Outbuildings at Ringdufferin House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

The outbuildings at Ringdufferin House are to the E of the house itself, lying at the end of a very long, winding, picturesque drive to the W of the Ringdufferin Road, c.2.5 miles N/NE of Killyleagh, amidst well wooded grounds overlooking the E coast of Strangford Lough. They probably date mainly from c.1790-c.1800, the same period when most of the present house appears to have been constructed.

The buildings are all random greywacke rubble constructed with (mainly) natural slated hipped and gabled roofs. The largest building is a large L shaped two storey block. To the W of this are two stable blocks and to the S a small single storey forge. To the NE is a row of piggeries and the to the E is a large boat house of relatively recent date. To the SE of this is a small ruined tower, possibly older than the other outbuildings.

The large two storey L shaped building is at the heart of the complex. It is approached from the SE, via a drive which branches off from the drive to the main house. The drive leads to a high rubble wall with a gateway consisting of two large, square pillars with fairly old looking decorative wrought iron gates which have had timber sheeting added to their lower halves.

The gates lead into a large courtyard to the SE of which (next to the gates) is a single storey forge with a part hipped part gabled roof with some ‘Tullycavy’ slates and a single brick chimney stack. To the NW façade of the forge there is a timber sheeted door and three irregularly positioned ‘eyebrow’ windows which actually appear to have been semicircular fanlights removed from doorways. The NE gable end of the forge has a large (and fairly recent looking) doorway with double timber sheeted doors. The roof has an overhang at this end and the gable as a whole appears to be of modern construction [the roof was probably originally hipped at this side also]. The SE façade of the forge is buttressed to the left side.

The courtyard is bounded on the NE and SE sides by the large two storey L shaped building. The SW façade of the NE block of this building has a sash window to the far left on the ground floor, with Georgian panes (six over six), then a segmental headed doorway with sandstone dressings and a partly glazed door, then a sash window as before. To the right of this are two large segmental carriage arches, with sandstone dressings and keystone. The first (left) has timber sheeted double doors whilst that to the right is open and goes right through the building. Between the aches is a sash window, as before, and to the right of the right arch is a window- door- window combination as far left. To the first floor are windows whose positions correspond to the windows on the ground floor. The two to the left have frames as the ground floor, but the three to the right are louvered. Between the two windows to the far right (and directly above the far right pedestrian doorway) is a sundial with a square slate face (framed in timber) and metal gnomon. Much of this façade is covered in creeping plant growth.

The NE façade of this block has a sheeted door to the far left on the ground floor, then, to the centre, is the large walk-through archway. To the immediate right of this is a sash window as front, then, to the far right, another sash window, as before but taller and with a segmental head. To the first floor are six (seemingly evenly spaced) window openings with that to the far left and the three to the right all with sash frames as front, but with the 2nd and 3rd openings (from left) louvered. The short NW façade of this block has a tall sash window to the ground floor, much as front but with segmental head and engineering-like brick dressings. Directly above this is a window, as front.

The SE block of the L shaped building has a sash window, as before to the left on the ground floor of its NW façade to the right of this is a timber sheeted door set within a shallow semicircular headed recess, then a window as previous. To the first floor are four louvered openings. Between the 1st and 2nd openings is the arms of the Baillie family in sandstone (on a cement panel). Much of this façade is covered in creeping plant growth. The SE façade has a large modern corrugated iron lean to built against it, as does the short SW façade.

To the NW side of the courtyard is a large single storey building with a rubble façade and natural slated gabled roof with gable parapets. To the SE façade of this building are two large elliptical arches doorways with timber sheeted double doors and red brick dressings to their arch heads. That to the right (which is also the larger of the two) has engineering-like brick dressings to its sides. To the far left on this façade (which is largely covered in thick plant growth) is a timber sheeted door (with small glazed panel). There is a small high level window to the NE gable of this building, with a timber sheeted stable door to the ground level directly below it.

To the left of this the façade merges with a high rubble wall (which joins to the wall to the SE which contains the main entrance gate to the courtyard from the drive). This wall contains a central segmental archway. To the NW side there is a small rubble built lean to either side of the arch. That to the N has a recessed timber sheeted door and small fixed light window to its SW face and that to the S has a similar arrangement to its NE face. To its NE face there are several small openings near the eaves with small ledges beneath which appear to be openings for birds. Both lean tos have natural slated roofs.

To the N of the lean tos is high rubble built wall with a small doorway. This leads into a fairly small cobbled stable yard. To the SE side of this yard and built into the back of the large single storey block to the NE of the main courtyard. This lean to is rubble built with natural slate roof. Its NW façade has a series of low stable doors.

To the NW side of the yard is another stable block, also with a rubble façade but taller than before and with a gabled roof. This block has a series of stable doors also along with a series of roundel openings at a higher level. To its NE gable there is a high level window with six panes and to its SW gable there appears to be a roundel window and a bellcote to the gable apex all covered in vegetation. T he writers were unable to observe the NW façade of this block.

To the N end of the stableyard there is a high rubble-built wall now mostly covered in vegetation, with a large segmental arch gateway with fairly recent looking timber gates. The stableyard has a recently built trough running down it, made largely from large clay drainage pipes.

To the N of the large L shaped block (in the main courtyard) there is low rubble walling around two small grassy areas which border the shoreline. The area to the SE has two small piggeries to its N corner, with rubble-built facades, natural slated hipped roofs and various timber sheeted doorways. Around both is much low rubble-built walling, forming pigsties. The piggery to the NW side has a small rubble-built chimney. To the N side (at the shoreline) the level of the land drops away slightly and there is a rubble-built ramp built against the N wall of the piggery area, with a small opening in the wall to giving access to the ramp.

To the E of the main ‘farm’ outbuildings there is a large boat house. This is rubble constructed also with a slated gabled roof and three large segmental openings (with large timber sheeted doors) to its NE gable. The openings have what appear to be concrete heads. The slipway is overgrown.

To the SE of the boat house is a roofless ruin of a small square look out tower. This tower is roughly two storeys (c.4m) in height, and slightly battered. It is rubble built and shows evidence of once being harled. with a relatively large high level window opening to NW and SE, a ground level doorway to the NE and a small roundel opening at a very low level to the SW. The tower is open to the elements.

To the NW of the main group of outbuildings is a large walled garden with high rubble walling around it (no access to the garden).

Historical information

The earliest reference to modern settlement at Ringdufferin occurs in a report in State Papers dating from c.1602 which mentions a castle built by John White ‘on a neck of land’, leased to him by Sir Ralph Lane, ‘called Randuffren’. The exact position of the castle is uncertain, the common consensus, including most OS maps of the area since 1859, favouring a site close to the present house; however, presence of ‘Castle Island’ at the end of the isthmus just to the south of this may be instructive.

In 1636 Alexander Baillie of Innishargy (near Kircubbin) received the lands of Ringdufferin on mortgage from 1st Viscount Clandeboy, becoming absolute owner in 1674. His descendants remained in possession of this land for the next two centuries, during which time Ringdufferin House and its associated buildings assumed much of their present form.

Much of the present grouping of outbuildings is shown on the OS map of 1834, including the large L shaped block, the stables, the forge and one of the piggery buildings. These are described in the valuation records of 1837 as including a ‘cart house’, cowhouses, stables, workshop [?the forge], stores and a piggery. There is also mention of an ‘office’ which may have amounted to the steward’s quarters. The valuations grade most of the larger buildings (including the large L shaped block) as ‘A’ meaning they were probably constructed at the same time as much of the present house, that is perhaps c.1790-c.1800. The watch tower was not noted by the valuers, neither does appear to be shown on the 1834 map, however, these omissions this could perhaps be accounted for if the tower was already in ruins at this stage (and therefore not considered noteworthy by either the cartographers or the valuers).

The large boat house, to the east of the main grouping, was built some time after 1933, possibly in the later 1940s, when Mr. Mackie bought the property.

References- Primary sources
1 QUB Calendar of State Papers Ireland, 1601-3, p.303.
2 PRONI T.776, p.89-90 Transcript of a Fee Farm Grant of lands at Ringdufferin- Henry, Earl of Clanbrassill to Alexander Baillie, 9th April 1674.
3 ‘Taylor’s and Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland (Dublin 1777), map 281. [This map shows a house at Toye belonging to a Mr. Baillie, but its position on the map and its name suggests that this is in fact ‘Toye House’, which appears to have been a Baillie property at one stage also. It is odd that Ringdufferin House is not marked on the map however.]
5 PRONI OS/1/3/24 OS map, 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 24.
6 PRONI VAL/1B/336 p.75 First valuation, Killyleagh, 1837.
7 PRONI OS/6/3/24/2 OS map, 1st rev., 1859, Co. Down 24.
8 PRONI Second valuation, Killyleagh, 1861. [In print in PRONI search room and Linen Hall Library.]

Secondary sources
1 ‘Archaeological Survey of Co. Down’ (Belfast HMSO 1966), p.263.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Extensive collection of outbuildings mainly grouped around a courtyard and small stableyard, and including a large, two storey, store (with possible steward’s dwelling), a forge, two stable blocks and a piggery. To the north west of these is a large walled garden and to the east is a large boat house and the ruins of what appears to be a small watch tower. All the buildings are in greywacke rubble with gabled or hipped natural slated roofs and most appear to date from c.1790-c.1800, the boat house was added c.1940-50, however. The entire grouping appears to have witnessed little external alteration over the years, apart from the forge building which now has recent looking garage doors to its north end, and the SE façade of the L shaped block, which has had a modern corrugated iron structure built against it.