Former Servant's Accommodation to

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Long linear two storey building enclosing the W side of the domestic yard and abutting the N elevation of Narrow Water Castle.

Pitched natural slate roof (new) with half round metal rainwater goods. To centre of roof ridge is an octagonal lantern with swept leaded roof. Its cardinal faces have Tudor lattice glazing (possibly cast iron) and its remaining faces have similar openings containing painted timber louvres.

There are five chimneys. Each is stuccoed and consists of a common plinth supporting three tall octagonal Tudor style stacks. All are spaced out along the main ridge, with two to left half and three to right half, the furthest one being one the right gable.

There are eight irregularly spaced wall head dormers to front elevation; the fourth one (from left) being to centre of the elevation. The first, fifth and seventh from left are small and the others are slightly larger and they advance with their slightly advanced ground and first floors. All dormers have shouldered gables with pitched copings and are terminated in an octagonal masonry plinth carrying a cylindrical pinnacle with an ogee coping. Those to the advanced dormers are massive compared to those on the others.

Walls have a chamfered basecourse and are lined rendered. Majority of openings have stucco hood moulds. Windows are timber framed and Tudor headed with incised spandrels and flush cills. Those to ground floor are the transom and mullion variety and those to first floor are much smaller and have mullions only. All have cast iron lattice glazing unless otherwise stated.

Openings are as follows: At ground floor left under the extreme left dormer is a window opening containing four 1/1 lights, with plainly glazed margin-paned leaded glazing. Over to first floor are three single paned lights in a smaller opening and with similar glazing. To right at ground floor is an original four panelled painted timber door with pair of Tudor transoms over. There are two matching first floor lights in a common opening, but without a stucco hood. To right of these openings is the second wall head dormer (advancing forward slightly), its left and right cheeks are blank. Its front gable has three 1/1 lights to ground floor and two single paned lights (taller than those to its left) to first floor. On main wall to its right at ground floor is a pair of 1/1 lights with a pair of single paned lights above (no hood). On roof ridge to their right is the first of the chimney stacks and on main wall to their right is a similar window to each floor. To right of these is the third wall-head dormer. It has four 1/1 lights to ground floor and three (tall) single paned lights to first floor. To its right at ground floor is a doorway (former window) with a modern six panelled door set to right and two narrow side lights to its left (inappropriate), over are a pair of lattice glazed transoms. At first floor is a pair of single lights (no hood). On roof ridge to right of these openings is the second of the chimney stacks.

On main wall to right of these openings at ground floor is a pair of 1/1 lights and to first floor a pair of single paned lights (no hood). To right of these openings is the fourth wall-head dormer (advancing) to centre of the elevation behind which is the lantern light. Left and right cheeks of gable are blank and it has three 1/1 lights to ground floor and a pair of single paned lights to first floor. To its right at ground floor is a doorway (former window) with a modern six panelled door set to left and two narrow side lights to its right (modern), over are a pair of lattice glazed transoms. At first floor is a pair of single lights (no hood). On roof ridge to right of these openings is the third of the chimney stacks. On main wall to right of these openings is the fifth wall head dormer, it has three 1/1 lights to ground floor and a pair of lights at first floor. To its right is the sixth wall head dormer (advancing). Its left and right cheeks are blank and its openings are as those to its left. The seventh wall head dormer is to its right. This one has a doorway to ground floor (former window). It has a six panelled door flanked by sidelights with three Tudor transoms over. At first floor there are three single paned lights. On roof ridge to right is the fourth of the chimney stacks. On main wall to right is the eighth (final) wall head dormer, at extreme right end of this elevation. It has a pair of 1/1 lights to ground floor and a pair of lights with Tudor headed transoms to first floor.

The right gable of this block has a shouldered coped skew and carries the last of the chimney stacks. It is rendered and has an infilled doorway to ground floor left. At first floor left there is a 1/1 sash window.

Rear elevation is unrendered uncoursed random rubble. Its left third advances forward slightly. The right end of its central third advances under a hipped roof and rest of central and right thirds are abutted at ground floor by a lean-to. Most openings have stepped red brick architraves and granite cills.

Left portion advances slightly under a cat-slide of the main roof. It has a pair of 4/4 sliding sashes at ground floor left. To right of centre at ground floor is a modern painted timber door with glazed top panes with a narrow four paned transom and a 4/4 sash window to its immediate right (in same opening). At first floor above the window is a modern door under a modern wall-head dormer with plain timber bargeboard. Door is served by a flight of galvanised metal stairs rising from ground floor left. The right cheek of this advanced left portion is blank.

Central portion of this elevation is abutted to right end by the stairwell return under a hipped natural slate roof, which ties into the main roof. Its walls are as main block. Remainder is abutted to ground floor by a single storey lean-to with mono-pitched natural slate roof and painted metal rainwater goods. This lean-to has a modern flush timber door (part glazed), with sidelights to left, at left end. To centre is a tripartite window consisting of a 6/6 sash window flanked by narrow 2/2 sashes. To right end there is a pair of 6/6 sashes in a common opening and a second door. Above the lean-to at first floor of main block there is a small 3/3 sash window to left and a pair of similar windows (in common opening) to right. On the roof ridge to the centre of this bay is the lantern, which marks the centre of the elevation.

The left and right cheeks of stairwell return are blank, and that to first floor of right one is slate-hung. Its rear wall is blank to ground floor, abutted to left by a small lean-to with rubble walls and mono-pitched natural slate roof. At first floor it has a tripartite window in a segmental headed opening consisting of a 9/6 sliding sash window flanked by narrower 3/2 sashes. The top panes of the top sashes curve with opening head.

The right portion of the rear elevation is abutted to ground floor by a single storey lean-to with mono-pitched natural slate roof. The remaining wall to first floor is slate hung and has a pair of 3/3 sashes (in a common opening) at left and a single 3/3 sash at right. The lean-to has a 6/6 sash at left and a pair of 6/6 sashes to left of centre. To centre is a metal oil tank and to right is another pair of 6/6 sash windows.

The left gable of the main block is completely abutted by the N elevation of Narrow Water Castle.

Vaults to W

To immediate W of the rear elevation, built into the hillside, are four vaulted stores. They have rubble stone walls with doorways and earth covered barrel vaulted brick roofs aligned W-E. The S most one is two storey. Its first floor has a segmental headed window E wall and a similar opening on W wall is a loading door from the hillside at rear. It has an additional pitched natural slate aligned N-S over its brick vault.

Historical information

This building was known as Mount Hall and is believed to have been erected by Francis Hall in 1707. It was the main house prior to the erection of Narrow Water Castle, built by Roger Hall in 1835 to designs by Thomas Duff. Duff remodelled the exterior of Mount Hall to complement the new house). Internally it was converted to servants' accommodation. Shown in present form on the 1834 OS 6” map. In the recent past it was refurbished and converted into apartments.

Primary sources:
1. OS 6” map, 1834, Co Down sheet 51 (PRONI, OS/6/3/51/1).

Secondary Sources:
1. T. Reeves Smith, ‘Irish Castles’ (Belfast, 1995) p.36.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

This, the earliest building on the site, remodelled in the 19th C in the Tudor style, is both of historical and architectural interest.