Lake House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A one-and-a-half storey long three bay house, built c. 1830, remodeled c.1890. Located adjacent to Ballydugan Lake, Drumcullan Road, south of Downpatrick. Long rectangular front block with perpendicular two storey return set at a lower level to rear (same ridge height).

Roof is pitched natural slate with angled ridge tiles; rendered chimneystacks to main and rear block. Half round cast iron rainwater goods to eaves corbel, broken by two wall-head dormers with slate-hung sides. Walling is ruled and lined cement rendered throughout, with quoins to front block. Variety of timber sliding sashes throughout; generally 6/6 unless otherwise stated, all with painted masonry cills and plain reveals.

Principal elevation faces west, and is eight openings wide with replacement timber entrance door to left of centre having replacement overlight. Two 1/1 dormers.

North gable has two attic windows, each 2/2 (horizontally divided).

Rear elevation is abutted by the two-storey rear block. It faces north and has a window to each floor at either side of a central replacement timber door. Thin slate cills to upper floor windows. The gable is built into a bank and openings are blocked with concrete block.

South elevation has two attic windows, each 2/2 (vertically divided).

The building has a small garden to front, bounded to the road by a rendered boundary wall with a timber gate at either end. Sloped garden rising via stone steps to wooded ground at north. There is a larger garden at the opposite side of the road, well maintained and bounded by Ballydugan Lake to west. Fine views over the lake and the Mourne Mountains to west.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Cement render
Windows: Timber sash
RWG: Cast iron

Historical information

The small townland of Ballydugan is dominated by the eight-storey Ballydugan Flour Mill which utilised the nearby lake as a water source and was constructed in 1792 (see HB18/20/055). Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland records that near to the ‘beautiful Lake of Ballydugan’ stood Ballydugan House (see HB18/20/046), a gentlemen’s’ mansion which was constructed in 1770 on the site of an earlier 17th century structure; the original country house was ‘the residence of Colonel White, who was murdered, and [had his] mansion burnt in the war of 1641’ (Lewis).

It is not known exactly when the single-storey cottage (located to the immediate north of Ballydugan Mill and to the west of Ballydugan House) had been constructed; however the cottage was associated with the adjacent mill and is certainly of Georgian origin having been constructed prior to the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map of 1834. The map depicts the cottage along its current layout (with projecting return visible) situated on the eastern side of the lake; the contemporary Townland Valuations (c. 1830) record that the house was valued along with the nearby flour mill at a joint rateable value of £62.

Isaac Hardy rented the single-storey cottage and the associated mill from William Wallace, Robert Denvir and Sarah Rentoul at annual rent of £350, but the Townland Valuations do not record whether Isaac Hardy resided at the cottage. By the mid-19th century the single-storey cottage lay unoccupied whilst the impressive Flour Mill, less than 70 years after its construction, lay abandoned. Griffith’s Valuation (1861) recorded that the vacant ‘old flour mill’ was valued at £45, whilst the similarly empty single-storey cottage was valued at £8.

In 1871 the cottage was increased in value to £13; at that time the site continued to be leased by William Wallace & Partners; the Ulster Town Directories record that a Mr. Charles C. Johnston resided at the cottage, which was known as ‘Lake Cottage’ in the 1870s. Johnston was an Army Major who continued to reside at Lake Cottage until 1889. Charles Johnston vacated Lake Cottage in that year when the Rev. Lewis A. Pooler took possession of the site; the value of the cottage was raised to £14 10s. in 1890 when the building was significantly remodelled with the addition of Victorian features (such as its dormer windows). The Rev. Pooler (b. 1859) was a Church of Ireland cleric who served as rector, and later as Archdeacon, of Downpatrick Cathedral (see HB18/20/005); Pooler was also the Deputy Master of the County Down Grand Orange Lodge and continued to reside at Lake Cottage until the turn of the 20th century.

By 1901 Lake Cottage had been occupied by a Mr. George T. Harley. The Ulster Town Directories recorded that Harley was employed as a solicitor; practising out of offices in Downpatrick (the directory also notes that Lake Cottage changed its name to Ballydugan Cottage around this time). The 1901 census notes that George T. Harley (41, Church of Ireland) was born in Cork City and resided at Ballydugan with his wife Clara (37) and their daughter May (4); also in the census were a number of staff employed to administer the household including a nurse and two domestic servants. The census building return described Ballydugan Cottage as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of 14 rooms.

George T. Harley continued to reside at the cottage until 1909 when the property briefly came into the possession of a Mr. C. M. Russell; also employed as a solicitor, Russell lived at Ballydugan Cottage with his wife Ann J. Russell until 1912 when the cottage again passed hands. In that year Ballydugan House was purchased outright from Col. R. Wallace by a Mr. James Kelly. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935) the value of Ballydugan Cottage was raised in value to £21; James Kelly continued to reside at the cottage in the 1930s, however he had vacated the site by the 1950s. The Second General Revaluation (1956-72) records that his relative, a Ms. Kathleen Kelly, took over ownership from at least 1956 and that the site was further increased in value to £31 10s. by the end of the revaluation.

Ballydugan Cottage was visited as part of the First Survey in 1976, however the building was not listed at that time; the First Survey Record (HB18/20/048) described the cottage as a ‘long single-storey house with attic. Roof slated, gable ends. Chimneys rendered. Front wall rendered … front has two dormers, slated and gabled … door panelled and plain fanlight. Projecting at back.’

References
Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/37/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/37/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1859
3. PRONI OS/6/3/37/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901
4. PRONI OS/6/3/37/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1920-21
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/3/37 – Townland Valuation map c. 1830
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/378 – Townland Valuations c. 1830
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/78B – Griffiths Valuation 1861
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/18/12A-E – Annual Revisions 1864-1930
9. PRONI VAL/3/B/4/6 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland 1935
10. PRONI VAL/4/B/3/37 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland 1956-72
11. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
12. Ulster Town Directories (1843-1918)
13. Census of Ireland (1901 / 1911)
14. First Survey Record – HB18/18/048 (1976)
15. Listing Query Files – HB18/LQ114

Online Resources

1. Ballydugan Mill website - http://www.ballyduganmill.com/history.php

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

One-and-a-half storey house, occupying a picturesque location overlooking Ballydugan Lake, south of Downpatrick. The house has early origins, having been constructed c.1830, and remodelled to its current appearance c.1890. The public façade presents as a long dormered cottage-style dwelling, and retains original aspect with a high proportion of original fabric intact; the rear of the house is set at a lower level, at two full storeys, and having an earlier appearance. Prominently located alongside the public road, the house is well proportioned and detailed, possesses considerable authenticity and enjoys an unspoiled rural setting. It has group value with the nearby listed Ballydugan Mill (HB18/20/055) and Ballydugan House (see HB18/20/046).

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance also apply.