Ashleigh,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large two storey, late Regency style gentleman’s residence of c.1840, set at the end of a winding drive to the N of the Bryansford Road, roughly half a mile NW of Newcastle town centre. The main building is roughly square in plan with a projecting porch to the front and a long narrow wing to the N which links to outbuildings.

The front (W) façade is symmetrical. In the centre of the ground floor is a large projecting porch set with a slightly projecting bay. Granite steps lead to a broad timber panelled door to the W front of the porch with fanlight above with chamfered top corners and margin panes. The outer edges of the porch have pilasters with arched panels. These support an entablature with simply decorated central panel and projecting cornice. Above this is a parapet with thick outer piers and pierced balustrade. The N and S faces of the porch both have a narrow windows with chamfered top corners and sash windows with margin panes. Plain pilasters to inner sides of N and S faces.

To either side of the porch is a single sash window with Georgian 6 over 6panes,with moulded surround and granite cill on moulded brackets. Three windows to first floor, each of which are smaller than those to the ground floor with 6 over 3 Georgian sash frames. Each has a similar surround to ground floor, however, whereas the surround drops to a cill course, the windows and cills proper are raised slightly above this course, almost as if the openings themselves were made smaller at some point (though this does not appear to have been the case).

The S façade has three windows to the ground floor and three to the first floor, with both as ground and first floor front respectively. The centre windows to each floor are actually dummies.
Stretching to the N is a wing which appears to have been added to at various stages. The largest section abuts the N facade of the main house and is two storey with a gabled roof. Where it abuts the main N façade, there is a two storey lean to section attached to the right side of the façade (which is largely obscured by a tree right in front of it). The W façade of the large gabled section of the N wing has a timber constructed lean-to section attached to it at first floor level. At its N end this timber section is supported on narrow timber pillars and spans between N gable of the two storey section to the W façade of another two storey gabled section (much smaller than that to its S). To the S end the timber lean-to section spans over what is now an enclosed corridor, formed by the addition of a glazed door screen between the large gabled wing and a rendered wall a few metres to the W. This corridor is partiall covered with lead.

The exposed upper section of the N façade of the main house has a centrally placed window with stained glass; this window does not have a surround. Directly below this window, where the roof of the large two storey gabled section intersects the two storey lean-to against the main N façade, there is a ‘domed’ roof light.

The upper floor of the lean-to to the main N façade has a casement window. The timber section has three similar casement windows. There are two doorways to the ground floor to the W façade of the smaller two story gabled section. The doorway to the left forms the entrance to a passage which leads to the rear garden. This gabled section itself links to the S façade of a complex of two and single storey outbuildings which form a courtyard to the N. To the S of the outbuildings the whole of the complex N wing has is own yard, enclosed to the W by the rendered wall mentioned above. This yard is set at a slightly lower level than the ground to the W of the wall.

The E façade of the main house has a bay to its right (N) side. This bay has a window to the first floor as first floor W and S with a broad window directly below it at ground level which has a cornice hood over and appears to have margin panes as well as the Georgian ones. To the left side of this façade there are two ground floor windows (as before) and two first floor windows (as W and S). The W façade of the largest (gabled) section of the there are three windows to the first floor with modern PVC frames. There are three windows to the ground floor, also with modern frames. Most of these windows are very large and may have been enlarged recently. The smaller gabled section has two windows to the first floor, both of which have 2 over 2 sash frames. There is a small porch-like lean-to to the left on the ground floor and a much larger sash window with Edwardian glazing and a lean-to green house to the right.

The entire building is rendered and painted. The main house has granite quoins. The roof of the main house is hipped and has a considerable overhang with exposed rafter ends. Small gabled dormer (probably added c.1900) to N side of main roof with what appears to be a sash window. This roof appears to have natural slate. The roofs of the different sections of the N wing appear to have a mixture of natural and asbestos slate. The main roof has four rendered chimney stacks with a similar potless stack to the gable of the large two storey section to the N.

Historical information

This house is shown on the OS map of 1859 and probably dates from c.1840. The second valuation of c.1863 states that the house was at this stage in the hands of a Rev. William Slacke, which may suggest that it was built as a rectory or manse. Much of the wing to the north appears to be original (it is indicated on the 1859 map), however the timber lean-to and the two storey lean-to may be later additions (c.1910-10).

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/49/2 OS maps 1st rev. 1859, Down 49.
2 PRONI 2nd valuation, Maghera parish, c.1863.

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.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Substantial two storey, late Regency style gentleman’s residence of c.1840, set at the end of a winding drive to the N of the Bryansford Road, roughly half a mile NW of Newcastle town centre. The main building is roughly square in plan with a projecting porch to the front and a long narrow wing to the N which links to outbuildings.

The front (W) façade is symmetrical. In the centre of the ground floor is a large projecting porch set with a slightly projecting bay. Granite steps lead to a broad timber panelled door to the W front of the porch with fanlight above with chamfered top corners and margin panes. .The rear elevation of the this north wing appears to have some large modern windows, but the main hipped roof section of the house appears largely original. Original outbuildings to north.