Yewtree House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Plain two storey farm house of perhaps c.1860s, which may in part represent the raising in height of a pre 1834 dwelling. The property is set at the end of a lane to the S of the Drumnaconagher Road, roughly 2½ miles E of Ballynahinch. In front of the house is a long garden at the end of which is a large two storey outbuilding which was once a bleach mill and probably dates from the 1700s.

The front façade of the house faces roughly S and is asymmetrical. To the right of centre is a modern paneled and glazed door with fanlight. To the left are two windows with modern frames. All window frames are similar. To the right of the door is another window with four more to the first floor (in line with the ground floor openings).

The E and W gables each have a single window to the first floor. To the left of centre on the rear elevation is a full height gabled return. This has two large windows to its gable and a smaller window to the first floor of the W face. To the E face is a partly glazed door and window to the ground floor and two more windows to the first floor. There is a window to the ground floor of the rear façade of the main portion of the house to the left of the return. To the right of the return there is a window to the ground floor and one to the first floor.

The façade is finished in lined render with in-out quoins to front. The roof is slated and has four evenly spaced rendered chimney stacks [?one a dummy]. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

Long tree lined lawn to front of house with very small single storey vernacular dwelling to S end, built some time after 1858. Former bleach mill to S of this.

Historical information

A house is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834, but not noted in the near contemporary valuation, suggesting it was fairly modest and probably single storey. This single storey building may have been the ‘dwelling house’ advertised in to be let in September 1809 as part of Mary Brook bleach green, a concern which also included a bleaching mill and seventy acres of land.

The present house probably dates from the later 1800s, perhaps the 1860s, however its asymmetry could suggest that it represents the original dwelling with its roof raised.

The two storey outbuilding to the south of the house was the bleaching mill mentioned in 1809 and probably dates from the late 18th century. By the mid 1830s it was no longer used (it is not mentioned in the valuation), and is marked as ‘Old bleach mill’ on the OS map of 1858. The same map also shows an old bleach green watch house, ‘in ruins’ in the centre of the field to the W of the house.

References- Primary sources
1 Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast News-Letter’ 5th September 1809
2 PRONI OS/6/3/30/1 OS map, Down sh 30, 1834
3 PRONI OS/6/3/30/2 OS map, Down sh 30, 1858
4 PRONI 2nd valuation, Kilmore, c.1863 [in print]
5 PRONI OS/6/3/30/3 OS map, Down sh 30, c.1901

Secondary sources
1 E.R.R. Green ‘The industrial archaeology of County Down’ (Belfast, HMSO, 1963), p.30

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Plain two storey farm house of perhaps c.1860s, which may in part represent the raising in height of a pre 1834 dwelling, and now sports modern window frames and doors. To the south of the house is a large two storey outbuilding, originally built as a bleach mill and probably dating from the late 1700s. The building is not considered to be of special architectural or historical interest.