Site of former house off Nutgrove Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Site, to the N side of Nutgrove Road c.2 miles NE of Seaforde, of a small single storey dwelling of c.1840 built to serve as the gate lodge to Nut Grove House, now demolished with modern house currently under construction.

The building was described in the first survey of February 1978 as a ‘Single storey cottage with three angle [canted] front end. Roof hipped, slated and gabled [to] N end. Chimneys rendered. Twin corbelled eaves. Walls rendered, painted white. S front to road has sheeted entrance door and two light drop hung [sash] windows, no astragals on right hand angle. Some windows on E flank wall. Decorative cast iron gate at front. Condition poor and somewhat derelict. Front about 15ft’.

The site is now occupied by the shell of a modern two storey house (work on which appears to have been suspended).

Historical information

A group of buildings are shown on this general site on the OS map of 1834, none of whom match the site or positioning of the dwelling here until recently. On the revised map of 1858 the dwelling is shown. The property itself originally acted as the gate lodge to near by Nut Grove house, (situated a short distance to the west), with what is now Nutgrove Road once the private drive to the house.

Nut Grove itself was originally a large single storey dwelling probably dating from the early 1700s and probably built by the Cosslet family, (who are believed to have been there since at least 1744), along with an adjacent corn mill. The original house was demolished in c.1840s to make way for the present grander two storey residence built by Andrew McCammon. McCammon also added this lodge.

At some point in the late 19th or early 20th centuries (possibly with the advent of motoring) the drive to Nut Grove House became a public road (sweeping past the house itself). The lodge became derelict by the mid 1970s and was to have been completely demolished some time after 1978.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.366 Forde papers
2 Walter Harris ‘The ancient and present state of the County of Down’ (Dublin 1744, reprint 1980s), p.74 [Harris mentions a Mr Anthony Cosslet living in the Loughinisland area. Though he does not mention Nut Grove by name, local historians have stated that they believe the family where living within the house at this stage.]
3 PRONI OS/6/3/37/1 OS map, Down sh 37, 1834
4 PRONI VAL/1B/387 1st valuation, Loughinisland, 1836 [The building was not recorded in 1836.]
5 PRONI OS/6/3/37/2 OS map, Down sh 37, 1858
6 PRONI 2nd valuation, Loughinisland, c.1860 [in print]

Secondary sources
1 E.R.R. Green ‘The industrial archaeology of Co Down’ (Belfast HMSO 1963), p.49 [Description etc of Nut Grove corn mill.]
2 ‘St Macartan’s Church Loughinisland- Bicentenary 1787-1987 (Local publication, 1987) [Mentions the Cosslet family of Nut Grove.]
3 J.A.K. Dean ‘The gate lodges of Ulster- a gazetteer’ (Belfast UAHS 1994), p.88

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Site, (to the north side of Nutgrove Road c.2 miles north-east of Seaforde), of a now demolished, small single storey gate lodge of c.1840 to built serve as the gate lodge to Nut Grove House. The site is now occupied by an as yet unfinished modern dwelling.