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The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Extensive complex of mid to late nineteenth century farm buildings, with many 20th century additions, built to serve the Ballywalter Park estate. The grouping is situated to the south of Ballyatwood Road, a short distance to the south of Ballywalter Park, itself roughly a mile south of Ballywalter.

The older, architecturally more interesting section of the complex is to the N. It consists of a large square courtyard bounded by largely rubble built buildings with portions in red and yellow brick.

On the N edge of this courtyard is a line of single storey largely featureless gabled storerooms with Bangor Blue slate pitched roofs topped at regular intervals with small wooden hipped roof ventilation turrets. In the centre of this side is a two storey house (probably once the farm manager’s quarters, now farm offices). The N facade of this house has only ground floor windows, and is in red brick with yellow brick dressings to the openings, an overhang to the pitched roof and sash windows set in arched recesses. This house has the aesthetic of a late nineteenth century railway office. The courtyard S facing elevation of this house is finished in render.

To the E and W sides of the courtyard are single storey animal houses, with courtyard walls rendered. The E side contains the main entrance to the courtyard, a segmental headed archway which is set in a gable on the E facade.

On the S side of the courtyard is possibly the most interesting section of the whole grouping - a two storey rubble building with a central gabled bay in red brick with yellow brick to wall edges and openings to the N facade. In the centre of this bay is a large segmental coach arch (which leads out of this courtyard) with a semicircular headed window opening above, with Georgian paned sash window. There is a clock above the window, a bracketed roof overhang to the gable, and a decorative (possibly cast iron and copper) open bell cote to ridge of the roof.

The rest of this side has various, but largely regular, window and door openings with red brick dressings. Some of the window openings have sash frames and some are louvred. Two doorways to the immediate right of the central gabled bay have remains of machinery to the doorway heads. This machinery, whose major components are three large iron wheels on a axle bolted to the wall, appear to have been part of a belt driven mechanism which was probably turned by a belt from a traction engine it order to deliver power a mechanism(s) within the building.

The S facade of the building on the S side of the courtyard has a brick steps to the left which lead to the upper level, with a large modern corrugated iron shelter attached to the right hand (E) side. The complex of buildings to the S of the main courtyard is partially obscured by modern looking extensions of the type common to most modern farms. Within this part of the complex sections of rubble built buildings can still be glimpsed, particularly to the E side.

On the E side of the road from the N which leads to the main entrance there is a neat single storey rubble built house (‘House 1’), possibly built during the 1890s, with sandstone courses and to window and door openings. There are other Edwardian houses to the S of the complex (‘House No.2’) and to the N (‘House No.3’).

Historical information

Much of this farm complex dates from the latter half of the nineteenth century and was built by the Mulholland owners of Ballywalter Park. The courtyard to the north is shown on the OS map of c.1860.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/12/1 OS maps, Down 12, 1834
2 PRONI VAL/1B/39 First valuation, Ballywalter, c.1834-38
3 PRONI VAL/2B/3/9 Second valuation, Ballywalter, c.1859
4 PRONI OS/6/3/12/2 OS maps, Down 12, 1860
5 PRONI VAL/12B/23/6a-f Annual valuation revision books, Ballywalter, 1866-1929

Secondary sources
1 Lord Dunleath et al, 'Ballywalter Park' (Belfast, UAHS 1985)
2 Alistair Rowan, "Ballywalter Park, Co. Down- I, II" in 'Country Life', vol.CXLI, No.3652, 2nd March 1967, pp.456-60: No.3653, 9th March 1967, pp.516-20
3 J.A.K. Dean, 'The Gate lodges of Ulster- a gazetteer', (Belfast, 1994), pp.11, 23, 63, 74.
4 Derek Patton, "The Village of Ballywalter- A brief history" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.14' (1990), pp.10-15
5 A.J. Hughes and R.J. Hannan, 'Place-Names of Northern Ireland Vol. Two, County Down II- The Ards', (QUB, 1992), pp.71-73

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Extensive complex of mid to late nineteenth century farm buildings, with many 20th century additions, built to serve the Ballywalter Park estate.