Outbuildings, Lagan Lodge, 26 Lower Quilly Road, Dromore, Banbridge, Co Down, BT25 1NL

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A group of traditionally constructed early- to mid-nineteenth century outbuildings located in the grounds of Lagan Lodge (HB17/13/018A), partially bounding Lower Quilly Road, to west of Dromore. Quadrangular courtyard arrangement comprising stables, lofts, out offices and animal houses with additional cart house located outside the courtyard to SE, and linear store linking house and courtyard at NW.

All outbuildings have pitched natural slate roofs and cast-iron rainwater goods over brick eaves. Walling is random rubble stone throughout; openings are generally formed in redbrick with timber sheeted doors.

The courtyard is bounded at north side by a tall rubble-stone wall, with rendered coping, supported by wide brick buttresses; accessed by a simple iron gate. There are segmental-headed timber coach gates from the road, located to south east corner. Grass island to centre, and two pumps.

Two-storey east range comprising loft over stables; stable doors to ground floor flanked by timber fixed pane windows (4 and 6 pane); no cills. Upper floors have honeycomb brick ventilation panels, timber loading door and several small square timber sheeted openings. Gables are blank. The rear (E) elevation has a series of elliptical headed openings infilled with brick or rubble stone; infilled door opening to right.

South range comprises a single storey stable range with monopitched roof and enlarged elliptical stable openings; original square openings over, with exception of extreme left. Abutted at right by a two-storey out office; it has three twelve-pane fixed windows asymmetrically arranged to each floor, and timber sheeted door with granite plinth blocks, offset to left; all ground floor openings with elliptical-headed brick voussoirs over brick tympanums; plainly detailed door to right side. All roadside elevations are blank. Garden-facing (W) gable of out office has two windows to ground floor and single elliptical headed multi-pane window to upper floor. Immediately to left is a round-headed timber garden gate.

West range comprises a single storey animal house with monopitched roof; to the courtyard, it opens into a large rectangular enclosure bounded by rubble stone walls and accessed by a gate. To left side is a door; opening into enclosure are two infilled round-headed openings, one containing a small four-paned window. Blank to garden (W) elevation with exception of door to left and small unglazed openings to upper level.

At right angles to the W elevation of the animal house, and linking the courtyard and house, is a single storey store with hipped roof (now partially incorporated into the house) bounded by the garden to S and the entrance forecourt to N. Roughcast rendered with sash windows and vehicle doors to N elevation, blank to S; single 8/8 sash window in brick to E end, which overlooks the courtyard.

North wall is abutted internally by a small monopitched pigsty with enclosure.

To south west of the main courtyard is a two storey cart house with loft over. N elevation has two elliptical headed cart doors with brick voussoirs; infilled and timber sheeted openings to loft. To its right is an additional pair of timber vehicle doors providing access to a secondary court.

Along Lower Quilly Road, in proximity of outbuildings there are 5 no. pairs of painted round rendered gate pillars with conical caps, 3 with stone oval orbs to apex, all 5 with painted metal field gates.

Setting:
The outbuildings are a
setting feature of Lagan Lodge (HB17/13/018A) a two-storey three-bay late eighteenth century linen house overlooking the River Lagan. Extensive maturely planted grounds.

Roof: Slate
Walling: Rubble stone
Windows: Timber
RWG: Cast iron

Historical information

Lagan Lodge (HB17/13/018A), a two-storey farmhouse, was constructed c. 1830, first appearing on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map for the area in 1834. The map captioned the site as ‘Lagan Lodge’ and recorded that the two-storey square-shaped dwelling, as well as part of its south-facing rear return and the two two-storey outbuildings (the outbuildings furthest southeast of the house situated nearest the current entrance gates) had been constructed by the 1830s.

The contemporary Townland Valuations (c. 1830) notes that the site was occupied by a Mr. Thomas McMurray Esquire, a local textile manufacturer and Gentleman who owned a beetling mill, located to the north of Lagan Lodge along the southern side of the River Lagan; Lagan Lodge, its outbuildings and the beetling mill were jointly valued at £42 19s., however, prior deductions being made from the total of the site, the house was valued separately from the mill at £20 3s. 10d. Lagan Lodge’s outbuildings continued to be valued together with the house on the later valuation sources including Griffith’s Valuation and the Annual Revisions.

Between 1834 and the second edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in 1858 a number of additions were made to Lagan Lodge. All of the remaining surviving outbuildings at the site, with the exception of the connecting extension at the southern end of the dwelling’s rear return, had been constructed by 1858. An additional outbuilding (located to the south of the house) had also been constructed by this date, however, unlike Lagan Lodge’s other outbuildings, this has not survived having been taken down after the current edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1973. The construction of the additional outbuildings increased the total value of Lagan Lodge to £50 by Griffith’s Valuation; by that time the farm had passed to a Mr. Waldron Burrowes and the beetling mill to the north of the site had come into possession of William McMurray of Clanmurry House (HB17/13/019).

With the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1871, Burrowes purchased Lagan Lodge from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. He was replaced as occupant of the site in the Annual Revisions that same year when he let the house to a Mr. George Hobart. George Hobart, a local linen manufacturer, resided at Lagan Lodge until his death in 1868 at which time his widow Hannah Hobart took over possession of the property (PRONI Wills).

Hannah Hobart purchased Lagan Lodge from Burrowes in 1884 and lived at the site until her own death the next year (PRONI Wills); with the sale of the property Lagan Lodge was devalued to £43 10s. The site then came into the possession of her son Henry William Edward Hobart; Hobart (1858-1938) was a local architect who assisted in the construction of the Cowan Heron Hospital between 1898 and 1900 (HB17/12/028A), designed the hospital’s gate lodge in c. 1904 (HB17/12/028D) and formed the architectural partnership of Hobart & Heron in 1904 (Dictionary of Irish Architects).

The 1901 Census notes that Heron (42, Unitarian) resided at Lagan Lodge with his wife Maria (29) and their two infant sons. The census building return described Lagan Lodge as a substantial farm, consisting of a 1st class farmhouse possessing 14 rooms, whilst the outbuildings to the south-east the dwelling housed a stable, two cow houses, a piggery, fowl house, boiling house, a barn and a store. Henry Hobart continued to reside at Lagan Lodge until his death in 1938 when ownership of the property passed to his widow Maria.

Green states that Lagan lodge was constructed shortly after Thomas McMurray of Waringstown moved to Dromore in 1827 to set up a linen business. McMurray constructed the beetling mill to the north of Lagan Lodge and employed a number of weavers; the two-storey return to the south of the dwelling was originally erected by McMurray as a pay office for his workers (Green, p.24).

Since the fourth edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in 1903-16 there has been little alteration to Lagan Lodge. The two-storey extension connecting the rear return of the house to one of its outbuildings was constructed after the current edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1973; a rectangular outbuilding first seen on the second edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1858) is the only outbuilding to not survive from the mid-19th century, having been demolished sometime after the 1973 map.

Lagan Lodge was listed in 1977 and since that time has continued to be occupied. The current owner has kept the sites outbuildings in an excellent state of preservation, maintaining the original historical character of the site.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/23/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/23/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/3/23/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1903
4. PRONI OS/6/3/23/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1903-1916
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/3/23 – Townland Valuation map c. 1830
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/342 – Townland Valuation c. 1830
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/38C – Griffith’s Valuation 1861
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/21A – Annual Revisions 1864 – 1876
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/21B – Annual Revisions 1876 - 1885
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/21C – Annual Revisions 1885 - 1900
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/21D – Annual Revisions 1900 - 1908
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/21E – Annual Revisions 1909 – 1930
13. PRONI Wills Catalogue (2 Oct 1868)
14. Census of Ireland (1901 / 1911)
15. Ulster Town Directories (1843-1918)
16. First Survey Record – HB17/13/018 (1969)
17. Ordnance Survey Map – 202-3 (1973)

Secondary Sources

1. McMillan, R., ‘Henry Hobart – Dromore Architect: 1858-1938’ Dromore: Dromore and District Local Historical Group, 1991.
2. Green, E. R. R. ‘The industrial archaeology of County Down’ Belfast: H.M.S.O., 1963.

Online Resources

1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
E. Spatial Organisation
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

A group of traditionally constructed early- to mid-nineteenth century outbuildings associated with Lagan Lodge (HB17/13/018A), a late-Georgian house located on Lower Quilly Road, west of Dromore. The outbuildings vary in size, scale and function, but form a coherent traditional group, sympathetically restored with minor appropriate alterations. They form an important part of the setting of the main house, enhancing its integrity and representing the range of functions associated with the running of a prosperous house in the nineteenth century. Aligned along the roadside, the group also has notable characteristics for the immediate area, contributing to local landscape character.