Gate Lodge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A 1 ½ storey, two-bay, Tudor-Gothic gate lodge built c.1870 (in derelict state). Rectangular plan form with rear return. Located adjacent the former entrance to the Brookhill Estate, off the Ballinderry Road 2.5 miles east of Upper Ballinderry.

No roofing finish; large timber eaves brackets, (no eaves). Robust four-flued chimney; smooth rendered rising to moulded cornice; no pots. Cast-iron ogee moulded rainwater goods (no longer fixed). Squared rubble basalt walling with sandstone quoins. Smooth rendered redbrick to window surrounds, porch, plinth and chimney. Timber framed lattice windows behind corrugated tin; chamfered surrounds. Doors removed.

The principal elevation faces north-east and is asymmetrically arranged. The left bay is abutted by a gabled porch; moulded weather coping with opening of door to the gable face; south-west and north-east faces demolished; south corner of porch clasped by gate pier. Single window to the right hand bay.

The left gable is symmetrically arranged comprising a single-storey canted bay (roof demolished); single centrally located first floor window, brick relieving arch visible beneath.

The rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged with a 1 ½ storey gable return comprising; single ground and first floor windows to the gable face; rear entrance to the south-west face. Single-storey lean-to extension abutting the northeast face of the return and the rear elevation.

The right gable is symmetrically arranged comprising enlarged ground and first floor windows.

Setting:

Adjacent to the gated entrance and surrounded by mature woodlands lining the former driveway to the Brookhill Estate (House demolished). Bounded to the south-west by a moderately busy road; two modern dwellings in close proximity to the northwest.

Roofing: N/A
Walling: Rubble basalt/sandstone
Windows: Timber framed lattice
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

An earlier gate lodge, situated at the entrance to Brookhill Demesne from the Ballinderry Road, first appears on the Ordnance Survey maps from the second edition of 1857. At that time this lodge (now replaced with the present building) was depicted as an oblong structure; a small square outbuilding also appeared to its west wall, however this had been demolished by the third edition of the maps (1900-01).

The Brookhill estate was let by the Marquis of Hertford to the Watson family c. 1740 who began to make additions to the site c. 1760; a letter to the Marquis of Herford from his agent tells us that ‘the lease [had] turned out very beneficial to that family ... a great and expanding estate for nearly forty years past.’ This letter was written in 1806 towards the expiration of the lease and due to the great profit of the estate Hertford was advised to retract the property from Watson for use as his own personal residence. However, this action was not carried out and the Watsons continued to occupy Brookhill until c. 1870. The first gate lodge on the current site had been constructed between 1832 and 1857 and was incorporated into the value of the estate which amounted to £150 in 1859. In the late 1860s ownership of Brookhill house passed to a Mr. William T. B. Lyons who renovated the pleasure gardens and constructed a new gate lodge. Between 1890 and 1904 this gate lodge was recorded separately from the rest of the estate for the first time in the Annual Revisions when it was valued at £3.

Dean tells us that the earlier gate lodge, which ‘was not of long standing,’ was demolished c. 1870 and replaced by the current Tudor-gothic style building as part of the additions that were built under the occupation of William Lyons. He also records that an earlier pre-1832 gate lodge, which is now demolished had stood over 200 metres west of the current lodge where the main entrance to the Brookhill Estate was originally situated. Field research conducted at the site has found that the gate lodge has fallen into a state of disrepair; the originally slated roof has been taken down, the windows covered with corrugated iron sheets, whilst the original gate screen has also been removed.

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI T3076/2/39 – Letter to the Marquis of Hertford, 13 April 1806
2. PRONI OS/6/1/63/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1832
3. PRONI OS/6/1/63/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1857
4. PRONI OS/6/1/63/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1900-01
5. PRONI OS/6/1/63/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1920-21
6. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/62/B – Griffiths Valuation 1859
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/6/A – Annual Revisions 1863-1866
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/6/B – Annual Revisions 1868-1881
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/6/C – Annual Revisions 1881-1889
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/6/D – Annual Revisions 1890-1904
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/6/E – Annual Revisions 1905-1918
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/6/F – Annual Revisions 1918-1923

Secondary Sources
1. Corken, W. S., ‘Magheragall Parish News’ (Article in Magheragall Parish Church pamphlet, 2009).
2. Dean, J. A. K., ‘The gate lodges of Ulster: A gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A 1 ½ storey, two-bay, Tudor-Gothic gate lodge to the former Brookhill House, now demolished, built c.1870; in an advanced state of decay. Although there is sufficient external fabric remaining to discern the original style and proportions of the building, almost all features and detailing of interest have been lost and the building is not deemed to meet the criteria for listing.