled wrought iron brackets which hold semicircular cast iron guttering. Walls are painted wet dashed render.

Principal façade faces SW and overlooks the garden. This wall has two recessed panels rising full height, each with a semi elliptical head (that to left wider than the right.) At ground floor each panel is filled by a one-storey bow window. Each has a flat concrete roof, a curved dressed granite plinth, and full height timber windows which are four panes wide by three panes high. Each pane is curved glass and the top ones open. The panes are separated by thin timber glazing bars and the middle pair were formerly French windows (now fixed closed). Single window at first floor of each recessed bay is a 1/1 sliding sash with horns and vertical margins on a painted granite cill which fills the whole of the width of each recessed panel.

NW (left) elevation has two recessed wall panels (detailed as before) with that to right slightly wider. The main wall is blank and so too is the right panel. The left panel contains a one storey canted bay window. This is constructed as a painted timber frame and has a shallow hipped natural slate roof. At front is a pair of full height French windows with transoms over and each cheek has a fixed two paned window with transom over. Boxed eaves with semicircular metal gutters. Centred at first floor is an 8/8 sliding sash window without horns and a painted granite cill. Advancing from the left corner of this elevation is the SE elevation of the rear return (see later).

NE (rear) elevation of main house advances forward to centre and right under a catslide roof. Left wall is abutted at ground floor by a small extension and is dashed and blank above. The catslide has a natural slate roof continuing from main roof, with a modern skylight.

Walls are dashed as main block; its left cheek is abutted at ground floor by the single storey extension and above are two small 2/2 sliding sashes. Its front wall has four openings at ground floor. From left, two small 3/6 top hung modern windows; third opening is a modern glazed and panelled door (two raised and fielded panels below nine fixed panes); fourth opening, to extreme right, is as the first two.

At first floor, over the second window from left, is a large 8/8 sliding sash window without horns; it has a painted granite cill. To its right, on wall between door and right window below, is a smaller 6/6 sliding sash (exposed box, without horns and painted granite cill.) Its right elevation abuts the two and a half storey return (see later).

The small extension at left has a shallow natural slate monopitch roof with modern skylight and semicircular plastic rainwater goods. It is concealed from the SE by a dashed concave screen wall. Its front wall is dashed with a sheeted door to left and a two paned modern fixed window to right. It advances slightly beyond the cat-slide to right, its right cheek being blank.

Right elevation faces SE and contains the main entrance door. Wall has two recessed panels rising full height. Each has a semi elliptical head, that to right is wider than that to left and detailed as those to the principal facade. The main wall framing these is blank with the exception of a small circular four paned metal framed window to ground floor right. The whole of the ground floor is abutted by a glazed porch (see later). The recessed left wall panel has no openings and the right one has an opening on each floor.

At ground floor, set to left inside this panel, is the front door. Four panelled painted timber, top two glazed and bottom two panelled and bolection moulded. To left and right are four paned sidelights with masonry aprons. Framing either side of the sidelights the timber jambs are fluted and rise from small granite plinth blocks. The jambs support the timber lintel over the door which has a fine astragal and is advanced over each jamb. Over is a semi-elliptical headed fanlight with radial glazing bars. At first floor, set to left, is a 2/2 sliding sash without horns and a painted granite cill, flanked by narrow 1/1 sashes forming a tripartite opening.

The lean-to porch is timber, ten bays wide and two deep and seems to be c.1900. It has a hipped lean-to glazed roof. Its fenestration rests on a painted wet dashed wall 0.8m high . Each bay has two vertical lights with transoms over; the seventh contains a partially glazed door with transom. Some of these windows open. Each of its two side bays is identical, with windows as facade. Internally it has a modern ceramic tiled floor and it houses a very mature South American creeper.

2. Return
Rear return is two and half storeys and is aligned NW-SE. It has a hipped natural slate roof with a rendered two pot chimney with a gabled base rising from wallhead at either end of roof and a broad four pot rendered chimney to centre of ridge. Rainwater goods and walls as main block.

Its SE (end) elevation abuts the catslide to rear of main block. It is dashed and blank except for a dormer which rises from the cat-slide roof and abuts the gable to top floor level. It has a hipped natural slate roof and a modern 6/6 casement window.

Principal façade faces SW to garden. All windows are sliding sashes and have painted granite cills. To extreme left at ground floor is a 6/6 window with horns, and to right of centre is an 8/8 window with horns. At first floor are three irregularly spaced windows without horns. Breaking wallhead at left is timber dormer with pitched natural slate roof and blank cheeks, fretted timber bargeboards, timber finial and a pair of two paned casement windows.

Its NW (end) elevation has, at ground floor left, a 6/6 sliding sash window with horns. To first floor, left of centre, is a narrow casement window with semicircular transom over.

The NE (rear) elevation is dashed and painted and abutted to right by a low single storey return (see later). All windows have painted granite cills. On remaining wall at ground floor left is a small 6/6 top-hung casement window and to centre is a similar much larger window. To first floor left is a 6/6 sliding sash with no horns and to centre (set to right of ground floor centre window) is a canted oriel window. It has a flat leaded roof, a dashed base (on a concrete bracket) and a pair of casements with transoms on its front and a single casement and transom on each cheek. Concrete cill shared by all windows. At attic level, at left and right, are single window openings with heads just below eaves; left one is a nine paned centrally pivoted window and that to right is a pair of timber casements. To centre, over oriel, is a dormer which breaks the wallhead. It has a pitched natural slate roof with fretted timber bargeboards and finial; its apex is sheeted and its cheeks are blank. It contains a pair of two paned timber casement windows.

Return abutting ground floor right of this elevation has a hipped natural slate roof with skylight, half round metal bracketed gutters and painted wet dashed walls. Left cheek has a modern door and two windows (both 3/6 top-hung). Its right cheek has a modern glazed and sheeted door. The gable end has a pair of four paned casements to right and is abutted to left by a single storey outhouse. This has a monopitched natural slate roof and semicircular cast iron gutters on wrought brackets. Walls are painted wet dashed. There is a door where it meets the extension and a modern casement window on its right cheek (into walled garden).

Right cheek of main return is abutted by a 1½ storey lean-to (see above) and at second floor left by a hipped stairwell with dormer light. This has a 6/6 fixed window to SE face.

Setting

Front gates to Corcreaghan Road are contained within a concave screen wall. Wall and piers are whitewashed and wet dashed. These are terminated to either side by plain piers with pyramidal caps and painted wheel stones. The gate is hung on slender octagonal cast iron posts with overhanging caps. Gate is horizontal in design with vertical dogbars, curving braces and decorative scrolls to top. From here the drive leads to the SE elevation and continues to rear along NE elevation of return.

To south and west of the house is a mature, heavily planted garden with exotic trees, perimeter walk and a terraced lawn to principal facade of house. Terrace to front of house has two short flights of granite steps to the lawn. Lawn contains a small octagonal timber garden house with a felted swept pyramidal roof, horizontal sheeted timber walls, two pairs of two paned casement windows and a pair of glazed and panelled doors. To centre of lawn is a sundial. It comprises an inscribed slate inset into a dressed granite table supported on a square granite column. It has a scrolled bronze gnomon and is inscribed “1792, By Lee, Lat. 54” .

Garden to front (SW) of return is enclosed by a mature yew hedge and to NE is the remains of a walled garden with brick walls and two glass houses and a water tower abutting to the north. The latter has remains of the metal trestle of an annular wind pump.

In SE corner of the site is a farmyard which is enclosed by the dashed boundary wall to Corcreaghan Road/Ballyardle Road. This wall corner is canted to the Corcreaghan Road and has a niche with semi-elliptical head containing a drinking trough (non-functioning). The yard is entered from the north through a pair of framed and sheeted timber gates hung on plain piers with pyramidal caps; a gateway to south has been blocked up. In wall to its right is a sheeted pedestrian door. Yard contains a one-piece roughly dressed granite water trough.

On west side of yard is a two storey outbuilding with a single storey return and on NE side is a small 1½ storey outbuilding. Two storey block is aligned W-E and has a pitched natural slate roof with brick verges and a circular metal ridge vent. Walls are wet dashed over stone. Its north wall is abutted to right by the return and has two half doors to ground floor, a loading door to first floor right and a nine paned centrally pivoted casement window to first floor left.

Return to front right is 1½ storeys with a pitched asbestos slate roof, with dashed chimney on ridge and three cast iron skylights on left pitch. Rainwater goods are a combination of metal and plastic. Walls are dashed. Its right elevation is blank. Its gable has a modern up and over garage door. Its left elevation is dashed, with the following from L-R: six paned fixed window, sheeted door, nine paned window, half door, nine paned window. (All ground floor windows centrally pivoted) Wall advances slightly, sheeted door, linear three paned window. At extreme left on upper floor is a two paned centrally pivoted window.

At apex on gable on main block is a one paned fixed window. Left (east) gable of two storey outbuilding is abutted by a dashed brick lean-to garage with monopitch asbestos slate roof, two skylights and half round plastic rainwater goods. A pair of sheeted doors on right cheek. A two light window on left cheek.

South elevation of main block is abutted by a flight of external stone stairs which rise from R-L to a pair of sheeted doors at first floor. At ground floor left are three modern windows, each two fixed panes with a top hung transom. To right of stairs is a similar window and a sheeted door. At first floor left is a sheeted loading door.

Single storey outbuilding in NE corner is L-plan. It has a natural slate roof, dashed walls, nine and six paned windows, and sheeted doors.

Historical information

Said to have been built by Alexander Chesney who retired here in 1822. It is named after the Packolet River in South Carolina USA, where his grandfather had settled in 1770s. He was customs officer in the locality from 1785, and was based for most of the time at Prospect Cottage, Annalong (HB16/02/024). He died here in 1843, aged 88.

His son, General Francis Rawdon, won fame as the surveyor of the Suez Canal. He died at Packolet in 1872. He is buried in the churchyard of Christ Church (C of I) in Kilkeel (HB16/03/007A). His memorial cross is HB16/03/007C; he is also remembered by an elaborate brass plaque inside the church (HB16/03/007A). The Chesney family is of local renown and a copy of Alexander’s diary has been published.

The 1834 OS 6” map shows a square house with a small return in the middle of its NE elevation. The 1834 valuation gives its dimensions as follows: house- 34 x 34 x 21.5ft, return- 15 x 12.5 x 7ft. These correspond with the main two storey block that stands today and part of the abutting two storey rear section. The dimensions in 1863 are given as (converted to feet): house- 33 x 35.5ft x 2 storeys, return- 12 x 23.5ft x 2 storeys, return 42 x 15ft x 2 storeys, return 15 x 10.5ft x 1 storey. The 42 x 15ft return corresponds with today’s 2.5 storey return at the NE corner of the main block. The original rear return appears to have been enlarged to its present form which has the 12 x 23.5ft plan form. These additions must have taken place sometime between 1834 and 1863.

The Chesneys appear to have vacated Packolet around 1875, shortly after the death of Francis.

The skin of a small crocodile, which is said to have been killed by General Chesney, still hangs in Packolet. Photographs of the house (date unknown) show it as it is today with the exception of a timber lean-to veranda on its garden front and openings at ground floor before the bow window s were added. The photographs also show large mature (yew?) hedges flanking the steps to the front garden, raised flowerbeds to front and a vegetable garden to rear. Jupp states a construction date c1822, and that the current garden layout dates from the 1950s, which suggests that the photographs were taken before this time. A 1956 photograph (in Mourne Observer) shows the bow windows and entrance porch as they are today. At that time it was occupied by Dr W.J. Hanna who refurbished it. The present owners have been in occupancy since the late 1970s.

Primary Sources:
1. Occupant (1998)
2. Photographs in Historic Monuments Record of N. Ireland, 5-33 Hill Street, Belfast BT4 2LA.
3. OS 6" map, 1st edition (1834) Co Down sheet 57 (PRONI OS/6/3/57/1)
4. PRONI VAL 1B/390B, p.184 (1834 valuation).
5. PRONI VAL 2B/3/81B, p.68 (1863 valuation).
6. PRONI VAL 12B/ 19/18A, p51 (1875 valuation).

Secondary Sources:
1. Article by T. Porter in Mourne Observer (08/06/1956).
2. A. Byrne ‘Great Northerners’ (Dublin 1991), pp.42-3.
3. B. Jupp ‘Heritage Gardens Inventory’ (Queen’s University of Belfast 1992).
4. B. M. Isham ‘Alexander Chesney’, in 12 Miles of Mourne, vol. 7 (Kilkeel 1996), pp.41-5
5. E. A. Jones ‘The journal of Alexander Chesney, a Southern Carolina loyalist in the revolution and after’ (1921).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This early 19th century house appears to have been refurbished early this century but retains much of its original character and appearance. The attractive mature setting adds much to the character of the house which has unusual asymmetrical panels to its main walls and attractive bow windows to its garden front. Internally there is fine detailing, attractive shutters and a high percentage of original fabric. These features together with its connections with the Chesney family make this building worthy of continued statutory protection.