The Game Keeper’s Cottage

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small, simple single storey ‘Game Keeper’s’ cottage of perhaps c.1865, with decorative eaves and barges. The building is set within the Portaferry House demesne, just to the SW of Mountain Road, less than half a mile N of Portaferry House itself.

Front (S) elevation is symmetrical. To the centre is a plain timber sheeted door with plain fanlight. Almost square sash window to left of door with vertical astragals (2 over 2). Similar window to right of door. Brick dressings to all openings.

Rear (N) elevation- Roughly half of this elevation is taken up with a small lean to timber conservatory within which there is a single glazed door to the main building. Apparent changes to stonework and outline of wall suggest that there was once a small lean to [?kitchen] extension in place of conservatory. Rest of wall is blank although outline of small window (now blocked up) to gable is still visible.

To the W gable there is a single upper level window, as front. To the E gable are two windows, one to ground floor and one to upper level, both as front.

The gabled roof is covered with Bangor blue slates, with a single red brick chimney stack in centre. This chimney has simple corbelling and two decorative pots.. Decorated eaves and barge boards. Small Velux window to rear. Well with remains of cast iron pump situated a few yards from yard wall to rear. Cottage faces away from estate road. PVC rainwater goods

Large walled yard to rear with mono-pitched Bangor blue slate roofed out houses and doorway to road. .

Historical information

This cottage is not shown on the OS map of 1860, but does appear on that of 1899-1900, where it is marked as 'Keeper's Lodge'. Judging from its style the lodge may have been built c.1865.

A piece of (skirting) timber found during renovations to the house in 1987 has an inscription which reads ‘Robert S. Cell Newcastle, Co. Down 20th July 1813’. Obviously this timber was recycled.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.552- Savage/Nugent Papers
2 PRONI OS/6/3/32/2 OS maps, 1st rev., 1860, Down sheet 32
3 PRONI OS/6/3/32/3 OS maps, 2nd ed., 1899-1900, Down sheet 32

Secondary sources
1 G.F. Armstrong, 'The Savage Family in Ulster' (London 1906)
2 'Archaeological Survey of County Down' (Belfast, HMSO 1966), pp. 379-381
3 Dick Oram, "Some Notes on the Evolution of Portaferry House and its Household" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical
Association No.13' (1989), pp.8-13.
4 G. Philip Bell, C.E.B. Brett, Sir Robert Matthew, Ulster Architectural Heritage Survey: Portaferry & Strangford
(Belfast UAHS 1969)
5 Karen Patterson, "To the manor reborn- Portaferry House survives"
[Newspaper article from 27th December 1990- ?from 'Down Spectator'. Copy available in EHS.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

Small, simple, single storey gamekeeper’s cottage (set within the Portaferry House demesne), of perhaps c.1865, with decorative eaves and barges. The building was symathetically renovated in c.1987, and has group value with the other listed buildings in the demesne..