Sunnyhill

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Much extended one and a half and two storey farmhouse set on the E side of a narrow ‘road’, to the N of the Movilla Road, c.1 mile E of Newtownards.

The S portion of the house is one and a half storey and appears to date from c.1880s. Front S facade has a central timber panelled door with segmental arch headed fanlight, all encased with plain pilasters and fluted brackets supporting a cornice, with shallow blocking course above. To the left of this is a segmental arch headed window opening with simple surround and PVC frame. To the right of the doorway is an identical window. Directly above the door and set in a gabled half dormer, is a small-ish semicircular headed window with surround and frame much as before.

To the E gable of this main S section of the house are two upper level segmental arch headed window openings with PVC frames, with a similar, but larger window to the right on the ground floor.

The W gable is similar but with the ground floor window to the left.

To the left side of the rear of this S portion is a full height lean to extension with a PVC window and timber sheeted door (with small glass panel) to its N facade and a PVC window to the short E facade. The right hand side of the rear of the S section a very large (much larger than the front S section), two storey, double gabled (N) section projects.

To the E facade of this section are two PVC windows to the ground floor and one to the right on the first floor.

To the W facade are two similar windows to the ground floor and two to the first floor.

To the N gable (i.e. the W of the double gables) there is a PVC window to the left on the first floor and a pair of French doors to the ground floor. The inner (E) half of the whole double gabled section is longer than that to the W and projects further to the N.

The W facade of this ‘projecting’ section has a PVC window to the ground floor and one to the left on the first floor. This section merges into a single storey gabled outbuilding.

The entire facade is finished in plain render and painted and all roofs are covered in Bangor blue slates. The roof of the S section has a slight overhang. Two rendered chimney stacks to the gables of the front S section, and one to the ‘inner’ (E) section of the double gabled portion. PVC rw goods.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the 1834 and 1858-60 OS Maps which appears to correspond to the ‘inner’ half of the double gabled section to the north side. The southern ‘front’ section was probably added in late Victorian times [?c.1880s-90s] and the ‘outer’ (western) half of the double gabled portion was possibly added in the twentieth century.

The valuation records of c.1836 note that the house on this site was in possession of a Samuel Arnold with both the building and the accompanying land possessing a rateable value of £4-15-5.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS Maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 6.
2 PRONI VAL 1B/34 1st valuation c.1836 Newtownards parish, Cronstown Td.
3 PRONI OS Maps 1st ed. 1858-60, Co. Down 6.
4 PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation, Newtownards Parish, Cronstown Td.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Much extended one and a half and two storey house which probably began life in the early nineteenth century as a simple linear dwelling, with the symmetrical front section added c.1880s-90s and the western portion possibly added in the mid twentieth century.