Antrim Gate Lodge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single storey lodge with rendered walls, gabled roofs, with ornamental barge boards, a central chimney stack, with three tall pots, and a later gabled extension to one side. Main entrance faces north.

Roofs of main block are of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with dark toned ridge tiles; deep overhanging eaves with plain soffits, and elaborate openwork timber barge boards carved with cusped tracery incorporating stylised flower and leaf motifs including trefoils and Tudor roses.
Cast iron gutters and downpipes.
Walls are smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with projecting plinth, with raised quoins to all corners of the original block, all painted white. Central chimney stack looks like painted ashlar stonework, with painted stone cornice, and three tall hexagonal pots.

North elevation of main block is three bay, consisting of a large gabled projection to the right and a smaller gabled porch to the left with the main roof swept down low over a small window in the recessed wall between. Porch contains a four-centre arched opening with an original arched and panelled timber door set in chamfered reveals, surmounted by a label moulding, with a small relief carved painted stone armorial plaque set in the wall above; original octagonal metal handle on door; one sandstone doorstep and one of concrete.
Recessed main wall to right of porch contains a small window, rectangular timber 2-light side-hung lozenge-paned casements with diagonal wooden glazing bars, set in a rectangular surround with chamfered reveals; deeply splayed projecting cill of painted stone. (This and all other windows are replacements of 1996 to the original pattern.)
Gable to right of recessed wall contains a larger window, rectangular timber 2-light casements glazed as previous, set in similar reveals and cill, but surmounted by a label moulding; a larger armorial plaque than previous occupies the apex of the gable above.

East elevation comprises a large gable containing a canted bay window, to the left, with the side of the entrance porch set back to the right.
The canted bay contains rectangular timber casements, glazed as previous, with reveals and cills as previous, in each of the three faces; stone weatherings to roof of bay, painted as rest of walling. An armorial plaque, of larger design to previous, occupies apex of gable. Side wall of porch to right contains a four-centre arched opening with an arched timber fixed light, glazed as previous, with reveals and cill as previous, but surmounted by a label moulding.

Rear elevation of main block comprises a large gable to the left, similar to the one on the entrance front, but with a 3-light window, with the main wall set back slightly to the right. Wall to right contains an oriel window of very shallow projection, surmounted by a small gablet above. Oriel contains a 2-light window, as previous; shaped corbel courses to base of oriel, in painted stonework; small version of armorial plaque in apex of gablet.

West elevation of main block is mostly obscured by a lower gabled and slated extension, with a small area of walling to each side of it.
Extension has walls smooth rendered, partly lined and blocked to portion next to main house on the north elevation; projecting plinth and eaves course; roof slated as previous; gable to west has overhanging eaves but plain moulded timber barge boards.
North side contains a rectangular timber glazed and sheeted door; cast iron gutter; PVC downpipe; modern plastic ventilator grille in wall to right. Gable to west contains a window, rectangular timber 2-light side-hung casements, glazed as previous, but set in plain reveals with projecting concrete cill; cast iron soil pipe.
South side of extension contains two windows, each similar to previous in gable; cast iron gutter and cast iron downpipe.

SETTING: The building stands in a rural area within the grounds of a large estate. It faces the main road but is set back from it slightly with a main gateway to the estate adjacent to it. Driveway from main road is tarmac, bordered by lawns; a stony drive runs across the entrance front of the house. Concrete path around immediate perimeter of house with well tended gardens beyond. A low single storey gabled outbuilding of basalt rubble and brickwork of no special interest stands immediately next to the extension of the house; modern rendered and corrugated iron garages or sheds stand to the rear.

MAIN GATEWAY: The main gateway from the main road comprises a large pair of spear-headed iron gates mounted on a pair of rectangular openwork iron piers, flanked each side by curving screen railings of similar character to the gates, which terminate in a pair of square masonry piers. The gates show evidence of extension and repair; the one to the west has broken base and central rails and damaged uprights.
Ironwork pier to west has a cast iron crown finial which is sitting askew; corresponding pier to east has finial missing. Ironwork to stays to east have a cast iron urn finial, but it is missing from corresponding stays to west.
Curved screen to west has some uprights bent, having suffered impact damage from vehicles turning.
Masonry piers are of snecked squared basalt with rhyolite frieze, moulded cornice and caps. Capstone of pier to west has been partly dislodged.
Extending to each side of the end piers, for a considerable distance, is the front boundary wall to the estate, of coursed basalt rubble with basalt rock copings.

Historical information

Built as a gate lodge to Shane's Castle; precise date of building not known, but it appears on the OS map of 1858. Stylistically it may be dated to the 1840s, and may be a work by the architect James Sands who was involved with the Shane's Castle estate in 1848, and to whom other lodges on the estate have been attributed. Gateway widened in 1970s or 1980s by removal of pedestrian gates and extension of main gates; all windows in lodge replaced in 1997.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 50.
2. Original photograph in Welch Collection, Ulster Museum.

Secondary Sources
1. UAHS, West Antrim (Belfast, 1970), p 21 (item no 59).
2. J.A.K. Dean, The Gate Lodges of Ulster (Belfast, 1994), p 27 (reproduces Welch photograph).
3. R. Pierce and A. Coey, Taken for Granted (NIHBC, 1984), p 66.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a fine mid-19th century gate lodge in a Tudor style with unusually ornate and elaborate barge boards; it enjoys a pleasant setting at an entrance to a wooden demesne and has group value with the other listed buildings on the estate.

General comments

This record was originally numbered as HB20/04/033.