Kilwarlin Manse

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Attached two-storey cement rendered Manse to Moravian Church, dated 1834, abutting Church (HB19/05/133A) and Hall (HB19/05/133C) as part of the Kilwarlin Moravian Church complex. Rectangular on plan facing north with lean-to entrance wing and gabled entrance porch. Located on the south side of Kilwarlin Road set within a mature
setting. Extensively refurbished 1987.

Pitched natural slate roofs, black clay ridge tiles and rendered chimneystacks. Cast-iron guttering on iron brackets to timber box fascia and cast-iron downpipes. Ruled and lined cement rendered walling with rusticated render quoins. Square-headed window openings to first floor, round-arched window openings set within arched recesses to ground floor, all replacement timber sash windows.

Front north elevation is four windows wide with the west half having a taller roof and abutted by single-storey lean-to entrance wing with gabled entrance porch, the east half sharing its roof with the Church Hall. A rendered chimneystack rises from either gable end of the west section and a further rendered stack to the east. Roll-moulded terracotta ridge tiles to entrance porch with terracotta finial, exposed rafter feet with plastic guttering. Square-headed window openings to the first floor with masonry sills (painted slate to the east section) and replacement 6/6 timber sash windows. Round-arched window openings to the ground floor set within round-arched recesses with painted masonry sills and replacement 3/6 timber sash windows with incorporated fanlights. Projecting gabled entrance porch has squat round-headed door opening set with round-arched recess having vertically-sheeted timber door flanked by pair of rendered piers with impost mouldings, opening onto two granite steps.

East side elevation abutting Hall (HB19/05/133C).

Rear south elevation is four windows wide abutted by single-bay two-storey projection to the west half having pyramidal slate roof and decorative corona finial. The east half is abutted by single-storey lean-to in turn abutting the return to the Hall. Rough-cast lime render walling, redbrick to the two-storey projection. Square-headed window openings with masonry sills and replacement 6/6 timber sash windows with exposed sash boxes. Large square-headed door opening to the projection with vertically-sheeted timber door.

West side elevation abutting Moravian Church (HB19/05/133A).

Setting:
Attached to the Moravian Church to the west(HB19/05/133A), and attached to the Church Hall to the east (HB19/05/133C), facing north on the south side of Kilwarlin Road set within a mature setting accessed via winding avenue opening onto the Kilwarlin Road via decorative gate screen (HB19/05/134).

Roof Natural slate
RWG Cast-iron
Walling Ruled and lined cement render / lime render
Windows Round-headed and square-headed / replacement timber sash

Historical information

In the years before the reconstruction of Kilwarlin Moravian Church in 1834 the church site consisted of two major buildings founded by John Cennick in 1755. These were recorded on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps, however, only the church building is named, listed as ‘Moravian Chapel.’ The contemporary Townland valuations (1834) record only one entry named ‘Moravian House’ valued at £3. 15s. It is unclear whether this is a reference to the Church itself or an early Manse building as only one valuation is listed for this site.

Griffiths Valuation lists the Manse at £13. 10s. and the building remained at this value until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930. Between 1864 and 1930 the occupants of the Manse changed with great frequency, the Annual Revisions show that at least 11 Moravian ministers occupied the house for short periods of time.

When the Rev. Basil Zula came to Kilwarlin in 1834 he set about an extensive reconstruction of the old Church buildings at his own expense. If a previous Manse existed at Kilwarlin, like the Church, it was presumably in ruins when Zula arrived. Zula restructured the Church into one large interconnected building consisting of the new Chapel, Manse and School House at the rear. Basil Zula was an exile of the Greek War of Independence (1821-30) and was forced to flee his native Greece before settling in Ireland. Bishop Foy tells us that Zula maintained a fear that his enemies would follow him to Ireland and in his design of the Manse at Kilwarlin incorporated a number of escape routes to evade capture. These escape measures included the construction of an upper room supported on columns in which a trap door gave Zula a quick path to escape outside. Further, a number of double doors and the installation of two staircases may have been designed to hinder an attempt to capture him (Foy, p. 7; Brett, p. 49). Today there is no sign of the raised room; however Barry states that in the Manse ‘it is beyond dispute that it is a house with an extraordinary number of doors’ (Barry, pp 82-3). After Zula’s death in 1844 his widow Anne continued to live in the Manse and used her husband’s money to build an extension to the Manse which was used as a ‘Boarding School for Select Young Ladies.’ She continued this school until her death in 1858 (Foy, p. 7).

In 1962 the Manse was occupied by Bishop J. H. Foy who wrote a visitor’s guide to Kilwarlin Moravian Church, detailing the role of Zula and the history of the Moravian Church in Ireland.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/14/1 – First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/3/14/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1858)
3. PRONI OS/6/3/14/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1902-1903)
4. PRONI OS/6/3/14/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1919-1920)
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/45A-C – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14A – Annual Revisions 1864-1879
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14B – Annual Revisions 1880-1889
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14C – Annual Revisions 1890-1908
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14D – Annual Revisions 1909-1928
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14E – Annual Revisions 1928-1930
11. PRONI VAL/12/E/102/1-2 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c.1864-c.1935)

Secondary Sources

1. Barry, J., ‘Hillsborough: A parish in the Ulster plantation’ (3rd ed.), Belfast, Universities Press., 1982.
2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of North County Down’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002.
3. Foy, J. H., ‘Kilwarlin Moravian Church: A visitors guide’ (Pamphlet, undated).
4. Kelly, D., ‘Lisburn’s rich church heritage: Churches and places of worship in the Lisburn city area’ Lisburn: Impression Print and Design, 2009.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Attached two-storey rendered Manse, dated 1834, abutting the Moravian Church (HB19/05/133A) and Hall (HB19/05/133C) as part of the Kilwarlin Moravian Church complex. An unusual rendered house with an array of vernacular and more formal architectural detailing that may reflect the eccentricities of the owner rather than a specific style or period. The manse is still in use and its fascinating history, revolving around Rev. Zula, is an essential part of the interest and appearance of the house. Set in a mature setting the house retains much of its original character and continues to serve a rural congregation.