Gates at Ardilea House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively simple (double) gate screen of perhaps c.1840s, with wrought iron gates and octagonal granite pillars. The gates are at the end of the drive to the S of Ardilea House on the Ardilea Road, roughly a mile SSE of the small village of Clough. They are approached via a (possibly early 19th century) stone bridge, which spans inlet to the S

The gates and railings are approximately 1.5m high. The railings are wrought iron and have restrained spear head decoration with ‘curls’. The granite gate posts are octagonal, have octagonal pyramidal caps and moulded courses. There are two similar ‘outer posts.

To the immediate W is a set of simple wrought iron ‘farm’ gates with matching gateposts. These front a separate drive which heads W and now serves the modern residence built on the site of the now demolished 1840s ‘Ardilea House’. The gatepost to the N side is shared with the ‘house’ gates.

Historical information

This whole gate screen was probably erected in c.1840 to serve the two drives to newly built Ardilea House. Prior to this there was only one drive serving the older (but still extant) residence to the east. The c.1840s house was demolished in the mid 20th century [?c.1965] and, confusingly, it's name adopted by the aforementioned older building to the east. The main drive now serves the latter property, with that with the ‘farm’ gate serving a large recently built dwelling located on the site of the original ‘Ardilea House’.

References- Primary sources
1 Walter Harris ‘The ancient and present state of the County of Down’ (Dublin 1744, reprint 1980s),
2 ‘Taylor’s and Skinner’s maps of the roads of Ireland’ (Dublin 1777)
3 Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast News-Letter’ 16th Sept. 1789
4 PRONI OS/6/3/44/1 OS map, Down sh 44, 1834
5 PRONI VAL/1B/387 1st valuation, Loughinisland, 1836
6 PRONI OS/6/3/37/2 OS map, Down sh 44, 1858
7 PRONI 2nd valuation, Loughinisland, c.1860 [in print]
8 Alexander Knox ‘History of County Down’ (Dublin 1875)
9 PRONI OS/6/3/44/3 OS map, Down sh 44, 1901

Secondary sources
1 “House of the month” in ‘Northern Life’ Sept 1982 [Magazine article concerning the renovation of the present Ardilea House.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Relatively simple (double) gate screen of perhaps c.1840s, with wrought iron gates and octagonal granite pillars. The screen has group value with Ardilea House. The screen was probably erected to serve the two drives to the original Ardilea House, (itself built c.1840s), with the drive to the west, with ‘farm’ gate, probably a ‘tradesman’s entrance’. The aforementioned Ardilea House was demolished in the mid 1900s and its name adopted by the much older residence to the east; the main gateway now serves this property with the other drive leading to a recently built dwelling on the site of the 1840s one.

General comments

Originally listed with Ardilea House (HB18/17/041).