The Lodge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An asymmetrical two-storey three-bay Victorian house with attic and basement, built c.1865, located on the Donaghadee Road, opposite Groomsport Parish Church (HB23/01/014). The house is rectangular on plan with slightly projecting gabled right bay and central projecting steeply gabled porch; return to rear (west), now abutted by a substantial modern extension.

Roof is pitched natural slate with blue/black angled clay ridge tiles; porch includes two courses of fish scale slates. Octagonal chimneystacks are grouped in twos and threes, supported on sandstone bases. Ornate timber bargeboards to main house, cast-iron bargeboards to porch. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods with fleur-de-lys fixings over exposed rafter ends and eaves board. Walling is ashlar sandstone over chamfered plinth set with cast-iron ventilation grilles. Windows are grouped in sets of two and three 1/1 timber sashes divided by sandstone transoms and mullions all in ashlar sandstone surrounds with flush chamfered sills (unless otherwise stated). Some original glazing remains.

Principal elevation faces east and has openings to each floor at each bay arranged about the central porch, which is profiled with offsets at either side of the front elevation. All are as stated with the exception of the first floor central window, which is a single 2/2 sash, and a diminutive 1/1 sash lighting attic to right gable. The porch has a door opening to either cheek, each comprising a shouldered opening with stop-end chamfered reveal with timber sheeted door accessed by three stone steps with reproduction metal railings; the left entrance door has a figurative knocker and decorative strap-hinges. Front elevation of porch has a four-centred arched Y-tracery window.

Left gable has a window at each floor, including an attic window as before; that to ground floor is contained in a canted bay. To its left, the return is set back slightly and has two windows to first floor and a projecting bay window to ground floor.

The rear elevation is almost completely abutted by a modern extension, of no interest. The exposed section is yellow brick.

The right gable is abutted by a lower two-storey extension.

Setting

The house is set back from the road with a large paved parking area to front, accessed via modern steel gates and enclosed from the road by a roughcast and modern stone / yellow brick boundary walls. The site is heavily encroached by modern buildings to either side, although the lodge remains prominent due to its scale.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Sandstone
Windows: Timber
RWG: Cast iron

Historical information

‘The Lodge’ was built c1865 and initially used as a clergy residence for Groomsport Church (HB23/01/014), located opposite the house. It was constructed using Scrabo sandstone, a stone also used in the dressings of the church itself (www.stonedatabase.com).

The house first appears in Annual Revision records in 1867. After an apparent period of vacancy, it was occupied by the Rev Abraham Hillhouse McCausland who was the incumbent of Groomsport from 1853 to 1880. When built, it was valued at £35.10s and was leased from John Waring Maxwell of Finnebrogue, who may have commissioned the house specifically for McCausland (Clergy of Down and Dromore, Part II, p.124).

Although Groomsport Church was built in 1842, it initially functioned as a chapel of ease to Bangor and the living was a district or perpetual curacy within Bangor parish. Clergy were known as incumbents, appointed directly to Groomsport, and paid a stipend by the Maxwell family After disestablishment in 1871, Groomsport’s status became broadly equivalent to a parish, thought it did not officially adopt this designation until the mid 1890s.As the benefice did not provide a clergy residence, ‘The Lodge’ may have been built in order to perform this role (Irish Church Directory; Knox, p.548; Groomsport marriage register; Belfast Newsletter, 20th October 1894).

Rev McCausland was resident at ‘The Lodge’ until 1880, when he left Ireland for the parish of Wishaw in Warwickshire. His successor, Frederick John Hearne, resided instead at ‘Albertville’ (HB23/01/009), possibly at the instigation of the landlord, Robert Perceval-Maxwell, who may have intended ‘The Lodge’ for his daughter-in-law, Selina. “The Bangor Season” of 1885 notes that ‘The Lodge’ was “occupied by Mrs John Perceval-Maxwell who resides here the greater part of the year.” Selina was widowed in 1875, and ‘The Lodge’ became her dower house. (Lyttle, p.41, Patton, p.65).

Mrs Perceval-Maxwell appears to have left the house in the 1880s or shortly thereafter. It was then occupied by Campbell Gardner, a partner in J & C Gardner of the York Lane flour and corn mills, who used it as his country residence for ‘many years’ until his death in 1901 (Belfast Telegraph). His widow continued to use the house until around 1905. Valuation records from 1901 note the construction of a new stable measuring 40 feet by 17½ feet raising the property’s valuation to £36.15s. This building is depicted to the N of the current dwelling house on the third edition map.

‘The Lodge’ is first shown, captioned, on the ordnance survey map of 1901 together with two extensions on the north side. Selina Perceval-Maxwell is recorded as both owner and occupier of the house from 1906 and remained resident until her death in 1928 when the contents of the house were auctioned. The 1911 census return lists Mrs Perceval-Maxwell and three servants: a lady’s maid, a parlour maid and a cook. Selina’s sister, (recorded as ‘deaf’) was visiting her at the time.

Frederick W White and his wife are recorded as resident from around 1931 to 1955. The White’s son, Michael White, became a doctor who worked in the East End of London during the blitz and then joined the Royal Air Force in 1941 serving in North Africa and Sicily where he supervised the air evacuation of wounded British soldiers. The Whites were followed by Charles Neill (1956) and the house was advertised for sale in June 1957.

In around 1960 a teahouse called ‘The Stables’ was constructed to the N of the current house on the site of the old stables and for a few years was included in sales of the property. Bernard Bennett Harris, sales representative is noted as resident in 1960 and A M Weatherup in 1961. The house and the tea-room as a going concern were advertised for sale together in 1961, 1963 and 1964 and Thomas Patton (1966) and Patrick J Dowd (1969) were resident later in the 60s. By the late 1960s and 70s the tea-room was no longer included in sales information for ‘The Lodge’ and has since become a greatly extended public house and restaurant. The original service wing of the house has been rebuilt/remodelled and is now in separate ownership. In recent years ‘The Lodge’ has served as a nursing home and a clinic/offices and planning consent has recently been obtained for conversion to apartments.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/2/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1901
2. PRONI OS/6/3/2/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-26
3. PRONI OS/6/3/2/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1939
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/23/7A-K – Annual Revisions (1866-99)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/23/8A-C – Annual Revisions (1894-1923)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/23/17A – Annual Revisions (1923-30)
7. PRONI VAL/12/D/3/2 – Annual Revisions Maps (1866–1923)
8. PRONI, Will of Selina Perceval-Maxwell, died 7th May 1928
9. Belfast Commercial Chronicle, 10th December 1842
10. Belfast Newsletter, 15th June 1849
11. Newry Telegraph, 9th April 1850
12. Belfast Newsletter, 20th October 1894
13. Belfast Telegraph, 21st October 1901
14. Census of Ireland, 1911
15. North Down Herald, 30th June 1928
16. Belfast Telegraph, 30th July 1943
17. Belfast Newsletter, 21st June 1957
18. Belfast Telegraph, 19th October 1961
19. Belfast Newsletter, 18th October 1963
20. Belfast Telegraph, 27th February 1964
21. Belfast Telegraph, 31st May 1967
22. Belfast Newsletter, May 1976
23. Groomsport Church marriage register, 1894-1896
24. Irish Church Directory (1862, 1863, 1869, 1870, 1871) Dublin: James Charles
25. Planning consent LA06/2024/0592/LBC

Secondary Sources
26. Knox, A (1875 (reprinted 1982)) A History of the County of Down. Ballynahinch: Davidson Books
27. Patton, M, “Bangor, An Historical Gazetteer” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1999
28. Rankin, F., Leslie, Canon, J.B., Swanzy, Dean H.B. “Clergy of Down and Dromore” Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1996
29. www.stonedatabase.com

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

An asymmetrical two-storey three-bay Victorian house with attic and basement, built c.1865. The house is well proportioned and enlivened by its detailing. Although a large modern extension has been constructed to the rear, the architectural qualities of the house survive. Built as a residence for the District Curate, the house has historical associations with the church opposite (HB23/01/014); and later with Groomsport House and the Perceval Maxwell family, having served for a time as the Maxwell dower house. The setting has been eroded with inappropriate new development and parking. The Lodge is a good example of the florid High Victorian style.

General comments

Groomsport Area of Village Character