Adair House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Adair house is the original fever hospital built in 1845 to serve Newtownards Union Workhouse. It is sited to the NW of the original workhouse complex itself (now Ards District Hospital).

The building is a compact formal two storey gabled structure, vaguely Tudor in style and built in basalt rubble with painted sandstone quoins and ‘lintels’. It was originally ‘H’ shaped in plan form. In recent times the building has been greatly extended and altered, but the original structure is still discernible.

The front NE facade has a central recessed bay with flanked by projecting outer bays. In the centre of the ground floor of the central bay is the main entrance with panelled door with deep chamfered painted stone surround, multi pane sidelights and fanlight (with similar surround) and recessed panel over doorway with raised letters ‘Adair House 1845 1954’. Label moulding above recessed panel which continues over sidelights with moulded end drops. First floor window opening directly above recessed panel, with similar surround as doorway and modern metal frame. To the left and right of this are two slightly smaller windows (set at a slightly higher level), with painted sandstone ‘lintels’ and modern frames. On either side of the doorway are two similar, but larger windows.

The NE facade of the outer gabled bays each have a window to each floor similar to ground floor of recessed bay. Each also have a small painted trefoil high in the gable.

The SE facade has five windows (as front) to the ground floor. There were once five similar windows to the first floor but the 2nd and third windows have been converted to modern doorways which give access to a fairly recently added fire escape. The 4th window on each floor on this facade is contained within a full height slightly projecting bay.

Only a small portion of the NW facade now survives (to the left). Most of the facade has been obliterated with the building for a large modern two storey wing in light brown brick.

The rear facades of the two outer bays are the same as the front but a single storey extension (part brick, part rubble and part rendered) has been added to the bay to the S. The central recessed section has been obliterated due to the building of a modern two storey, plain rendered extension. In the centre of the flat roof of this extension is a hipped roof [?water tank] section

The roofs of the original sections of this building are gabled and have Bangor blue states. Chimney stacks have been removed. Cast iron and PVC rw goods. Original single storey rubble outbuildings to rear.

Much of the original front facade remains but all of the other elevations have been altered, in the case of that to the NW and SW, drastically so.

Historical information

The Poor Law came into operation in Ireland in 1838. It was intended to cater for the needs of those unable to support themselves by providing what was termed ‘in-door’ relief. The whole country divided up into 130 Poor Law Unions (based on various market towns), and within each union a workhouse was built in order to provide relief. The basic plan of the workhouses built during the 1840s were based on designs by Oxford architect George Wilkinson and consisted of a ‘front building’ which mainly contained offices and rooms for administration, a block to the rear of this which contained the workhouse proper and an infirmary linked to the workhouse. Together the workhouse and the infirmary formed an ‘H’ shaped plan. Separate buildings such as fever wards were also included in many workhouse complexes. The designs of some of the early buildings incorporated some elements from late mediaeval/Tudor styling, perhaps taking inspiration from the alms houses of centuries past. After the reform of local government in 1898 provision was made for the conversion of union infirmaries to district hospitals intended to treat rich and poor alike. In Northern Ireland the workhouse legislation continued until 1948, when it was superseded, by the new health and welfare provisions, however, long before this many workhouses had been converted to district hospitals.

The Newtownards Union workhouse was built in 1841 and admitted its first inmates at the beginning of the following year. It was designed to house 600 paupers. This fever block was added in 1845. In common with many other unions, the infirmary and fever block had begun to treat the sick of the area by the early 1900s and by 1932 the Ards District Hospital officially came into being and in the same year this building became the old people’s unit. In 1954 the newly renamed Adair House became a maternity ward, and was extensively renovated. In the late 1960s the large two storey extension was added to the NW, but now the building lies unused, many of the functions of Ards District Hospital having been transferred to the Ulster Hospital at Dundonald.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.654/E2/78 Londonderry Papers- Conveyance of site for Union workhouse (Marquis of Londonderry to the Poor Law Commissioners, 1st April 1840.)
2 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps 1st Revision 1858-60 Co. Down 6.

Secondary sources
1 Michael H. Gould 'The workhouses of Ulster' (UAHS 1983)
2 Trevor McCavery 'Newtown, a history of Newtownards' (Dundonald 1994), pp.118-20, 123-25, 128, 129, 131, 149, 163, 196.
3 Cahal Dallat 'Caring by design- The architectural heritage of the health & social services in Northern Ireland' (DHSS 1985), pp.22-29.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Originally ‘H’ shaped, rubble built, fever hospital constructed in 1845 as part of Newtownards Union workhouse and latterly the maternity ward of Ards District Hospital. In recent times large modern extensions have been added to this building and the interior has been progressively modernised.