51 Ballyreagh Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Somewhat sprawling, and much added to, two storey gabled farmhouse at the end of a long lane roughly 1.5 miles E of Newtownards. This house is roughly ‘L’ shaped and appears to have had a complicated evolution.

The ‘front’ section is to the SW and is two storey. Its SW facade has a right of centre timber and glazed door with a window to the right with modern frame and ‘square Georgian’ panes. To the left of the doorway is a similar window, but to the left of this (where there was once another window) there is now a large hipped roof PVC conservatory, with French doors within where the window once was. To the first floor are four smaller windows, with frames similar to previous.

The SE gable of this ‘front’ section has a window, as before, in the centre of the first floor.

The NW gable has a window to the ground floor left and one to the first floor right, much as before. Attached to the ‘rear’ of the house is a long two storey gabled return. At the SE intersection of the ‘front’ section and the return is recently added single storey porch/kitchen extension with a timber panelled door, large PVC windows, and a ‘hipped’ roof covered with semi opaque PVC. Above this (to the first floor rear of the ‘front’ section), is a window as first floor front.

The SE facade of the return has three unevenly spaced windows to the first floor (much as front) with a broader kitchen window to the left on the ground floor and a large modern metal garage door to the right.

The NE gable of the return has a window (much as before) to the left on the first floor with a smaller window to the right on the ground floor.

Attached to the entire length of the NW side of the return are two (joined) single storey lean to sections.

The section to the NE end is taller and appears to be used as a store. It has a large sliding door to its NE facade and a corrugated asbestos roof.

The shorter lean to section further to the SW has a broad window to the left and a smaller window to the right, all with ‘square Georgian’ panes as previous.

The exposed first floor portion of the NE facade of the return (above the smaller lean to) has three relatively small modern looking windows of varying shape.

The entire facade is finished in a dry dash render.

The roofs of the ‘front’ section and the return are pitched with Bangor blue slates with two rendered chimney stacks to the ‘front’ and one to the gable of the return. PVC rw goods.

Extensive collection of gabled outbuildings to NE, now mainly dilapidated.

Historical information

Both the 1834 and c.1860 OS Maps show a building on this site which appears to correspond with that we see today. The sprawling plan of the present house and its somewhat complex layout suggests that it may have witnessed many alterations over the years. The ‘front’ section may have begun life as single storey and may have had its roof raised, though this may have been carried out some considerable time ago, possibly the early 1800s. The return has probably had its roof raised also, though possibly in more recent times. The present owner stated that she believed that the return was once a barn, but the presence of a large ‘kitchen’ fireplace and the abundance of other outbuildings around the house, makes this unlikely.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Edition, 1834, Down 6.
2 PRONI VAL 1B/34 1st valuation, Newtownards, c.1835.
3 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Revision, 1860, Down 6.
4 PRONI 2nd valuation, Newtownards, c.1861.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Large, somewhat sprawling, two storey farmhouse of probable pre 1834 origin, now much extended and modernised both inside and out, resulting in major alterations to layout and loss of detail..