Portmore House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey five-bay, hearth lobby type vernacular farmhouse pre-dating 1830. Linear plan form with rear return. Located at the end of a long drive off Crumlin Road north of Lower Ballinderry.

Replacement pitched artificial slate roofing; clay ridge tiles; brick chimneys, no pots; uPVC replacement rainwater goods. Dry-dashed walling with smooth rendered quoins and plinth. 1/1 timber sliding sash with horns; stone cills and smooth rendered surrounds. Replacement plain timber front door.

The principal elevation faces south and is asymmetrically arranged. Entrance porch located left of centre; two windows to the left and three to the right. First floor windows uniformly arranged over ground floor openings. Additional bay to far left slightly lower ridge and eaves level; natural slate roofing.

The right gable is symmetrically arranged with 8/8 timber sliding sash windows, with moulded surrounds centrally located to ground and first floor level.

The rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged; abutted centrally by a single-storey return projecting northwards. Single ground floor windows flanking either side of the return; door to far left. Single-storey return comprises natural slate pitched roof; further extended by single-storey corrugated asbestos roofed outbuilding.

The left gable is blank; abutted by a single-storey shed.

Setting:

Single and double height outbuildings and extensive yard to the north and east. Large modern red bricked house to the south. Smooth rendered wall with wrought iron gates to the west beyond which lies overgrown vegetation largely obscuring views of the farm house upon approach. Water pump located adjacent to the right gable.

Roofing: Artificial slate
Walling: Dry-dashed
Windows: Timber sliding sash
RWG: uPVC replacement

Historical information

Ballinderry parish was described by Lewis’s 1837 survey as a fertile agricultural area with some cottage industry, “The land is almost all arable and in a good state of cultivation; the system of tillage is improving. There is little or no waste land; in the north-east and south-west parts of the parish are some valuable bogs. The weaving of linen and cotton affords employment to a considerable number of persons, but the greater number of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture” (Lewis, p.112) Ordnance survey maps show that the area has remained rural, with scattered farms and small settlements in a largely agricultural landscape. The current house is sited within the better arable land in the district, lying between the 100 foot and 300 foot contours, the land below 100 feet being liable to flooding in winter and that above 300 feet running to pasture, furze and rough grazing. The whole area was subject to a decline in population during the second half of the nineteenth century when a drift began from rural districts into Belfast. In many cases, only the older generation remained to work the farmland, although the population began to stabilise around the turn into the twentieth century. The current house is an example of the hearth-lobby type which is prevalent in this area and in much of central and south-east Ulster. (Ulster Folklife Society)

The current building, rectangular on plan with return, is shown, uncaptioned, together with additional structures to the south and east and a small orchard to the rear on the first edition OS map of 1832. The south Antrim area was a productive apple-growing district at this time. (OS Memoirs, p.87) The house is listed in the Townland Valuation as the residence of William Moore and valued at £7.17s, a moderately substantial farmhouse. The dimensions given show that the house had, by this time, assumed largely its present form, being a slated dwelling of 52 feet by 18 by 12.6. An additional single-storey thatched bay of 14.6 by 17 by 6.6 would appear to correlate to the additional bay to the west of the current house which is now two-storey and slated. Further buildings are listed, a thatched pantry, various outoffices both slated and thatched, a thatched store and a slated barn. The evolved nature of the group of buildings and the house itself at this early stage suggest that the farm had been in existence for some time prior to the first edition. In the 1830s the name of ‘Portmore House’ belonged to another dwelling, situated close to the Lough edge which was then in ruins but had been the former residence of the eminent rector and theological writer, Jeremy Taylor. (OS Memoirs, p.43-4)

By the time of Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) the farm had passed to Francis Moore who leased the property from local landowner, the Marquess of Hertford. Over 70 acres of land accompany the house and Francis Moore leased a further plot of over 39 acres. The house and outbuildings are now valued at £9.

In 1871 the house passed to Archibald McKenzie and then in 1877 to Edward Nelson. In 1893 the valuation is reduced to £5, the valuer commenting that ‘two-fifths of the lot is offices – valuation of buildings much too high’. Edward Nelson died in 1896, leaving the house to John Nelson who became the owner in fee in 1905 under land purchase legislation. (Annual Revisions) The house is captioned, for the first time on the 1900-01 OS map, ‘Portmore House’.

At the time of the 1901 census John Nelson is living in the house with his brother and their two nieces, one of whom works as a dress maker. A farm servant is also resident. In 1903 the valuation of the house was lowered again to £4.15s. By 1911 John and his brother Isaac had both married. John had six children and his brother three although it is not clear from the census whether John was sharing the house with his brother’s family. The census return indicates that the farmhouse was roofed with ‘thatch, wood or other perishable material’ in 1901 and continued to be so in 1911. John Nelson remained in residence until at least 1928. (1901, 1911 census; Annual Revisions) The roof has been slightly raised at the rear in recent times, but the house is now uninhabited.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/62/1 – First Edition OS Map 1832
2. PRONI OS/6/1/62/2 – Second Edition OS map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/1/62/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-01
4. PRONI OS/6/1/62/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1920-1
5. PRONI VAL/1/B/167 – Townland Valuation (1828-40)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/9/3A-E – Annual Revisions (1867-1928)
7. Griffith’s Valuation online
8. 1901 census online
9. 1911 census online

Secondary Sources

1. Day, A. and P. McWilliams, eds. “OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Antrim VII, 1832-8, Vol. 21” Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1993.
2. Lewis, Samuel. “A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland” London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837
3. Ulster Folklife Society “Field Excursions in Ulster, Ballinderry and district, County Antrim” Holywood: Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, 1982

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A two-storey five-bay, hearth lobby type vernacular farmhouse predating 1830. Externally the building has retained its style and character following modifications c.1940. Internally, however, much of the historic fabric has been significantly altered or lost with exception to a very well preserved early tie-beam truss, still in-situ following the 19th century raising of the roof incorporating a first floor to the front elevation, and subsequent replacement roof with raising the rear eaves level c.1960. Overall, the farmhouse is an example of an evolved vernacular dwelling, having undergone modifications to suit changing needs. The large modern dwelling to the south also detracts from the setting of the building.