Brook Cottage

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Brook Cottage is an unusually eclectic, two storey building, originally a farmhouse of pre 1834 origin, which may have assumed much of its present form with irregular plan, large projection and many small gables to front c.1850s. The building is set at the end of a drive to the W of the Bryansford Road, W of Newcastle town centre. Latterly a hotel, the property was vacated in mid 1999 and at the time of recording is derelict and prone to vandalism. Most of the trees which surrounded the building were cut down recently and it now stands exposed in the middle of large field.

The front façade faces E. Slightly to the right of centre is a single storey, gabled projecting entrance porch. The front gable of the porch contains a modern timber entrance door, which may have been partly glazed until recently, but is now partly boarded. To both the N and S faces of the porch is a single pointed arch window, now boarded. The gabled roof of the porch projects to the front to form an entrance portico.

To the far left on the front façade is a large two storey hipped roof projection. The front side of this projection is canted with the central face culminating in a small gable. This face has a large modern window to the ground floor which is now boarded. To the first floor is a similar window with fixed two light frame. The outer faces have similar windows to the first floor, as does the N side of the projection. The S side of the projection is much longer than the N (it is part of the main S elevation, see below), and has a boarded up doorway to ground floor and a first floor window, as previous but with small gable above. To the right of these rises a chimney breast which culminates in a tall, mid Victorian, stack with three large diamond shaped pots, capped with further conventional octagonal clay pots.

To the immediate left of the single storey entrance porch is a boarded-up ground floor window. Directly above this is a small pointed arch window, with margin panes, set into a gabled half dormer. Directly above the porch is a similar window in similar half dormer. To the right of the porch are two ground floor windows, both boarded. To the first floor are two gabled half dormers, slightly larger than previous. That to the left has two narrow sash windows, whilst that to the right has a single broad 2 over 2 sash window with vertical glazing bars.

The S elevation consists of the S side of the large front projection (see above), with the gable of a large two storey projection to the centre, and the S face of a small, rear, two storey gabled return, to the left. The central irregularly gabled projection has a boarded up modern looking window opening to the ground floor and a large sash window to the first floor. The E facing side of this projection has a small modern window to the first floor and a boarded up doorway to the ground floor. There used to be a conservatory against this side of the projection but it was demolished recently after being vandalised. The S face of the small return to the left of the S elevation has a dilapidated modern window arrangement which spans the ground and first floor.

The rear elevation consists of a large, two storey, double gabled return to the left. To the right, this large return links to a low, largely two storey flat roofed section; to the right of this is the low gabled return (see above). The whole of this large return has a mixture of openings, many now boarded up. Two first floor sash windows set into one of the gables are intact however. The two windows to the flat roofed section to the right are large modern openings, both now boarded. To the far left this return also links to a small single storey flat roofed section. A prominent fire escape walkway, with stair below, is set onto the roof of this section. A similar fire escape stair is set against the two storey flat roofed section. The gable of the low two storey gabled return to the right is blank.

The N elevation, which consists of the N gable of the main portion of the building and the N side of the large rear return, is blank. The entire façade is largely finished in rough-cast and painted. All sections of the older gabled and hipped roofs of the building are covered in natural slate. There are six chimney stacks in total. One has been described above, the others are of a similar design but with a varying number of pots. Mainly cast iron rw goods.

To the rear there is a large, one and a half storey, rubble-built, gabled outbuilding with a small single storey section to N. Both sections have slated roofs and white-washed facades. The larger section has had some modern windows inserted and a tall rendered chimney stack. To the rear this section has a small gable into which an upper level ‘loft’ door is set. There are several small lean-to projections to this side also, one of whom appears to be modern. There is a high rubble wall to the S of the outbuildings and another to the N of the main property enclosing the rear yard.

Historical information

This building is shown on the OS map of 1834, with a plan similar to today but without the large projection to the front. The contemporary valuation records tell us that the property at this stage belonged to a William Burns, though unfortunately no details of its dimensions are given. The revised OS map of 1859 shows the building much as present. By this time it had assumed the name ‘Brook Cottage’ and had passed into the hands of one William Beers. It stayed within the Beers family until at least 1886, but by 1899 was in possession of a Thomas Hamilton, and, by 1910, a Richard Brinsley LeFanu (probably a distant relative of Dublin-born 18th century playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan who had cousins named LeFanu). In the mid 1900s the property became a hotel, and remained so until 1999.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.1503 Annesley Papers.
2 PRONI VAL/1B/362 p.13 First valuation, Kilcoo, c.1834-1838.
3 PRONI OS/1/3/49 OS map, first ed., Co. Down 49.
4 PRONI VAL/1D/3/10 Valuation town plan of Newcastle, 1838.
5 PRONI OS/6/3/49/2 OS map, first rev., Co. Down 49.
6 PRONI Second (‘Griffith’s) valuation, Kilcoo, 1863.
7 PRONI VAL/12E/111/1 Valuation town plan of Newcastle, 1864-1906.
8 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ]).
9 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.161-165.
10 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), p.72.
2 Grenfell Morton ‘Victorian and Edwardian Newcastle’ (Belfast 1988).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Eclectic, two storey former hotel, with large two storey bay / wing, single storey porch, and many gabled half dormers to front. Originally a pre 1834 farmhouse the building appears to have assumed much of its present irregular form c.1850s, with the flat roofed extensions to the rear dating from the latter half of the 1900s. Some window openings appear to have been enlarged in fairly recent times.