Old Ballydown Manse, 31 Old Manse Road, Banbridge, Co Down BT32 4JJ

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An asymmetrical detached two-storey three-bay former manse, built c.1840 and located in the townland of Tullyear, located approximately 2.7Km E of Banbridge town centre, in the townland of Tullyear.

Pitched natural slate roof with three rendered chimneystacks and profiled rainwater goods on corbelled eaves course. Ruled-and-lined rendered walling over a slightly projecting plinth, with quoins and platband to first floor cill level. Windows are single-glazed 6/6 timber sashes with horns in moulded architrave surrounds, with painted masonry cills.

Asymmetrical front façade (SW) five openings wide, arranged about central square-headed door with moulded canopy on console brackets; eight panelled timber door with brass door furniture and transom light, opening onto a masonry step.

Left gable (NW) has a single window to ground floor left, and is abutted at extreme right by a roughcast rendered wall with square piers supporting a wrought iron pedestrian gate. Single storey return to left side with no openings.

Rear elevation (NE) has irregular arrangement of window openings all with replacement uPVC windows. Abutted at left by a single-storey flat-roofed extension and to right side by a small return with monopitch natural (replacement) slated roof.

Right gable (SE) is blank; abutted by a roughcast wall supporting a pair of monolithic granite piers with wrought iron field gate giving access to rear yard. Flat-roofed extension to right side, no windows.

Setting
Rural
setting close to Banbridge, with rear yard enclosed by two-storey rubble stone outbuilding with brick dressings and slated roof. Gravel forecourt and and mature shrubs to garden accessed via wrought iron gates and roughdashed curved walled entrance with square plan pillars

Materials:
Roof: Natural slate
Walling: ruled-and-lined painted render
Windows: Timber sliding sash, single-glazed & uPVC to rear
RWG: metal

Historical information

A building is shown in this general vicinity on the OS map of 1833, but its orientation is markedly different to the current house (roughly E-W as opposed to the present roughly N-S), that this undoubtedly represents an older structure that has since been demolished. The fact that this earlier building is not recorded in the contemporary first valuation indicates that it was a relatively modest – probably single-storey – dwelling.

By the time of the 1860 map what is now Old Manse Road had been cut, and a building is shown on the site of the present residence, with the older block on the 1833 map still standing a short distance to the south. Unfortunately the valuation of c.1862 does not give any details of the dimensions of any of these. The relatively low rateable value of £4-10-0 could suggest that the house we see today had not assumed its current extent; however, the present dwelling certainly looks consistent with a pre-1860 date - perhaps c.1840, although its asymmetric frontage could suggest that the section between the two northernmost chimneystacks was originally lower. There is no evidence of any major changes to the building after this date, or in the early 1900s. There is a rise in the rateable value to £6 in 1881 but this appears to represent the inclusion in the valuation of several additional other farm buildings (a small house and an outbuilding) that were formally assessed separately by the valuers.

From at least the early 1860s, the house and accompanying farm were held off the Whyte (of Loughbrickland House) estate by the Arlow family, with James Arlow residing there until his death in 1869, after which it passed in succession to his sons, James and (on the latter’s death in 1875), Samuel. From 1872 the Arlows let the house to Rev. S. F. Bank of Ballydown Presbyterian congregation (whose church was located to the southeast on the Castlewellan Road, but has been since demolished) and the property became a de facto manse. Bank remained until c. 1878, when he was succeeded by Rev. James Wilson, who in turn was followed in 1887 by Rev. Joseph Dempster, with Rev. Edward Leinster taking up residence in 1896.

The 1901 census notes that Leinster (30yrs old) resided here with his sister Minnie (33), with the building itself noted as a ‘1st class’ dwelling with 11 rooms in use (suggesting that the extent of the house was much as today.)

In 1908, after the construction of a new manse on Castlewellan Road, opposite the site of the church itself, the 'Old Manse' was acquired from the Whyte estate by William Dobbin Wilson, a farmer who in the 1911 census is recorded as living here with his niece Margaret Urey (42). Upon her uncle’s death in 1912, Margaret took over possession of the farm, residing there until at least 1929.

OS maps show that the house originally possessed a smaller projection to the south end. This appears to have been replaced with the present extension post-1993.

References- Primary Sources
1 OS maps, Six-inch County series, Down sheet 27 - 1833, 1860, 1903-18, 1946
2 PRONI VAL/1/B/366 – First valuation, Seapatrick parish - c.1836-38
3 PRONI VAL/2/B/3/64/A – Second valuation, Seapatrick parish - c.1862
4 PRONI Wills Catalogue (11 Sept 1869; 11 Sept 1875; 29 Jun 1912)
5 PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/A-H – Annual valuation revision books, Banbridge / Banbridge Rural ED - 1864-1929
6 Census of Ireland - 1901, 1911
7 OS maps IG sheet 221-5NE - 1974, 1993

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
S. Authenticity
R. Age

Evaluation

A two-storey c.1840s Georgian-style dwelling of formalised vernacular appearance with asymmetric frontage located approximately 2.7Km E of Banbridge town centre, in the townland of Tullyear.
This house is of interest as a good example of a surviving country manse in largely original setting with a two-storey rubblestone outbuilding to rear. Despite replacement uPVC windows to the rear, historic detailing such ruled-and-lined rendered walling, toothed quoins and moulded plaster surrounds to openings survive. The building is of local importance and also had a social role in the local community, having served as the manse for the former Ballydown Presbyterian Church (HB17/07/048A) from the 1870s to the early 1900s.

General comments

Renumbered from HB17/07/048.