15 Turnavall Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

One and half storey/ three bay late 19thC farm house set in large mature garden on S side of Turnavall Road.

Pitched natural slate roof is aligned N-S. It has a crested terracotta ridge and overhanging eaves with decorative tails carrying half-round metal rainwater goods. End gables have king-post bargeboards resting on a central masonry corbel. Painted and rendered chimneys to each gable, both with moulded copings. The front (E) pitch has three gabled wall head dormers (see later) and the rear pitch ties into the rear return roof. Walls are lined rendered and painted with projecting chamfered basecourse. All cills are dressed granite and stooled.

Front elevation faces E. At ground floor centre is a timber porch. It has a hipped natural slate roof and a chamfered timber frame. It is four panels wide and one panel deep. Each panel has a shouldered glazed light and a diagonally sheeted apron panel. The central two panels on the front are its doors. Dressed granite threshold.

Left and right bays at ground floor are identical. Each has a canted single-storey bay window with natural slate roofs. Their walls are as main block and each of their three cheeks have a pair of side hung casements with integrated square transoms.

There are three wall-head dormers on façade, one to each bay. They all have decorative Gothic Revival style bargeboards. The central dormer is slightly larger than the other two, has three narrow 1/1 sash windows and the left and right dormers each have a pair of similar windows. All have stop-end chamfered reveals and shared granite cills.

The right gable of the house has a pair of French windows with transom at ground floor right. At first floor there are three regularly spaced 1/1 sash windows detailed as those to front.

The rear elevation of the house is abutted at right by a lower two-storey return. The remaining narrow right section and the left section of the rear elevation are smooth rendered and painted. Each has a 1/1 sash to first floor. To centre of rear elevation at join with the return is a small single storey bay. It is a full quadrant curve under a slated quarter conical roof. It has walls as rear elevation and a pair of 2/2 sash windows to each floor.

The rear return is in two bays. It has a pitched natural slate roof aligned W-E. The W gable has tiled skews. It has two chimneys, one at join with main block and another halfway along its ridge. Its N pitch has a cast iron skylight. Its N elevation is in two bays. The left bay has a modern uPVC conservatory abuts the left bay of the return’s N elevation. The right bay has two infilled windows at ground floor. The first floor is blank.

The end (W) gable of the return has a 2/2 sash window at first floor.

On the S elevation of the return has a modern 1/1 timber casement window. The right bay has two small wall-head dormers with plain bargeboards each. Ground floor left bay has a glazed modern door and a modern 1/1 casement window. There is a single similar window to right bay at ground floor. There is also a small lean-to which links the return to the ground floor right corner of the main house. Its front (S) face has a modern four paned casement window.

The left (S) gable of the main house has two windows at ground floor left: the left one is a 1/1 sash with stop-end reveals and the right one is larger and contains a two modern casements with a transom over (plain reveals). At first floor there regularly spaced are three 1/1 sash windows all with chamfered reveals.

Setting.

The large mature garden has a serpentine driveway from road. It has a concave screen consisting of a modern painted brick wall and a pair of 19thC wrought iron gates with dog bars, diagonal braces and pinched hoop tops. They hang on slender reeded cast iron posts with bulbous caps. Modern driveway serves the farmyard. It has mostly modern agricultural buildings. Immediately to rear of house is a traditional farmyard enclosed to rear (W) side by a two storey outbuilding with hipped natural slate roof and rendered and whitewashed rubble stone walls.

Historical information

A building is shown at this location on the 1834 OS 6" map. The 1836 Valuation book notes its occupant as Andrew Scott and its measurements as 45ft 6in x 24ft x 11ft 6in, with a 21ft x 19ft x 6ft return. It is captioned 'Greenlawn' on the 1860 map. The 1862 Valuation notes its owner as John Glenny, and its dimensions are broadly similar - it is described as a one storey building with attic. Its valuation at this time is £9 and this continues to be the case until 1891, when it increases to £25.10s.0d. Although it is still cited as Greenlawn on the 1903 OS map, such a rise in value suggests a major extension of the original house or a complete rebuild.

Primary sources:
1. OS 6" map, 1834, Co Down sheet 47 (PRONI OS 6/3/47/1).
2. First valuation book, 1836 (PRONI VAL 1B/389, p.318).
3. OS 6" map, 1860, Co Down sheet 47 (PRONI OS 6/3/47/2).
4. Second valuation book, 1862 (PRONI VAL 2B/3/69D, p.268).
5. Valuation revision book, 1891 (PRONI VAL 12B/22/7C, p.47).
6. OS 6" map, 1903, Co Down sheet 47 (PRONI OS 6/3/47/3).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This gabled house stands in mature gardens opposite the Flax Mill (HB16/14/023). House has good front porch and is well detailed but not of any special interest.