Sexton's Lodge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small, single storey, ‘rustic gothick’ lodge (for St. Mary’s Church) on the E side of the Church Road in the tiny hamlet of Kilmood, c.3 miles NW of Killinchy. This lodge appears to have been vacant for some time, all the windows are boarded.

The front (W) facade is symmetrical with a central (double) timber sheeted door with pointed arch fanlight (now boarded). To the right is a pointed arch window opening (now boarded), with a similar boarded up window opening to the left of the door.
The S facade has a similar (central) boarded up window opening. The N facade has a small lean to attached with a timber sheeted door. The rear is blank except for small, roughly square and now boarded, opening to the centre (at a low level).
The facade is finished in rough cast and painted, but is now shabby and dilapidated looking. The roof is hipped and has a large overhang with boxed in eaves. It is covered in Bangor blue slates. Central rendered chimney stack. PVC rw goods.
Rendered curving wall to either side of lodge.

This former Sexton’s lodge is part of an important group of buildings within Kilmood including the former court house, the school and the church, all built around 1820 and all with ‘gothick’ styling.

Historical information

This lodge was undoubtedly built c.1819-20, at the same time as the parish church for which it served as the Sexton’s lodge. In 1820 the property was leased by Lord Downshire and David Gordon to a Peter Barry (presumably the first sexton), and it is noted in the valuation returns of c.1835 as ‘sexton’s house’. By 1861 it was occupied by a Peter Taylor.
It now appears to have been abandoned for some time.
The lodge shows similarities to the gate lodges for near by Florida Manor, also built around the same time and probably under the same hand.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.4204 Gordon Family Papers- Lease of the Sexton’s house, Lord Downshire and David Gordon to Peter Barry. [This extensive collection of documents relating to the Gordon family, Floida Manor and the surrounding townlands were recently deposited at PRONI by a descendant, Mr. Archie Hugh-Gordon of Saintfield. At the time of writing (August 1998) the collection had not yet been catalogued, however, the writers were given special access to some of the documents by PRONI.]
2 PRONI OS maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 16.
3 PRONI VAL 1B/320 p.17 1st valuation, Kilmood parish, Kilmood Td., c.1835.
4 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), pp. 94-5. [Statistics regarding dwellings in the parish.]
5 PRONI OS maps 1st rev. 1859-60, Co. Down 16.
5 PRONI 2nd valuation, Kilmood parish, Kilmood Td., c.1861.

Secondary sources
1 J.A.K. Dean The gate lodges of Ulster (UAHS 1994), p.81.
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.46.
3 Rev. T.C. Burrowes 'St. Mary’s Parish Church, Kilmood…' (Local publication ?c.1990)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

Small and simple ‘rustic gothic’ sexton’s lodge of c.1819-20 with pointed arch openings and hipped roof with large overhang. This lodge is one of an important group of early nineteenth century ‘gothic’ buildings in Kilmood.