Corbally House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A long 2-storey gabled house with a central rear return. Main entrance faces north.

North elevation is 8 windows wide, with a central pedimental feature over the two central windows and main entrance. Roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; four yellow brick chimneys with cornices, one on each end gable and two at intermediate positions on the ridge; yellow tiles to gable copings.
Walls smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with raised quoins to extremities; projecting plinth; projecting eaves course which incorporates a course of notched brickwork. Semi-circular recessed date panel in apex of pedimental feature, inscribed ‘Corbally House 1891’. Moulded cast iron gutters with two cast iron downpipes, one at each extremity of pediment. Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1, with horns; exposed sash boxes; projecting stone cills. Moulded surrounds to windows, rectangular to first floor, segmental arched to ground floor, with painted wooden tympana.
Main doorway is rectangular timber, 8-panel, set in a moulded timber frame, with a raised moulded rendered surround; cornice over, with rendered notched brick frieze.

North and south gables of main block are blank, north one rendered with wet dash, south one rendered as entrance front. A single storey rubble stone outbuilding projects north from the north gable: asbestos slates to roof.

Rear elevation to left of rear return has two windows each floor: sashed as to entrance front, set in rectangular surrounds. Walling rendered with wet dash, with raised quoins to end. Rear elevation to right of return has one window in each floor, modern rectangular timber fixed lights with top-hung vents. Walling smooth cement rendered; PVC rainwater goods; two ledged timber doors. Rear return is rendered with wet dash, without quoins to corners; chimney on apex of gable, as to other gables. Two small windows in first floor of gable, one sashed 1 over 1, with horns, the other a later replacement, timber fixed light with top-hung vent. Projecting from ground floor of gable is a single storey open sided shed with segmental roof of corrugated iron.

SETTING: The house stands at an angle to the road and facing away from it, set back within its own grounds. Lawns to entrance front and around south gable. Outbuildings and farm buildings of no architectural interest stand to the east. Boundary walling to roadway is rendered, with two sets of gates: gateway to west leads to front garden: square cement rendered piers with chamfered corners and a pair of ornamental wrought iron gates; gateway to east leads to rear yard.

Historical information

Built in 1891 either as a replacement for a previous house on the site, shown on the OS maps of 1833, and 1858, or as an enlargement of it.
A small stone trough of square section which stands outside the house at the north end of the entrance front is reputedly inscribed ‘William Bristow 1738’ (date confirmed by inspection but name overgrown by moss).

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1833, Co Antrim 54.
2. OS Map 1858, Co Antrim 54.
3. Inscribed date of ‘1891’ on entrance front.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a distinctly proportioned late Victorian house which retains most of its original features and appearance but is of no special architectural or historic interest.