Bush House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey house with a long two-storey rear return. Main entrance faces west.

West elevation symmetrical with a central entrance in a projecting single storey porch flanked by two windows to each side. Walls of snecked basalt with square basalt quoins to extremities; red brick block surrounds to windows and entrance doorway.
Hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; overhanging eaves with white painted wooden soffit, on shaped timber brackets; moulded cast iron gutter.
Porch is of similar walling to main block, with moulded granite cornice and plain blocking course. Door is modern rectangular, glazed and panelled, set in a glazed and panelled timber screen with sidelights and fanlight; concrete doorstep with later tarmac ramp approach; curving plinth walls flank ramp, surmounted by iron railings. Side walls of porch blank; one to left has a cast iron downpipe and moulded cast iron hopper.
Above porch is a central triplet of semi-circular arcaded windows; semi-circular headed timber sliding sashes, vertically hung, 3 over 2 with margin lights, with horns; set in smooth cement rendered reveals. Two windows to side of porch and to each side of first floor triplet: rectangular timber sliding sashes, vertically hung, 6 over 6, with horns, set in smooth cement rendered reveals, with projecting stone cills; flat arched brickwork heads to windows, the one to the extreme left on ground floor rebuilt with a soldier course of rustic brick.

North end of front block is two storeys, of similar walling and similar roof and eaves; PVC down pipe to right-hand side. One window to each floor, rectangular sashes as to entrance front in similar surrounds except no brickwork to head of one on ground floor; looks like painted concrete lintel.

Extending to the left and set back from the main front block, abutting rear corner, is a basalt rubble screen wall to the rear yard, linking with a gabled two-storey outbuilding. Screen wall has sandstone coping, and contains a rectangular ledged timber door set in a wooden frame, with new red brick surround; to right of doorway are two small high level rectangular timber fixed lights with brick block dressings, sandstone lintels and cement rendered recessed cills.

Extending to the right of the main front block is a single storey flat-roofed block in two stages: built of coursed basalt with red brick dressings to openings; concrete coping to eaves line; two small rectangular windows, metal framed, with concrete lintels; rectangular doorway opening to right of windows giving access to a recessed open porch. Concrete floor to porch; smooth rendered walls; rectangular 4-panel door. Abutting side of single storey block and extending to the south is a long basalt rubble garden wall.

Rear elevation of house: roof slated as previous, with similar soffit and brackets to overhanging eaves. Two chimneys, smooth cement rendered, with moulded cornice; two original earthenware pots of octagonal section to each chimney. Wall to right of rear return, has smooth cement render to upper portion above basalt rubble; lean-to single-storey outbuildings against screen wall of yard obscure ground floor of front block of house. Rear return is two-storey and comprises a long double pile block, with a later hipped roof extension to the east.

North elevation of original return: roof slated as to main house, with sprocketed eaves. Two chimneys of red brick with projecting stone cornice and blocking course; two original octagonal earthenware pots to intermediate chimney; three modern red terracotta pots to one on east gable. Walls of basalt rubble with brick block dressings. Looks like cast iron gutter, with cast iron and PVC downpipes; cast iron soil pipes.
Seven windows to first floor, all rectangular timber sliding sashes. One to extreme left is sashed 1 over 1, with horns; next five are sashed 6 over 6, with horns; one to extreme right is sashed 6 over 6 without horns. Three windows to ground floor, all pairs of coupled rectangular timber sliding sashes, 1 over 1, with horns, set in segmental brick arches. Between first and second windows from left is an elliptically arched recess, brick dressed, containing a rectangular timber glazed and panelled door; smooth cement rendered walls and ceiling to recess; concrete floor.
East gable has a short return visible, basalt rubble.

Extending to the east is the later two-storey extension in purple brick with red brick block dressings to windows, and a double eaves course of angled red brick. Hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; two roof ventilators of octagonal section, with semi-circular headed alternate panels and openings, ogee domed tops and ball finials.
Moulded cast iron gutter and cast iron downpipes; rectangular cast iron hoppers ornamented with raised quadrant motif.
Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, with horns, 1 over 1 and 6 over 6, and 4 over 4 to ground floor; 6 over 6 and 4 over 4 to first floor; projecting concrete cills.
Lean-to projecting entrance porch on north side of purple and red brick as main walling; roof slated as previous; moulded cast iron gutter on angled brick cornice or eaves course; downpipe partly cast iron and partly PVC, on left-hand side wall of porch. Rectangular timber glazed and panelled door with plain rectangular fanlight in front face, with a window to the right, sashed 4 over 4.

To the left of the porch is a projecting first floor level link block to the gable of the north wing outbuildings return: of similar brickwork to eastern extension of rear return; deep beam of pink tinted concrete or smooth render, with smooth rendered underside to link block. Roof of link block slated as previous; red ridge tiles.
One window in each face of link block: rectangular timber small paned fixed lights, set in red brick block dressings with projecting concrete cills.

At the eastern extremity of north elevation is a later small single storey projecting block of similar purple and red brickwork to main walling; flat concrete slab roof; one window in north end, rectangular metal fixed light with top-hung vent.

East gable of eastern extension to rear return is two-storey, of purple brick with angled red brick eaves courses and red brick block dressings to two doorways, one on each floor, upper one reached by a steel fire escape stairway. Modern flush panelled and glazed doors with plain rectangular fanlights.

South elevation comprises, from left to right, the south end of the main front block of the house, the two-storey return, and the two-storey extension block.

South end of main front block is similar to north end, with a similar first floor window, but ground floor partly covered by a later single storey porch to the rear of the small toilet block on the entrance front. Walls of smooth cement render, lined, with projecting plinth; flat concrete slab roof, with cast iron downpipe from secret gutter. One window in south face, rectangular metal framed fixed lights and side-hung casement, with horizontal pane divisions; one doorway in east face, rectangular timber glazed and panelled with plain rectangular fanlight.

South elevation of rear return: two-storey, seven windows wide to original return, with a higher two-storey extension to the east. Original return is of roughly coursed snecked basalt rubble; roof slated as previous to main front block; three chimneys on ridge, red brick with plain stone projecting cornice and blocking course; three original octagonal earthenware pots to first stack from west; two similar pots each to other stacks.
Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 6 over 6, without horns, except for sixth window from west on ground floor which is 8 over 8, and seventh window from west on ground floor which has horns. All windows have smooth cement rendered reveals and projecting stone cills, painted; with original brick block surrounds and flat arched heads.
Roof overhangs with plain flat sheeted soffit; timber eaves board; cast iron gutter and downpipe.

South elevation of later two-storey extension: walls of basalt rubble with angled red brick eaves courses or cornice; moulded cast iron gutter with cast iron downpipe; cast iron waste pipes with rectangular cast iron hoppers ornamented with raised quadrant motif.
Hipped roof slated as previous, with brick eaves course ramped up at left-hand side from eaves line of original return block.
Projecting canted five-sided two-storey bay of purple brick with angled red brick eaves course and red brick dressings to windows. Terracotta finial to roof of bay, now painted black.
Windows are all rectangular timber sliding sashes 6 over 6, with horns; with projecting concrete cills. Two doorways: one to left of projecting bay is rectangular timber glazed and panelled with glazed and panelled side lights and three pane rectangular fanlight, set in red brick block dressings with soldier course to head. One to right of bay is a pair of modern glazed and panelled doors surmounted by a three-pane fanlight set in similar brick dressed opening as previous.
Concrete area along whole south face of rear return, bordered by a gravel path. Large lawn beyond, in a walled garden.

WALLED GARDEN
Walled garden enclosed by a basalt rubble and field-stone wall with rough cement coping.
Three doorways in wall, one in west wall: flat concrete lintel and old brick dressings to jambs; one in east wall: segmental brick arch with brick jambs, containing a corrugated iron panelled sliding door to outside. A third doorway is in the south wall, at south-east corner leading into a small garden store which projects on outside face of garden wall. Rectangular ledged timber door set in old and new brick dressed jambs with flat arch head; window to left, rectangular timber sliding sash, 3 over 3, without horns.
Shed is a simple store, with rubble walls, cement floor, lean-to rafter roof.
A gabled garden house of 1930s appearance stands in the centre of the garden: open fronted to each long side, containing bench seats; red tiled roofs; rendered walls with dry dash; ocular windows in gables with unusual horseshoe-like rendered surrounds.

OUTBUILDINGS
Single-storey outbuildings built against screen wall to north of main front block of house: roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; PVC gutter and downpipe; walls of basalt rubble, with three rectangular timber ledged doors in wooden frames, with red brick block dressings; one window to left-hand side, rectangular timber sliding sash, 6 over 3, without horns, with exposed sash boxes.
End wall of single storey outbuildings is of basalt rubble with gable above in red brick. Between end of this block and two-storey wing of outbuildings to north is a steep fire escape stairway from two-storey block.

Two-storey wing of outbuildings to north of rear yard of house: slated, with original flush rooflights on north side. Walls of roughly coursed basalt rubble with angled brick eaves course; moulded cast iron gutter, with cast iron downpipes and soil pipe.
Windows are rectangular metal framed casements with horizontal pane division, set in modern brick block surrounds with flat arched brick heads and projecting concrete cills.
Rectangular flush timber glazed door in centre of west gable with modern red brick walled and flat concrete slab roofed open porch.
Projecting from north side of wing is a single storey gabled projection: walls smooth cement rendered lined and blocked; red brick chimney on gable; buttresses to corners and in centre of each side; metal framed windows as previous.
At east end of wing is a wide rectangular opening leading into the yard; rounded brick jambs; pink tinted concrete or render to lintel.
South elevation of wing is of similar character to north.
Wing returns southwards at east end, with a lower two-storey block of basalt rubble and brick dressings. Windows in return of wing are a mixture of new rectangular timber fixed lights with top-hung vents which have horns attached to give appearance of sashed windows, later small paned fixed lights, and original sashes. East and south walls of return are rendered with a dry dash of blackstone chippings. Eastern extension of outbuildings wing is gabled and slated with original rooflights; plain red brick south wall; roughly coursed basalt rubble north wall and gable with crude brick dressings to openings.
Standing detached to the north of the outbuildings wing is a twin gabled single storey building, the eastern portion smooth rendered lined and blocked, the western portion in red brick with segmental arched openings, containing a central door, and segmental headed sashed windows 2 over 2; red brick chimneys; canted bay to north gable of brick block; lean-to roofed extension to south gable containing a rectangular metal window.

SETTING: The building stands in a rural area facing a minor road and set well back from it within its own extensive grounds, with a large lawn to the front bordered by mature trees.
The approach is by a driveway from an entrance gateway which curves up to a tarmac parking area immediately in front of the building; driveway continues around the north side to an extensive carpark to the north.
The grounds at the rear merge into the grounds of a new hospital.
The walled garden to the south of the house is surrounded by a thickly wooded area.
To the east of the rear return are single storey gabled sheds of basalt rubble and of concrete blockwork, with corrugated iron roofs, of no architectural interest.

GATESCREEN
A set of decorative cast iron railings and end piers, each length of railing shaped as a double curve and terminating at each end in an open square column of upright bars on a moulded base with lattice-work to top and bottom; gates missing.

Historical information

Built in 1835 for James Arthur; architect not known; bought in 1934 by Holywell Mental Hospital to accommodate paying female patients of the hospital; rear return extension built c 1939 as wards, and former stables converted to a nurses' home c 1939; ceased to be under the control of Holywell Hospital in 1991, and became headquarters of United Hospitals Trust.
Gatescreen presumably erected at the same time as the house or soon afterwards, at least by mid-century.

References – Primary Sources
1. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol 29: Parishes of County Antrim XI, 1832-3, 1835-9 (Belfast, 1995), pp 21, 50.
2. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 50.
Secondary Sources
1. UAHS, Antrim and Ballymena (Belfast, 1969), p 12.
2. M. Mulholland, To Comfort Always: A History of Holywell Hospital 1898-1998 (Ballymena, 1998), pp 40-41, 89.
3. IHR 7729:2.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is an early to mid-19th century house built in a late Georgian tradition, which retains many of its original exterior and interior features. It has lost some its domestic character in the course of conversion and extension over a period of over half a century, initially for institutional purposes and latterly for administrative and office functions.