Session house at Rademon Unitarian meeting house

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small, single storey gabled building of probable pre 1834 construction, built as a session house for the neighbouring Unitarian church. The building is set a few metres to the W side of Rademan Unitarian meeting house (just on the edge of the graveyard), roughly 2 miles W of Crossgar.

The front façade faces SE and is asymmetrical. To the right of centre is a timber sheeted door. To either side of the doorway is a boarded up window opening. Both gables are blank. The rear is blank also, but has a small lean-to projection. The rear is covered in dry dash. The roof is slated and has rendered parapets. Two rendered chimney stacks.

Since surveyed in 2000 and revisit in 2004 the building has been renovated and restored. Windows are now painted, top hung, six over six, georgian paned, timber windows. The door has been painted and the roof resladed in natural slate. External render unchanged.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834, which may correspond with the present house. It is believed to have been originally built as a sessions house and a local historian has stated that he believes it to be as old as the adjacent church, i.e. c.1787.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/23/1 OS map, Down sh 23, 1834
2 PRONI OS/6/3/23/2 OS map, Down sh 23, 1858
3 PRONI OS/6/3/23/3 OS map, Down sh 23, c.1901

Secondary sources
1 Archaeological survey of Co Down (Belfast HMSO 1966), pp.348-49

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Small, single storey gabled building of probable pre 1834 construction, built as a session house for the neighbouring Unitarian church. Within the curtilage of the church (HB18/05/022), it is complementary to its setting. It is not considered of special architectural or historical interest in its own right.