Ballyobegan House,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large two storey gentleman’s residence of the early nineteenth century with large front projecting bays, hipped roof with valleys, and quoins and adjacent complex of out houses, all set within heavily wooded surroundings off the Kircubbin Road.

Front NE elevation has two large projecting bays to either side of a central recess. Large front timber panel and glazed door centred within recess, with elliptical arch radial fanlight and sidelights with decorative curving tracery. Above door is ‘tripartite’ window with large sliding sash and case central section with horizontal and vertical astragals, and sidelights similar to the those to front door. Large flag pole attached to wall just below window. Both projecting bays each have two sliding sash and case windows with horizontal and vertical astragals to ground and first floors. Front facade has parapet with decorative finials to inner parapet corners on projecting bays.

The NW gable of main house is blank.

The SE gable merges into a large ‘double-gabled’ return at the rear and has a curious painted ‘window’ to right on first floor, with another ‘tripartite’; stairway-level window to centre, similar to that on front facade. Above this ‘tripartite’ window, though not attached, is a curious semi-circular window with radial tracery, similar to a fanlight on some Georgian doorways. To the ground floor left of this window grouping is a small lean to extension, with a modern three pane timber window to the left of this on the ground floor and a sliding sash and case window (without astragals) to the first floor. The large ‘double-gable’ rear of the return is mainly blank with only a single sliding sash and case window, with astragals, to the right on first floor.

To the ground floor rear of the main building (to the left of the return) is a small three sided timber ‘conservatory’ with gabled roof and radial fanlight, now in very poor order. Above this is a sliding sash and case window, as before, with a very small four pane window to the right.

Mixture of sliding sash and case windows to NW side of return.

Front elevation and gables finished in lined render and painted, rear unpainted. Roofs hipped with Bangor blue slates and mixture of rendered and brick chimney stacks. Eaves course, cast iron gutters and down spouts.

Historical information

This house is shown on the OS map of 1834, but appears to be without the projecting front bays. Rev. A.P. Goudy lived here between 1831-3 whilst he was minister of Glastry Presbyterian Church. By the later 1830s the house was in possession of Alexander Allen Esq. and was described in the OS Memoirs as ‘a spacious and rather handsome house’, but one which had ‘a bare appearance from the total absence of planting’. It is said that the former Lord Dunleath also resided in this house during the late 1840s, when Ballywalter House was being reconstructed, but the Allen family were still in possession of Ballyobegan in the early 1870s.
The Heron Family Papers at PRONI [D.3302], which date from 1750 to 1940, are said to contain documents relating to the townland of Ballyobegan, and perhaps this house, but this collection has not yet been listed and is therefore currently unavailable.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Edition, 1834, Co. Down 18.
2 PRONI VAL 1B/311A & B 1st valuation, Inishargy, c.1835.
3 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), p. 85.
4 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st revision, 1860, Co. Down 12.
5 PRONI 2nd valuation, Inishargy, c.1863.
6 Alexander Knox A history of the County of Down from the most remote period to the present day (Dublin 1875), p.462.
7 PRONI D.3302 Heron Family Papers. [Not listed and therefore currently unavailable.]

Secondary sources
1 Rev. W.D. Bailie 'The story of Glastry Congregation' (Belfast 1977), pp. 23-24.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Large and imposing, two storey, hipped roof, gentleman’s residence of the early nineteenth century (c.1820). To the front are projecting outer bays and to the rear is a large double-gabled return. The house is set within heavily wooded surroundings.