7 Bryansford village

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

One and a half storey, rubble-built, gabled house of possible pre 1834 origin, but whose steeply pitched roof, gabled timber porch, hipped roof half-dormer and half Georgian-paned window frames, lends it more of a picturesque Edwardian appearance. A large two storey extension has recently been added to the rear, doubling the size of the property. The house is set to the NW of the main road running through Bryansford village.

The front (SE) façade is in rubble and is asymmetrical. Slightly to the right of centre is a gabled timber porch which was rebuilt recently. This porch has a partly glazed door to the NE, and Edwardian style multi-paned transomed windows to the SE and SW. The porch rises off a rendered base and is painted. The roof has natural slate, relatively plain barges and a finial. To the right of the porch is a relatively small, double sash window with Georgian-type glazing to the upper sashes only, in the Edwardian manner. The window has a smooth render in/out surround and a slim sandstone cill. To the right of the porch is a similar single window. To the upper level left is a small half-dormer with steeply pitched hipped roof with finial. The half-dormer contains a window, as before.

The SW elevation consists of the SW façade of the large, one and a half storey rear return (to left), and the SW gable of the original house. The façade of the return is rendered. To the ground floor right is a timber and glazed door with gabled hood over. To the left of this door is a small window with frame as before, with a similar window to the right. To the upper level are two gabled half-dormers with windows as before. The SW gable is in rubble and has two ground floor windows and one upper level window, all as front façade.

The NE elevation consists of the NE gable of the original house (to left) and the NE façade of the return. The gable of the original house is finished in a contrived looking lumpy render and has a single upper level window, as front. The NE façade of the return is actually single storey (the roof of the return is uneven) and has French doors, with a small pointed arch window to the left. To the far left the façade projects slightly. This façade of the return is rendered and painted.

The exposed left hand section of the rear façade of the original section is rendered and painted and has a glazed door to the left on the ground floor. The rear gable of the return is rendered and painted and has a glazed door to the ground floor with a window (as SW of return). Granite quoins to gable.

The roof of the original section has a relatively steep pitch with natural slates a large off centre ridge chimney stack and a Velux window to the rear. The roof has a slight overhang to the gables with plain barges and finials. The return roof is covered in natural slate also and has a Velux window.

Large two storey rubble built return to rear, now renovated with timber sheeted doors, multi-pane casement windows and lumpy render to the SE front façade. The SW gable is unrendered and the gabled roof and covered in natural slate. Single storey outbuilding to NE.

Historical information

It is difficult to gauge the age of this house. A building appears to be shown on the site on the OS maps of 1834 and 1859, which is noted as the home of one Henry O’Prey in the valuation returns of 1863. The current owner states that he believes that the property dates back to c.1830, and may originally have been two houses, but its present appearance is late Victorian/Edwardian, and, apart from the two staircases, there appears to be no apparent physical evidence to suggest that it was once split into two dwellings. In fact, the aforementioned 1863 valuation only mentions one resident, suggesting that if there were originally two properties, the building was altered some considerable time before this. Recent alterations to the house make the task of uncovering its past even more difficult and all that one can say is that the building may well be early 19th century, and may well have contained two properties, but appears to have been altered on a number of occasions, and now looks as like a house of the later 1800s (or even early 1900s).

The property was completely renovated in the 1990s when the large rear return was added. The two storey outbuilding to the rear was built some time after 1859.

The following
references mainly refer to Bryansford village as a whole.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI MIC.147 Roden Papers
2 PRONI D.465 Roden Papers
3 PRONI D.2647 Roden Papers
4 PRONI T.2647 Roden Papers
5 PRONI T.3438 Roden Papers
6 ‘Taylor’s and Skinner’s Maps of the roads of Ireland’ (Dublin 1777), map 8 (Taylor and Skinner’s map shows a group of houses either side of the road running through Bryansford)
7 Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast News-Letter’ 26th April 1785 (Advertisement concerning lodgings in Bryansford)
8 R. Lewis, ‘The post chaise companion or traveller’s directory through Ireland’ (Dublin 1786)
9 PRONI OS/1/3/43 OS maps 1st ed. 1834, Co Down sheet 43
10 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland vol.3: Parishes of County Down I’, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1990)
11 PRONI VAL/1A/3/43 Valuation maps, Kilcoo (c.1836)
12 PRONI VAL/1B/362 First valuation records, Kilcoo (1836)
13 Samuel Lewis, ‘Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’ (Dublin 1837)
14 ‘Parliamentary gazetteer of Ireland’ (Dublin 1843-44)
15 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), pp.429-31
16 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
17 Maps of Lord Roden’s Co. Down estate (c.1855) [Originals in possession of Lord Roden]
18 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), pp.491-93
19 W McComb, ‘Guide to Belfast and adjoining districts…’ (Belfast 1861), pp.160-162.
20 PRONI OS/6/3/43/3 OS maps 1st rev.1859, Co Down sheet 43
21 PRONI Second (Griffith’s) valuation records, Kilcoo (1863) [in print]
22 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), pp.491-93
23 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870)
24 Alexander Knox, ‘History of Co. Down’ (Dublin 1875).
25 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.137-139.
26 UFTM W.A. Green collection WAG 1, 564, 565 Photographs of Tollymore Park etc. c.1900

Secondary sources
1 EHS Records of the first survey of buildings of historical and architectural interest in Tollymore ward (1972-)
2 P.J. Rankin, ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the Mourne area of South Down’, (Belfast UAHS 1975).
3 F. Hamond and T. Porter, ‘A tour of the Mournes’ (Belfast ?1991)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

One and a half storey, rubble-built, gabled house of possible pre 1834 origin, but whose steeply pitched roof, gabled timber porch, hipped roof half-dormer and half Georgian-paned window frames, lends it more of a picturesque Edwardian appearance. A large two storey extension was added to the rear in the 1990s, doubling the size of the property.