Former Gardener's House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Walled garden with gardener’s house on its SE boundary. Walled garden is located to the NW of the stable yard and SE of the farmyard.

(1) Walled garden

Covering 2.3 acres (1.4ha), this garden is enclosed by a high rubble stone wall, uncoped and brick lined internally. It has numerous infilled openings on its SE elevation, and an open doorway on its NE and NW elevations. SW elevation is blank.

(2) Two storey/ three bay gardener’s house.

Hipped natural slate roof with advanced eaves and exposed timber rafter tails carrying half-round cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered granite coped wallhead chimney to each end elevation. Walls are dry dashed with stepped stucco quoins.

Principal elevation faces SE. Central bay is slightly narrower than the other two and has a single concrete step up to the shallow entrance porch. It has a pitched natural slate roof, modern boxed timber eaves and cement dashed walls. Porch cheeks are blank and its front gable contains the semi-elliptical headed doorway. Timber door is reproduction and double-leaf; each leaf has two raised and fielded panels with bolection mouldings. To either side of door is a plain glazed sidelight with timber apron. Framing each sidelight is a timber pilaster with console bracket supporting the moulded timber cornice over the door. Above, recessed in the opening, is a semi-elliptical headed fanlight. At ground floor the left and right bays each have a 6/6 exposed-box sliding sash window with horns and granite cill. All windows as this unless otherwise stated. First floor has a single window to each bay. These are 6/3 sashes and are diminished in height.

Left (SW) elevation is abutted by a single storey/ four bay return (see later). The exposed section is blank and cement dashed.

Rear elevation (facing NW into the walled garden) is rendered as the façade. Ground floor has a 2/2 sliding sash window to left and right bays and two tiny 1/1 sashes to central bay (the left one being set higher in wall). First floor has a 2/2 sash window to each bay.

Right (NE) elevation is abutted by a single storey/ two bay outbuilding (see later). The exposed section is blank and cement dashed.

(3) Return abutting left elevation of the house

This building has a pitched natural slate roof, hipped at SW end, with advanced eaves and plain timber eaves board. Half-round cast-iron rainwater goods. Walls are rendered.

Its front elevation faces SE. It is four openings wide, the entrance being contained within the third bay (from left). Four-panelled (raised and fielded) reproduction door is recessed with smooth rendered reveal. The remaining openings diminish in size from left to right and contain a 2/2 exposed box sliding sash window, with horns and granite cill.

Left gable of roof advances forward to right side with exposed t+g sheeted soffit and timber rafter tails. The walls are cement dashed. The left part of S gable has a pair of modern timber glazed French doors with granite flagged threshold. To their right is an octagonal painted masonry opening containing a picturesque quatrefoil window.

Rear (NW) elevation has rubble stone walls (forming part of walling to garden) with a mixture of cement and lime render. There is an infilled window opening with granite cill to the right-end and a 2/2 sash window to extreme left-end.

(4) Outbuilding (abutting right elevation of house)

Pitched natural slate roof with a small rendered chimneystack to centre. Advanced eaves course and plain timber eaves board carry half-round cast-iron rainwater goods. Walls are lime rendered with painted basecourse over rubble stone. On front (SE) elevation, below eaves level are three circular ventilation holes, infilled with rendered bricks. Left bay has a 2/2 sash window with granite cill. Right bay has a t+g sheeted door with modern strap hinges.

Left (SW) gable is completely abuts the house.

Rear (NW) elevation is blank.

Right gable (NE) of outbuilding is abutted by a lean-to. It has corrugated metal roof. Walls are rendered with brick dressed openings, its eaves, rainwater goods and ventilation openings detailed as those to the outbuilding. To centre of its front (SE) elevation is a fixed two paned (horizontally divided) timber framed window with margins.

Right (NE) gable face of lean-to has a flat-headed opening. Its rear (NW) elevation is blank.

Historical information

The estate was created c 1707 when Francis Hall erected Mount Hall (HB16/11/019B). This structure is shown in present form on the 1834 OS 6” map.

The HMBB slide (1970) shows the porch of the house with a decorative fretted 19thC timber bargeboard and decorative finial. It shows the front door to be a four-panelled and bolection moulded. It has a transom with rounded top corners and two paned round-headed side lights which rise up to flank the transom.

Primary sources:
1. OS 6” map, 1834, Co Down sheet 51 (PRONI, OS/6/3/51/1).
2. HMBB first survey slide dated 23/01/1970.

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

Evaluation

Although somewhat altered in the recent past, this building is still of strong character and, with the walled garden, forms part of the overall estate grouping.