130 Castlewellan Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey / three bay mid-19th C house with outbuilding to rear, all set back from the road on north side of Castlewellan Road immediately east of St Mary’s R.C. Church (HB16/07/030).

1. House

Pitched natural slate roof with clay ridges and dressed granite skews. Punched ashlar granite chimney with overhanging coping to each gable. Semicircular cast iron rainwater goods on plain corbelled eaves. Walls are lined and painted lime render.

Front elevation is south facing and has four openings to each floor. The ground floor left bay contains a shop unit. Serving it at left is a pair of narrow t+g sheeted storm doors with a plainly glazed transom over. To right of these, also serving shop, is a rectangular fixed window with 16 paned (4x4) Georgian glazing. It has a dressed granite cill and over are wrought iron security bars. To right of this window, serving the middle bay, is a four panelled painted timber 19thC door (in poor condition). It has raised and fielded bolection-moulded panels, decorative iron knob and knocker and a decoratively chamfered timber moulding between it and the plain transom above. Centred on right bay at ground floor is an 8/8 sliding sash window, which is detailed exactly (bars and cill etc.) as that to shop.

There are four first floor windows, in line with those to ground floor but diminished in height. All are 2/1 horizontally divided sliding sashes (in an advanced state of decay) and are likely to have previously been 8/4 paned.

Left gable of house is blank.

Rear elevation is lime harled and whitewashed. There are four ground floor openings. At left is an 8/8 sliding sash window with security bars and cill as those to façade. To its right, at left on central bay, is a small t+g sheeted door. To its right is a small 6/3 sliding sash window with horns and security bars. To extreme right, serving shop, is an 8/8 sash window also with security bars.

There are three first floor windows. Those to left and right bays are 8/4 sashes with no horns and painted granite cills. Window to middle bay, in line with the 6/3 one on ground floor, is an 8/8 sliding sash and has a lower cill level than the others to this floor (to accommodate the larger bottom sash).

Right gable of main block is blank.

2. Outbuilding

This is two storeys high and aligned N-S. It abuts northeast corner of the house and partially encloses a rear yard. It has a pitched natural slate roof with skews as main house; slates are very large, (each c 60cm x 90cm). Walls are granite rubble, lime rendered.

Main elevation faces west into yard. At ground floor left is a doorway. To its right are two vertical wall vents. Beyond these is a pair of steel casements (post-War?) with a short granite cill (earlier opening widened?). To right of these is a three-quarter height door. Right again, at end of facade, is a wide doorway with a low semi-elliptical head and hinge bolts to its reveals. There are three first floor openings. That to left is a window with exposed frame and granite cill. To left of centre, over ground floor steel casement, is a t+g sheeted loading door (of broad boards) with a granite cill. To extreme right is a second sheeted loading door.

Left (north) gable of outbuilding is blank and abutted with earth to c1m above ground level in the yard.

Rear wall is similarly embanked in earth to c1.5 m. It has two ground level vents serving the ground floor and at first floor, to right of centre, is a loading door with earth built up to it in a rough ramp. To its left is a square vent, the head of which has collapsed.

Rear yard is enclosed to west and north by a rubble granite wall. At join with house, on west wall is a pair of dressed granite gate piers with octagonal granite caps. These support a pair of flat iron gates with dog bars and decorative heads.

In yard is a cast iron pump (cap missing) and two derelict lean-to sheds. On the northwest corner of the yard boundary, to lane, is a traditional circular gatepost (its twin and the gates are gone).

Historical information

First appears on 1859 OS 6” map, along with rear outbuilding. This suggests a mid 19th C construction date. Second valuation of c.1861 notes occupier as Peter McCunn. Dimensions given as 40ft x 24ft x 2 storeys for house and 39ft x 18ft x 2 storeys for outbuilding.

Primary sources:
1. OS 6” map, Down sheet 42, 1859.
2. Second Valuation, c.1861 (PRONI VAL 2B/3/49B, p.23).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey/three bay mid-19th C house and shop with outbuilding to rear. It is of some interest, in that it demonstrates the adaptation of a dwelling for commercial purposes. However, the building was not originally designed as a shop with dwelling and there were no significant changes for this purpose, also, the shop fittings are not original. It is not of special architectural or historic interest.

General comments

**Under consideration : awaiting further information on interior**