Ballyalton House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large ‘L’ shaped two storey house with distinctive ‘Tudor’ influenced front facade, and screen wall with turrets. The house is situated to the W of the Ballyrainey Road, c.1.5 miles W of Newtownards.

The front E facade has central open porch with flat roof screened by castellated parapet (at first floor level) with string course. The porch entrance consists of a flat pointed (Tudor-like) arch supported on triple cluster column-like pilasters with a ‘trefoil’ recess haunch in fill. Large central doorway to main wall within porch with similar flat pointed arch head with decorated fanlight with thick tracery above a timber transom supported on four triple cluster column-like pilasters (as before), which separate the plain sidelights (with quatrefoil recess aprons) from door. The door is timber and has decorative pointed arch ‘tracery’ to top two panels. The inner porch ceiling follows the same flat pointed arch lines as the doorway, but the presence of small corbels to the corner indicate that the vaulting may once have been different. The interior walls of the porch are finished in plain render.

To either side of the porch is a full height bay, each with their own full height canted bays with Georgian paned sash windows and panelled lintels and aprons. The panelled lintels to the ground floor windows are decorated with ‘trefoil’ like recesses. The windows to the central face of the upper floor of the canted bays has double sash frames.

Above the porch the first floor of the central bay is recessed and has a double sash window, with Georgian panes, and label moulding.

This whole front facade is finished in lined render and painted and topped with a castellated parapet and eaves course.

Extending from either side of the front facade is a tall, matching castellated screen wall with string course extended from main facade. At the end of each wall is an octagonal turret, each with a castellated parapet on corbels, just above the height of the wall itself. Each face of the turrets has a large pointed arch window opening with raised and chamfered surround. In the centre of the main wall face is a doorway with raised and chamfered stone surround , label moulding and sheeted door. The E front of both walls are finished in lined render and painted, the turrets are unrendered.

The short S facade of the main house is finished in rough cast render and has a recently inserted set of French doors to the left on the ground floor.

The N facade is long as it merges into the return. This whole facade is also finished in rough cast render. To the left (E) portion is as tall as the main house and has a similar hipped roof. This portion contains three Georgian paned sash windows to the centre and right on the first floor and three more directly below to the ground floor (the ground floor window to the far right has no glazing bars). The return beyond this (i.e. the W) is slightly shorter and has a mono-pitched roof. To the left on the ground floor of this section is a set of glazed (French-like) doors. To the first floor are four evenly spaced roundel windows with ‘quarter’ panes. To the W of this section the return merges with a single storey gabled ‘outbuilding’/store section whose N facade projects beyond the N facade of the return.

The rear of the main section of the house is finished in rough cast render. To the far left on the first floor (near the intersection of the return), is a sash window as before. Below this window (and also attached to the return), is a single storey lean to conservatory section with Bangor blue slated roof. This section was added during the first half of the twentieth century. To the far right of the main rear facade is a small window, with modern frame, to the ground floor, a narrow sash window, with Georgian panes, at landing level, and a small four pane window above this.

The S facade of the (E) hipped roof portion of the return has a sash window to the left (beyond the conservatory) on both ground and first floor. The ground floor window is without glazing bars. Beyond this the return merges into the slighter shorter section with the mono-pitched roof. From this elevation, this section is revealed a ‘L’ shaped, with the short horizontal of the ‘L’ attached to the W facade of the taller portion of the return proper. The short W facade of the horizontal of the ‘L’ has a modern timber window to the first floor and a sash window to the ground floor. The S facade of the long ‘vertical’ of the ‘L’ has three modern windows (as before) to the first floor. To the left on the ground floor is broader modern timber window (much in the same style as previous). To the right of this is a doorway with plain stone surround and timber panelled door.

The main roof is hipped and covered in Bangor blue slates. The mono-pitched roof the W section of the return also has Bangor blue slates. Three rendered chimney stacks to main hipped roof section/return, with four sturdy looking sandstone pots each.

Large collection of outbuildings S and W. That to the S is two storey with a part hipped part gabled ‘Tullycavy’ slated roof and rough cast render. It has various carriage, door and window openings and a stone staircase to the W facade leading to the upper floor. Attached to the E facade is a former air raid shelter. To the NW of the main house is a rubble built outbuilding with a steep hipped roof, now used a store/shop selling architectural salvage.

Historical information

This house, and much of the outbuildings, are shown on the 1834 OS Map. The valuation records tell us that at this stage the house was in the possession of a William Campbell and the complex also contained a scullery, stables, cow house, potato house and piggery. By 1863 the house (now known as Ballyalton House) was the property of a Francis McKeown but was occupied by a Rev. Arthur F. Farrell. The gate lodge to the main east entrance had been built by this time also. In recent times the house was owned by a member of the locally famous Corry family, who demolished the gate lodge in the late 1960s as well as much of the garden wall to the north.

The Tudor influenced front facade is undoubtedly mid nineteenth century and may have been added at the same time as the gate lodge. The rear conservatory appears to have been added perhaps c.1940s

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.654/LE/3 Londonderry Papers- Leases relating to Ballyalton Td., 1750-.
2 PRONI D.654/M3/1-9 Londonderry Papers- Maps relating to Ballyalton Td., 1772- 1828.
3 PRONI VAL 1B/322 1st valuation, parish of Newtownards, townland of Ballyalton, 1833.
4 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps 1st Edition 1833/4, Co. Down sheet 5.
5 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps 1st Revision 1858-60, Co. Down sheet 5.
6 PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation, parish of Newtownards, Townland of Ballyalton, 1863.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Unusual, large two storey gentleman’s residence of pre 1833 origin but now with formal mid 19th century Tudor influenced front façade and accompanying side turrets. The rear facade is informal and sports an unsuitable conservatory of c.1940s. Together with its imposing gate screen this provides a unique structure below Scrabo Tower.