Thompson's Hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively plain, two storey gabled hall of 1904 (recently a further education college), set on the S side of the W end of Mill Street (to the W of Comber town centre). The property appears to have been abandoned and is in poor condition.

Front (N) façade has an entrance doorway to the far right consisting of a dilapidated timber sheeted door set in segmental opening with moulded surround. Part of the moulding has fallen off. To the left of the doorway are four unevenly spaced window openings with segmental heads and moulded surrounds. All these are now boarded up. To the far left is a flat arch vehicle entrance with timber sheeted double doors. To the first floor there are five window openings the same as the ground floor, all these are boarded also.

The lower half of the façade was originally finished in shallow channelled rusticated render, with the upper half in plain render, but large sections of the render have broken off, especially to the first floor. To the far left on this floor a scratch coat has been applied, but a large central section is still without any form of render (revealing brick construction). Eaves course and moulded in/out quoins to right.

The W gable is abutted by the neighbouring building, with its exposed section blank. Strangely, the lower half of this gable is largely in sandstone and the rest in brick, almost as if the property incorporated an old wall, or part of the fabric of an earlier building on the site.

The E gable is finished in lined render. It has two first floor windows, as front but with the remains of sash frames with horizontal glazing bars. To the left (S) this façade merges with the E face of what appears to be a two storey flat roofed section (with a window, as gable, to the upper floor). Nothing else can be seen of this rear portion because of rampant tree growth, however, the OS map of 1967 indicates that this section is quite large and appears to incorporate what looks (on the map at least), like a courtyard.

The gabled roof of the main section is covered in natural slate with two brick chimney stacks (set back from the gables), Cast iron guttering to front.

Former mill race to E side of building.

Historical information

A moulded plaque originally on the front facade (but now broken off with much of the render), stated that this building (‘Thompson’s Hall’) was built in 1904. From the 1960s (at least) until recently, the building acted as a local further education college.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Relatively plain two storey gabled building of 1904, recently used as a further education college, but now abandoned with large sections of render to front now missing..