Glen House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large hipped roof two storey house of c.1880s set in deceptively rural looking surroundings, between the Mountain Road and Crawfordsburn Road, at the northern edge Newtownards.

This house is basically square in plan with some shallow projections to the rear and is set on an (artificial looking) raised ‘mound’ with steps to the front.

Front S facade has a central timber panelled door with semicircular arched fanlight. The door and fanlight are encased with panelled pilasters with corbelled bases. The pilasters support tall decorative brackets which in turn support and cornice hood, just above ‘frieze’ course. Moulded architrave around fanlight with decorative keystone, which also supports the cornice. To the left and right of the doorway is a three sided single storey bay with tall segmental arch headed sash windows to each face. Each bay is topped with an eaves cornice and blocking course, below all of which extends the aforementioned ‘frieze’ course. Between the windows are pilaster jambs (i.e. to the edges of the bay faces) out which rise moulded architraves with decorative keystones. Sturdy looking ‘brackets’ to cills. To the first floor are three evenly spaced sash windows with segmental arch heads and moulded, shouldered and heeled architraves with keystones.

The E facade has twinned windows to the left on the ground floor, much as first floor front but with pilaster surrounds, decorative keystones and ‘brackets’ to cills. To the left there is a set of ‘French’ doors with large fanlight. These doors have a similar surround to the twinned windows to the left. Until recently this was a window opening. Cill course to ground floor. To the first floor (above the ‘frieze’ course. Are twinned windows to the left and a single window to the right, same a first floor front (but with brackets visible below cills).

The W facade has a similar arrangement, but handed and without doors in place of single window to ground floor. To the far right of this facade is the short E facade of a rear single storey, hipped roof projection, which has a single window same as rest of ground floor E facade. The rear of this projection is blank and merges with a largely two storey, flat roofed extension with modern windows and doors.

The entire facade is finished in plain render with a chamfered plinth.

The main roof is hipped with Bangor blue slates, red clay ridge tiles and two centred greyish-yellow brick chimney stacks. Slight overhang to roof with corbelled eaves course. Cast iron rw goods.

Historical information

This house was probably built in the 1880s and possibly by Mr. W. Sibbald Johnson, who owned a linen bleach works at Kiltonga. The current owner also believes that it was also the one time home of one of the rose growing Dickson family.
The hipped roof projection to the rear is original, but the other extensions are more recent, perhaps, c.1950s.

References- Secondary sources
1 George Henry Basset Co. Down guide and directory (Dublin 1886, reprinted 1988), p.343.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Large two storey house of c.1880s with decorative surrounds to window and door openings. Although it is well preserved both externally and internally it does not reach the criteria necessary for listing.