14 Church Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey rendered house with symmetrical three-bay front. Main entrance faces south-west.

Entrance front: hipped roofs, Bangor blue slates in regular courses; plain red ridge tiles to hips, with ornamented red tiles to main ridge. Two chimneys, smooth cement rendered and painted with moulded projecting plinth and cornice; stub pots.
Walls smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with rusticated quoins to extremities; moulded projecting plinth; projecting eaves course and moulded cornice. Looks like moulded pvc gutter, with pvc downpipes.
First floor has three windows; ground floor has a single storey canted bay to each side of the central entrance, with one window in each of three faces. Moulded cast iron gutter to each bay; small cast iron downpipes to right-hand bay, but pvc downpipes to left-hand bay. Roof of each bay hipped with shaped Bangor blue slates in regular courses. Windows are modern rectangular pvc fixed lights with top-hung upper panes, set in projecting moulded surrounds with projecting cills.
Main entrance is a modern rectangular timber panelled door with plain fanlight set in a pilastered doorcase with panelled bases to pilasters, scrolling brackets, panelled blocking stones, and dentil cornice; concrete step.

North-west elevation: roof, walling, gutter and windows all as previous to entrance front; two windows to each floor.

Rear elevation, to north-east: roof and walling as previous except plinth not moulded; pvc gutter with pvc downpipes; large central two-storey rear return.
Two windows to main wall left of rear return and two to right of it, all modern pvc fixed lights and opening casements, all set in plain reveals with projecting concrete cills; one doorway to right, modern rectangular panelled with modern brass handle, set in plain reveals. Rear return has flat roof; painted timber fascia with modern metal trim to top edge; walls plastered, lined and blocked, with plain projecting plinth; pvc rainwater goods; windows modern pvc as previous, in plain reveals.

South-east elevation similar to north-west except two windows are two-pane fixed lights in pvc, and another is of four-panes, three fixed, with a bottom opening light.
Setting: the building stands in its own grounds on an elevated site set back from a main road. Front boundary formed by a stone retaining wall. Main entrance gateway comprises a painted plastered moulded screen wall now bereft of original railings and piers.
A tarmac driveway winds up to a tarmac area at entrance front.
Grounds laid with grassy banks, lawns, shrubs and mature trees.
Boundary to sides formed mainly by hedges. To the rear stands a single storey outbuilding with asbestos slated roof, roughcast rendered walls, large rectangular timber fixed light windows and ledged timber doors.

Historical information

Precise history not known but appears to have been built as a manse, and continues to be used as such, for 1st Ballynahinch Presbyterian Church; date of building not recorded but reputedly c 1880.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map of 1859, Co Down 22 (house not shown).
2. OS Map of 1919, Co Down 22 (house marked as a 'manse').

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a mid to late Victorian house which has lost a number of its original features and which, even in original form, would be of no special architectural or historic interest.