104 Carrickmannon Road,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Substantial one and a half storey gabled house, set on the slope of the roadside, to the E of the Carrickmannon Road, c.2 miles S of Ballygowan. This house has had most of its openings blocked and appears abandoned.

The W facade was originally the front but has had all its openings blocked. When first surveyed in August 1973 the facade possessed 5 sash windows with Georgian panes and a doorway between the 3rd and 4th windows.

Each gable has two windows the openings of which appear to have been slightly enlarged in recent times and modern frames installed.

All the openings to the rear (on of which was set at an upper level near the eaves) have been blocked. To the left at the rear is a relatively large single storey lean to projection.

The facade is covered in lined render. The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates with three brick (formerly rendered) chimney stacks without pots. Small cast iron skylight to the rear. Cast iron and aluminium rainwater goods.

Long gabled outbuilding to N. Church situated N of house.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834 and that of 1858, which probably corresponds to the present ‘house’. The proximity of the property to Carrickmannan RC church (a few yards to the north) may mean that there was some connection between the two, the house perhaps acting as the sexton’s residence, a function it served (according to parishioners) in more recent years at least.
At the time of the 2nd valuation (c.1863) the house was in possession of an Arthur McGrady, who leased it from Lord Dufferin, the proprietor of Carrickmannan whose ancestor had granted the plot for the building of the church itself in 1807.
The house was abandoned some time after 1973.

Primary sources
1 PRONI MIC 1D/63 Records of Carrickmannan Church.
2 PRONI D.1071 Dufferin Papers.
3 PRONI OS map 1st ed. 1834, Down 16.
5 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II’, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), p.91.
6 PRONI OS map 1st rev. 1858-60, Down 16.
7 EHS HB24/16/49 1st survey notes and slide.
8 EHS OS map 186-2 (1:2500) 1974.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

One and a half storey gabled house of pre 1834 origin, possibly built in c.1807 as the sexton’s residence for near by Carrickmannan church. The property has been abandoned in recent times and most of the openings have been blocked up.