Drumadarragh House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A large two-storey rendered Georgian house with attics, with an Edwardian two-storey rear return in a similar style. Main entrance faces north.

North elevation comprises a 3-bay central block dating from 1742 flanked each side by gabled later end bays of 1827 projecting forwards.
Roofs of natural slates in regular courses containing original rooflights, with an overhang to the front between the projecting side wings; timber sheeted soffit; moulded gutter, with PVC downpipes to each extremity of central recess; two cast iron soil pipes.
Two chimneys, at each extremity of the central block.
Walling of roughcast render, wet dash, with smooth cement rendered projecting plinth, flush quoins to wings, and flush surrounds to openings.
Central recessed block is of symmetrical arrangement, three windows wide with a central entrance contained within an elliptical arched opening. Rectangular timber 12-panelled door, set between panelled timber pilasters with rectangular 3-pane sidelights, and an elliptical fanlight with looped and radial glazing bars; concrete and stone doorstep, flanked each side by large statues of dogs.
Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash vertically hung, 6 over 6, without horns in smooth rendered and painted reveals; projecting concrete cills, painted. The windows contain mainly crown glass. Two small 4-pane oculi occupy the extremities of the central bay, at ground floor.

Wing to right is two windows wide to the two main floors, sashed as previous, with an oculus in the apex, 4-paned but larger than those of the central bay and without broad surround. Walling similar to central block, with projecting rendered copings to gables, with flush verges to slated roof. Two circular cast iron soil pipes between the main windows.

Wing to left is similar to previous wing except there is a lean-to extension to the left-hand side, containing one window, small rectangular timber sliding sash, 4 over 4, with horns at an intermediate floor level, with a small oculus above, similar to those of the central block; metal and PVC waste pipes. Walling of lean-to extension is similar to main wing, with two cast iron soil pipes.

To the left of the lean-to extends the rubble basalt wall of a lean-to shed to the outbuildings.
East side of the lean-to extension is a blank wall, roughcast.
South side is two-storey: contains a rectangular ledged timber door to the ground floor, with a rectangular 4-panel door to the first floor, reached by a steel fire escape stairway; small rectangular metal window to ground floor, replacement for original timber sashed window. Ground floor doorway leads into an outside toilet and a storeroom: concrete floors, whitened brick and rubble walls; lath and plaster ceiling in poor condition, below concrete floor above.

East elevation of house is two-storey with an attic; walling similar to entrance front. Ground floor has a rectangular timber 6-panel door approached by three concrete steps, between two rectangular sashed windows, as previous to entrance front. One similar window to first floor, with projecting cill fractured; rectangular glazed and panelled door to attic leading onto a steel fire escape; landing of fire escape stairway is enclosed by a timber construction with a ledged timber door in the south side leading onto the steel stairs, and a four-paned fixed light in the east side; east side clad in asbestos slates with boarded underside to stairway in angle with lean-to extension. PVC downpipes to lean-to extension.
Aluminium gutter to east elevation of house, with PVC downpipe to left-hand extremity.

Rear elevation of house: two-storey with attics; roof as previous, but without deep overhang and soffit to central block; elevation of wall to right of rear return has aluminium gutter to central bay with PVC gutter; walling as previous to entrance front, with a rendered projecting chimney stack 1½ storeys high added to the central bay; full height modern metal flue to the right of chimney.
Central bay has two windows to each floor, as previous to entrance front. Gable of wing to right is in same plane; has an oculus in the attic, similar to entrance front; two windows to first floor, as previous, and one to ground floor, as previous. Rear entrance in ground floor comprises a rectangular 9-panel timber door with original iron handles, surmounted by a semi-circular radial fanlight, set in a continuous flush smooth rendered and painted surround; three modern concrete steps, flanked by modern tubular steel handrails.
Projecting to the right-hand extremity is a later lean-to single storey block, slated as previous, with roughcast walls, round-chamfered smooth rendered corners, rectangular timber single pane fixed light, a 3-light ventilator opening, and a flush timber door; PVC gutter with PVC downpipe.
Projecting to the south from the rear elevation is a later rear return: two-storey, with hipped slated roof.

East elevation of rear return has a projecting rendered chimney breast of 1½ storey height, with angled weathering to top; chimney above, rising from roof, has a smooth cement rendered base carrying a brick chimney above; two red pots.
To right-hand side of chimney breast there is one window to each floor, narrow rectangular, sashed 6 over 6 with horns. Aluminium gutter with PVC downpipe; two cast iron soil pipes.

South elevation of rear return contains two windows to first floor and three to ground floor, central one larger; all sashed 6 over 6 with horns. Aluminium gutter with PVC downpipe.

West elevation of rear return has an elliptically arched entrance to the left with a shallow projecting two-storey gabled rectangular bay to the right.
Entrance comprises a rectangular timber 12-panel door set between panelled pilasters, flanked by 3-pane sidelights on low plinth walls, surmounted by an elliptical fanlight with looped and radial glazing bars, all recessed in a smooth rendered and painted flush surround. Above doorway is a rectangular timber window sashed 6 over 6 with horns.
Projecting bay to right has three windows to each floor, the central ones wider, all rectangular sashed 6 over 6 with horns. A blind oculus occupies the apex of the gable. Left-hand wall of bay has an aluminium gutter with PVC downpipe.

Rear elevation of main block of house to left-hand side of rear return consists of the rear gable of the wing to the west: similar to its front gable, but without soil pipes.

West elevation of house: two-storey; roof slated as previous with ridges of wing inclined upwards at each gable; three original flush rooflights. Walling as previous, including quoins to extremities. Moulded aluminium gutter with PVC downpipe to left-hand side; cast iron soil pipes. Two windows to ground floor and one to first floor, all rectangular, sashed as previous to entrance front.

SETTING: The house stands in a very rural area within its own extensive grounds, facing the road but set back slightly from it with a gravelled area immediately in front of it, approached by a pair of modern timber gates. Mature trees form part of the front boundary to each side. To the east and south are extensive outbuildings grouped around yards enclosed by basalt rubble walls and approached by a recessed driveway to the north and a gateway to the east. To the south and west is an informal garden with lawns and shrubs also enclosed to the front and west boundaries by basalt rubble walls.
Garden contains a lean-to greenhouse in poor condition and a two-storey rubble stone garden shed.
Outbuildings are grouped around two main yards, a northern one and a southern one, with a smaller yard immediately to the rear of the house opening off the northern yard . Small yard to rear of house: north side has a two-storey outbuilding linked to the east gable of the house, with white rendered walls and hipped slated roof, used as a store; east wall facing into northern yard is of exposed rubble; Georgian glazing to later window insertion; lean-to wooden gabled shed along its north side.
South side of small yard to rear of house is occupied by a single storey block with basalt walls and hipped slated roof; elliptically arched entrance in west wall contains double doors.
Northern yard originally contained coach houses, stables and grooms' accommodation while the southern one was a farmyard with cattle rearing houses, implement and feed-stuff storage sheds. An outbuilding forming the south-west side of the northern yard originally contained the dairy with churning and butter-making machinery.
Northern yard currently contains stores and garages, and a portion at the north-east corner has been converted into a dwelling.
Southern yard remains as farm sheds but no longer in full use.
Outbuildings around both main yards are generally two storeys high in random rubble with natural slate hipped or gable end roofs. Rainwater goods are in cast iron except for later replacements in PVC. Windows are mainly timber, mainly vertically hung sliding sashes, but also some casements, and also some metal casement replacements. Entrance doors are traditional framed and sheeted. Some arched doorways in the southern yard are now derelict while others have been partly blocked to contain modern rectangular windows.
The outbuildings generally are of little or no special interest and have suffered many alterations, while some blocks are of very poor original quality and are in very poor condition.

Historical information

Built in 1827 for George Langtry to the designs of the architect Patrick Allen; rear return added in 1903 for Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Dixon. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs a single storey house was built here in 1641; there was a rebuilding in 1742, and then a further rebuilding in 1827 when the lease had been granted to Langtry.
It has been surmised that the present three-bay central block dates from 1742 and that the wings to each side date from 1827 but without internal inspection this cannot be confirmed.
Langtry ownership ceased in 1886; bought by Thomas Dixon in 1891, but used as an occasional residence only as he also owned Graymount in Belfast and Ravensdale in Co Louth; requisitioned by the army during the 2nd World War; and then reverted to private ownership, by another branch of the Dixon family.
The present outbuildings appear on the OS map of 1832.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1832, Co Antrim 45.
2. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol 29: Parishes of County Antrim XI, 1832-3, 1835-9 (Belfast, 1995), pp 138, 150.
Secondary Sources
1. UAHS, West Antrim (Belfast, 1970), pp 20, 23 plate c.
2. M. Bence-Jones, Burke's Guide to Country Houses, Vol 1: Ireland (London, 1978), p 112.
3. C.E.B. Brett, Buildings of County Antrim (UAHS, Belfast, 1996), p 98.
4. Heritage Gardens Inventory (Belfast, 1992): An/151.
5. IHR 7069.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

This is largely an early 19th century house in a vernacular Georgian style, displaying the proportions characteristic of that style, with a rear return of early 20th century date but sympathetically treated. It enjoys a pleasant rural setting.