Annesley Estate office and hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single storey hall, with typical late Victorian ‘gothic’ gables and other detailing, which in its present form dates from 1893, but which appears to be a remodelling of a school house of 1857. The hall has been greatly extended to the W side in more recent times. The building is set on the W side of South Promenade, to the S of Newcastle town centre.

The hall is basically rectangular in plan, but with projections to the E ends of the long N and S facades (rendering the plan roughly T shaped). The main entrance is to the E façade and is set within a projecting, left of centre, gabled porch. It has a timber sheeted double door set into a pointed arch opening. Above the opening there is granite label moulding with decorative stops. Above the moulding (to the gable apex) is a square [?]sandstone panel with the date 1857 and some carved lettering which has been deliberately obscured. The word ‘school’ can still be discerned.

The N and S faces of the porch each have a small pointed arch window with three-light frames and chamfered granite cills. The porch is finished in rough cast with in/out granite quoins and plinth. The porch roof has an overhang with elaborate barges (whose finial has been broken off).

To the left (S) of the porch the façade is recessed slightly and has a pair of small windows as porch (this portion of the façade can also be viewed as the E face of a projecting gabled bay on the long S façade).

To the right of the porch is a large modern (picture) window. To the right of this is a large projecting gabled bay. The gable of this bay has a relatively small canted bay with lead sheeted hipped roof. Each face of this bay has a small window as porch, all of which rest on a granite cill course. Above the bay (to the gable apex) is a granite panel with quatrefoil recess. The gable has an overhang with barges as porch. Finial missing.

The entire front façade (like the porch) is finished in rough cast with granite quoins.

It is very difficult to see anything of the long S façade. To the right of the façade is a projecting gabled bay (see above). The S facing gable of this bay has an over-hang and barges as front and a group of three windows, also largely as front (but with middle window taller). This gable appears to be rendered and also has sandstone quoins. The W face of the bay is largely obscured by ivy growth, and does not appear to have any openings. To the left of the bay is the main ‘hall’ section of the S façade, this could not be seen from the outside, but has two pairs of windows which (from the interior at least) appear to be much as front. To the left of this is the later extension (post 1920 at least), its façade could not be seen.

To the left on the N façade is a gabled porch, as front, but with a quatrefoil panel above door (as front bay) in place of the date plaque. To the left of this porch (actually the N face of the large front bay), is a window, as before. To the right of the porch is a small lean-to section with a window opening as previous, now boarded. Viewed from the W the W face of the lean-to merges with the left side of a large gable, much as the gable of the large bay to front but without quatrefoil panel. The main N ‘hall’ façade to the W of this gable has two pairs of windows, much as previous. To the left of these windows is a small lean-to porch, which appears to be blank apart from a plain sheeted door to its N face. Beyond this is the long N façade of the large extension. Little of this could be seen, however, it appears to have at least one flat arched window opening.

The original (c.1893) portion of the N façade is finished as front, but the lean-to to the right of the porch is in plain render and the large W facing gable and the main N facade to the right (W) of this are in lined render. The large rear extension appears to be in plain render.

All sections of the roof are gabled and appear to be covered in natural slate. The large rear extension is slightly taller than the original hall section. Granite bellcote on roof ridge and small gabled ventilation ‘dormer’ to front. Former tall granite chimney stack to front now removed along with decorative ridge tiles. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

To the front of the building is a small forecourt enclosed with a low (mainly) granite wall with square end piers. The wall is topped with simple wrought iron railings. A memorial drinking fountain (or trough), also of 1893, is set into the wall. This structure is in the form of a Tudoresque gable and is granite built. The gable verge has chamfered coping and its main face has a central memorial plaque in [?] Portland stone edged with polished granite. This plaque has moulded coronet thereon and a dedication to Priscilla Cecilia, Countess of Annesley. At the gable ends are stocky projecting piers with cornice-like courses and chamfered caps. These piers rest on plainer piers which project from the low wall (upon which the whole gable rests). Between the wall piers is a large granite drinking trough with small tap above (see HB18/14/005).

Historical information

This hall, which originally also acted as a court house, appears to be a remodelling of a school house originally built in 1857. The school house itself is shown on the 1859 OS map (where it is marked ‘Infant school’). The building assumed its present form in 1893 when it was converted to a hall dedicated to the memory of Priscilla Cecilia, Countess of Annesley, who died in 1891. The present detail to the front façade was applied, the bays added to north and south and the rear extended to form the hall- all paid for by public subscription. The changes to the original building are marked on the 1906 update of the 1864 valuation town plan of Newcastle. A large further extension to the hall was added some time after 1920, doubling the foot print in the process.

After 1893 the building mainly functioned as a place for meetings and concerts and a petty sessions court. It also appears to have originally housed a ‘newsroom club’. It is still used for meetings and concerts today, as well as the office for the Annesley Estate.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/49/2 OS map, first rev., Co. Down 49. [This map shows the original school house around which the present hall/estate office was built.]
2 PRONI Second (‘Griffith’s) valuation, Kilcoo, 1863.
3 PRONI VAL/12E/111/1 Valuation town plan of Newcastle, 1864-1906.
4 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ]).
5 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.161-165.
6 PRONI OS/8/136/1-4 OS plans of Newcastle, 1901.

Secondary sources
1 P.J. Rankin, 'Historic Buildings, Groups of Buildings, Areas of Architectural Importance in the Mourne Area of South Down', (Belfast UAHS 1975), pp.73-75.
2 Grenfell Morton ‘Victorian and Edwardian Newcastle’ (Belfast 1988). [This book includes late 19th and early 20th century photographs the Annesley Arms Hotel, mainly from the Laurence Collection held at PRONI.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Multi-gabled single storey hall with gothic detailing, which appears to be an 1893 remodelling of a school house of 1857. To the rear there is a substantial mid 20th century extension. Comprehensive scheme of repair and conservation completed 2004.

The granite boundary wall contains a decorative granite built drinking fountain (or trough), also of 1893, and is topped with wrought-iron railings..