’The Glebe’

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large two storey gabled house, now a health centre, at the N end of Main Street in the town of Kircubbin, with a large return and outbuildings to the rear.

Front SW elevation has central gabled porch, with Bangor blue slates and finial. SW side of porch has large timber four pane window, with modern panelled and glazed door with plain fanlight, to the SE side. To left of porch is a three sided bay with lead covered hipped roof. On each side of bay is two pane PVC window, made to resemble original sliding sash and case but with top hung upper opener. Two similar windows to right side of porch, with five, evenly spaced, to first floor.

SE gable has two windows, same as front, to left on ground and first floor.

NW gable has two similar windows to left on ground and first floors, and merges into two storey gabled return at left. This return has two windows, as gable, to right on ground and first floor with another to left on ground floor. Attached to back of return is small single storey flat roofed extension with small fixed light PVC window.

Rear of main house, return and extension have mixture of PVC windows of various sizes, with a shallow full height extension to intersection of return and main house, with lead sheeted hipped roof.

Rubble built out houses, probably former stables, to rear. Ogee arch door opening in rubble garden wall at rear.

Front facade and SE gable finished in lined render with chamfered quoins to front. Rest of building finished in plain render.

Roofs of main house and return pitched with Bangor blue slates, with four evenly spaced brick chimney stacks to main house and one to return, with another render stack to gable of return. Cast iron gutters and down spouts. NW gable and side of return etc. all face out unto Blackhall Street, with high wall running along rest of Street to junction with Main Street. Large car park in front of building to Main Street and to SE. High rendered wall attached to right of SE gable, which encloses rear of building.

Historical information

This house is shown (to much the same plan) on the OS Map of 1834 and marked ‘Glebe House’. It may have been built around 1810 and served as a glebe for Balligan Church. The three sided bay and the gabled porch are all late Victorian/Edwardian additions. Until recently this building appears to have been the residence for the manager of the local Northern Bank. The bank’s new premises now stand a few yards to the SE of this building, on former glebe land, however, the former glebe house itself is now a health centre.

References- Primary sources
1 Pigot & Co.s “City of Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory” (Manchester 1824), pp. 417-18. [Description of the town of Kircubbin etc. in c.1824. See also Slater’s “Directory” for 1846, 1856 and 1870, original copies of which are currently held at the Linenhall Library, Belfast.]
2 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Edition, 1834, Co. Down 18.
3 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), p. 84-5. [c.1834]
4 PRONI VAL 1B/311A & B 1st valuation, Inishargy, c.1835.
5 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st revision, 1860, Co. Down 18.
6 PRONI 2nd valuation, Inishargy, c.1863.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Large, two storey, former glebe house of c.1810, rendered somewhat ordinary by inclusion of late Victorian/Edwardian three sided bay and porch and recent PVC windows, but otherwise largely intact externally. The interior layout appears little altered and some 19th century detailing remains.