'Halfway House'

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Long plain two storey gabled public house with rendered façade and modern window frames throughout, which sources suggest assumed much of its present form in 1904, with large single storey extensions to the east end dating from the 1980s and 1990s. The property is set on the NW side of Halfway Road, roughly a mile NE of Banbridge.

The long front elevation faces roughly S and is asymmetrical. To the centre right is a pub front with pedestrian doorway with (relatively narrow) panelled double door and louvered fanlight. To the immediate left of the doorway (separated only by the jamb) is a large window with plain fixed light glazing (all the windows throughout the building are modern, either timber or uPVC, no sliding sashes remain). To the right (slightly further from the door) is a similar window, whilst to right again is another doorway as before only slightly broader and with a glazed fanlight with ‘Bar’ written thereon. Above this whole pub front ensemble is a traditional style painted signboard with decorative end brackets.

To far left hand side of the front elevation there is a recent low vehicle doorway with timber sheeted double door. To right of this is a window with modern frame and non functioning louvered ‘shutters’, then a pedestrian doorway (leading to the domestic quarters) with panelled door, plain fanlight and cornice hood on decorative brackets (on which a small statue of a lion has been placed). To right of this is the pub front, to right of which is a doorway similar to that described previously but without the fanlight or hood. To right of this is a window with modern frame and ‘shutters’ as that to far left.

To the first floor there are seven unevenly spaced windows. The five windows roughly to the centre are identical and have ‘shutters’, whilst that to far left is much smaller and without ‘shutters’ and that to far right with ‘shutters’ and slightly larger than the previous.

The W gable has a single window to left on the first floor. To left the gable merges with the W face of a large single storey lean-to.

The ground floor level of the E gable is completely covered by a large modern single storey flat-roofed extension which, to the S side, links to a small single storey gabled building with a façade of whitewashed stone. This has two small windows to its W gable, a small window to left on the S face and a slightly broader window to the E gable.

To the left hand side of the rear elevation is the large flat-roofed single storey extension. To right this links to another large modern single storey extension with a gabled roof, which, to right again, merges with a smaller single flat-roofed section (also modern). The last two extensions extend from the rear of the original building and that to right merges with a small lean-to with a shallow pitched roof which to right merges with another lean-to with a steeper roof pitch. The lean-to to left sports a large window whilst that to right has a partly glazed door, then a small window then another (timber-sheeted) door. To the first floor (of the original building) there three windows to centre / centre-left, whose to left largely identical with that to right broader and set at a slightly higher level.

The whole façade is finished in a ‘Tyrolean’ type render to front with largely plain render to rear. The walls of the building are (but not exclusively) thin, suggesting that they are of largely brick construction (see historical information). The main gabled roof is slated and has four symmetrically arranged rendered chimneystacks. The larger lean-to is slated, but the gabled portions of the extension are covered in an artificial tile, whilst the smaller lean-to has a corrugated asbestos roof. A tall rendered chimneybreast / stack (with very tall pipe-like pot) rises from the roof of the smaller lean-to. Small projecting lights under verge to front.

To the SW of the building is a small single storey gabled shed with whitewashed rubble façade and roof covered as main section of pub. Large garden to rear with large tarmac covered car parking area to W. Tarmac covered forecourt with a line of small bollards to the roadside.

Historical information

A long building of similar plan to the present (minus the extensions) is shown on the OS map of 1834. This building was not ‘officially’ recorded in finalised valuation of 1838 (when the new rateable threshold of £5 was established), but examination of the valuation book shows that the valuers made some notes regarding the property in 1835, indicating that it was a single storey building measuring 35½ft by 18 in the hands of a Samuel Cunningham and containing a dwelling and a ‘grocery’. A single storey outbuilding measuring 15ft x 18 is also recorded; this appears to have been attached to the house in typical linear fashion.

When the second valuation was carried out in c.1861 there was a considerably longer two storey (public) house on the site, measuring 20yrds x 8yrds x 17ft with a two storey outbuilding of 6yrds x 8yrds x 17ft -probably joined to the house- and some other much smaller single storey outbuildings (probably rear lean-tos or free-standing). The occupant at this point is recorded as a James Mackey and the rateable value £16.

The post 1864 (annually revised) valuation books report no changes to the building until 1904 when the valuation drops to £14. An entry in the contemporary valuers’ office notebook (which records in detail major changes to properties) gives the reason for this drop, stating at the top of the page ‘premises rebuilt’ with a plan drawing of the new building below. The drawing shows, however, that whilst the ‘rebuilt’ premises were taller - 21ft as opposed to 17 -, the building’s outline follows the dimensions given in the c.1861 valuation; this might explain why the property we see today whilst seemingly largely brick-built*, appears to contain some stone-built sections of walling, suggesting that whilst the rebuild may have been extensive, it may not have been total.

The Mackey family appear to have held the lease on the property (running it as a public house and a post office) until some time between c.1904 and c.1936 when the freehold was purchased by a George Beggs, with whose descendant it remains. The post office section is believed to have closed in the mid 20th century. The building was extended to the east end in c.1968-69** with this extension rebuilt in c.1986 and extended to the rear in 1999.

*The notebook, however, appears to state that the whole building is constructed of ‘rubble masonry’
**The valuations do not record this however

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/27/1 OS map, Down sh 27, 1834
2 PRONI VAL/1B/342 First valuation, Dromore parish, 1835-38
3 PRONI OS/6/3/27/2 OS map, Down sh 27, 1858-60
4 PRONI VAL/2B/3/38d Second valuation, Dromore parish, c.1861-63
5 PRONI VAL/12B/11/21a-f Annual valuation revision books, 1864-c.1929
6 PRONI OS/6/3/27/3 OS map, Down sh 27, c.1901
7 PRONI VAL/12A/3/5 Valuers’ office notebook, Banbridge Rural District, vol.V, 1902-06
8 PRONI VAL/3C/4/3 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Rural District of Banbridge, 1936-56
9 PRONI VAL/4B/3/4 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Rural District of Banbridge, 1956-72
10 Information supplied by the present owner (March 2003)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Long plain two storey gabled public house, which sources suggest assumed much of its present form in 1904, but with large single storey extensions to the east end dating from the 1980s and 1990s. . The public bar retains some of its early 20th century fittings but the rest of the building has been extensively altered. Although there has been a building of some sort on the site since the early eighteenth century, the present public house is of a late date and has been extensively altered, with an accompanying loss of historic fabric. The only remaining item of interest is the public bar.