Rectory

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Site (on top of a wooded rise off Church Hill in the small village of Killinchy) of a former rectory house of probable early to mid eighteenth century origin, demolished in 1975. A modern bungalow has been constructed a few yards to the S of the former house. All of the former outbuildings have been demolished also.

To the S of the site is a large rubble gate post which now stands alone. This post undoubtedly belonged to the original entrance, which had ceased to be used by 1834, perhaps because of a minor road realignment, or possibly because a roadside building in front of the gate was removed and the site subsumed into the grounds.

To the SW of the site (at the SW entrance) is a simple, single storey gabled gate lodge of c.1840, which is now vacant and slightly dilapidated. The N facade of the lodge has a right of centre gabled porch with recessed door to the far left of this is a sash window with horizontal glazing bars. The W gable has a large-ish double sash window. The E gable appears to have once had a door but this is now blocked with brick. The entire facade is finished in rough cast. The roof has Bangor blue slates and an overhang with plain barges. Central chimney stack. No rw goods.

First Survey record from 06.02.1974 is as follows:
'2 storey house with single storey gabled side wings. Central block, roof slated with gable ends. Chimneys rendered. Wall rendered and roughcast. Stone eaves, cornice and blocking course. 3 first floor and 2 ground floor double hung windows; Georgian panes. Cenmtral doorway has moulded surround; semi-circular arched head, enclosing a decorated fanlight. Moulded archivolt, decorated frieze transome and side ionic columns, part fluted. Doorway enclosed by recent gabled porch; roof slated; plain barges; wall smooth rendered. Central panelled door, semi-circular arch; plain fanlight over lintol. Double hung window as before on each side of doorway and on each side of the porch with sill course. Approached by 4 wide steps with side retaining blocks.
Left hand wing has mock pediment and one central double hung window as before. Right hand wing has same gable but has 5 sided bay on gable; hipped and slated roof; same double hung window on front with semi-circular arch window opening to basement below.
Condition poorish. Climbing growth on wall. Front about 85 feet with extension on right hand side.
Coach yard at lower level to East enclosed by former stable buildings.'

Historical information

The house which formerly stood on this site was probably built in the early to mid 1700s to serve as the rectory for near by Killinchy parish church. It may have been built by Rev. Hamilton Traill (of Holly Park) perhaps around 1757 or earlier. It is marked on Taylor’s and Skinner’s road map of 1777 as ‘Rock mount’ and noted as being in the possession of Dr. Traill.
The 1833 OS memoirs describe the building as ‘a very neat and comfortable residence commanding a good view of Lough Strangford’, and the valuation records of 1835 note that the house (then occupied by Rev. Henry Ward) had wings to the east and west gables and an extensive collection of outbuildings including a ‘coal store, stables, coach house, cow house, shed and store’. It was still in Ward’s possession at the time of the second valuation of c.1861, however by this stage the OS map shows what appears to be an entrance porch to the S facade. The gate lodge had been built by this time also.
Rockmount was sold by the church in 1935, however, as the buyer happened to be the incumbent minister (Rev. Ralph Stone) the building continued to serve as the de facto rectory until 1945, when a serious fire forced the under-insured Rev. Stone to sell it to a Major Wilson. It remained in Wilson family hands until 1975 when Mr. & Mrs. Wilson had to demolish the building due to its poor condition. Shortly afterwards they constructed a modern bungalow slightly to the south of the original dwelling.

To the south of the present house is a large rubble built gate post which may mark the site of the original entrance drive. The 1834 OS map shows the present drives, however it also appears to indicate what appears to be an unused entrance which would correlate with the position of this post.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI [Library] 'Taylor’s & Skinner’s maps of the Roads of Ireland'- map 281.
2 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), p.91.
3 PRONI OS maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 17.
4 PRONI VAL 1B/335 p.54 (204) 1st valuation Killinchy parish, Killinchy Td., c.1835.
5 PRONI OS maps 1st rev. 1859-60, Co. Down 17

Secondary sources
1 Honor Rudnitsky 'Killinchy parish church' (Killinchy 1980).
2 C.E.B. Brett 'Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the towns and villages of East Down' (UAHS 1973), p.44.
3 J.A.K. Dean 'The gate lodges of Ulster- a gazetteer' (UAHS 1994), p.80.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Site of large rectory house of the early to mid 1700s, demolished 1975 with modern bungalow sited a few yards to the south. The largely simple single storey gate lodge at the south west entrance (added c.1840) has survived.