Clontagh House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large, two storey, hipped roof gentleman’s residence of c.1845-50, greatly extended with at the rear in the 1960s with addition of two large returns. The property is set on a rise at the end of a long drive to the N of Abbeyview Road, roughly 2 miles NW of Crossgar, 5 miles NE of Ballynahinch.

The symmetrical front façade faces S. To the centre of the ground floor is a relatively large, flat roofed porch. To the S face of the porch is a panelled timber double door with semicircular fanlight with spider-web tracery. This door is a relatively recent insertion, the original door was to the E face of the porch. The E face of the porch now has a window with Georgian panes. There is a similar window to the E face. The roof of the porch is enclosed with balustrade railings (creating a balcony area).

To the left of the porch are two sash windows with Georgian panes (6/6). To the right of the porch are two similar windows with five more to the first floor.

The W elevation consists of the main (original) house (to right) and the E face of one of the two storey, hipped roof, rear returns, added in the 1960s. The S façade of the main house has two windows to left on the ground floor, as front. To the right of these is a single storey flat roofed projecting bay (also, added c.1960s) with a very large single pane picture window. To the first floor are four windows, as front. To the ground floor of the S face of the return are three tall semicircular headed arches filled with plain French doors (these openings were inserted in the late 1990s- prior to that they were smaller windows). To the first floor are three windows with sash frames as front. These frames were installed in the late 1990s, prior to this there were modern examples.

The E elevation is similar to that to W in that we have the W façade of the main house and W face of a rear return (to right). To the ground floor of the E façade of main house are two windows to left, as front, with a large modern windows to right. To the right on the first floor are two windows, again, as front. To the ground floor of the E face of the return are three modern windows of various size. To the first floor are two widely spaced windows, as front.

The rear elevation is made up with the returns flanking an exposed portion of the façade of the original house. The N and E faces of the W return (to right) are both blank. The N face of the E return is abutted by a two storey hipped roof outbuilding. To the W face there is a partly glazed door, with adjacent window, to right on the ground floor, with a window to left on first floor, as front, with a modern window to right. To the ground floor of the exposed section of the rear façade of main house there is a plain French door to right and a sash window to left (3/6). To first floor right is a large elliptical headed stairwell window, with PVC frame.

The whole façade is finished in a (relatively recently applied) rough cast and painted. The roof is hipped and slated. Four rendered chimney stacks (all to original section of house). Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

Large, two storey, U-shaped outbuilding grouping to rear, with many windows and doorways enlarged, and modern frames to windows. 19th century looking wrought iron gate at entrance to drive.

Historical information

The original section of this building is shown on the OS map of 1858 and marked ‘Abbeyview’. The house may have been built c.1845-50. The resident in 1863 is recorded as Rev Moses Black, the then minister of Kilmore Presbyterian Church, with the leaseholder / freeholder recorded as one Charles Bunbury Isaac.

The building retained much of its original form until the 1960s, when the present owner’s father added the large rear returns and side bay, the returns replacing two earlier ones of different size and shape. He also changed the name of the building from ‘Abbeyview’, (a reference to the view of Inch Abbey previously afforded by the property prior to the trees growing up in front), to ‘Clontagh House’, derived from the name of the townland, Clontaghnaglar.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/23/1 OS map, Down sh 23, 1834
2 PRONI VAL/1B/330 1st valuation, Kilmore, c.1836
3 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster directory’ (Henderson, Belfast News-Letter 1852-)
4 PRONI OS/6/3/23/2 OS map, Down sh 23, 1858
5 PRONI 2nd valuation, Kilmore, c.1863 [in print]
6 PRONI OS/6/3/23/3 OS map, Down sh 23, c.1901

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A large, two-storey, hipped-roof gentleman’s residence of c.1845-50, that has been considerably extended with two hipped-roof rear returns added to the main (original) house in the 1960s.
The original portion of the house has also undergone significant changes. These include the following: The porch has been altered, with the east-facing main door relocated to the south face and replaced with a window. A single-storey flat-roofed projecting bay with a very large single-pane picture window was added c.1960s to the west façade. Large modern windows have been inserted to the right of the two existing windows on the ground floor of the E façade of the main house. On the rear elevation, the large elliptical-headed stairwell window has a PVC frame.
Three tall semicircular-headed arches that house French doors were inserted in the late 1990s on the ground floor of the S face of the return.
The façade has been rendered in sand-cement roughcast and painted. RW goods are a mix of Cast iron and PVC.
The building has undergone numerous significant changes and has lost authenticity, rendering it ineligible for listing.