26 Comber Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey double pile house, perhaps of 1893, set on the W side of the Comber Road, with ground floor below road level and not immediately visible from the front. The building is sited less than a mile NW of the village of Killinchy (just N of Balloo) cross-roads. The building now serves as the manse for near by Killinchy non-subscribing Presbyterian church.

Front E facade is symmetrical with a central door to the first floor reached via a small bridge from the roadside. The door is panelled with a semicircular fanlight, all encased with fluted pilasters and semicircular archivolt (cut off at the very top by the eaves course). The bridge itself has a tiled walkway. On either side of the doorway is a full height canted bay with a sash window, with horizontal glazing bars, simple surround and cill course. At ground level are three more windows to each bay, each with modern frames and minus surrounds and cill course. The bays are topped with hipped and slated roofs with finials.

The N (double gabled) façade has a sash window (as front) to the left of centre, set at and intermediate level. At this N side the ground gradually slopes away and there is a laneway leading to ultimately to the church which is a short distance to the W.

Attached to the S façade is a large lean to modern fixed light window and modern glazed door to its W face, whilst to the S face are three modern windows. To the immediate right of this lean to (on the main S façade) is a window with modern frame with a similar window to the immediate left of the lean to.

To the rear is a roughly central glazed door with two windows with modern frames to each side.

To the first floor are three evenly spaced windows with sash frames as front.

The façade is finished in lined render and painted. The roofs are gabled with Bangor blue states and overhangs. To the N the gable there are roof ties. Saw tooth red clay ride tiles. Four rendered chimney stacks with coping. The extension to the S façade has asbestos free slates. PVC rw goods.

Simple wrought iron railings to walkway, front and N.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834. On the 1859-60 map a larger L-shaped structure is shown, which is marked as a 'constabulary barrack'. In 1893 the valuation books record a 'new house' - the present building - as having been built, with the valuer noting that the construction costs amounted to £400, and that builders had made use of the 'old foundations of [the] barrack'.

The new dwelling was built a serve as the manse for nearby Killinchy Non-Subcribing Presbyterian church, with the first occupant noted as Rev. Joseph Geary. In the census of 1910, Rev. Geary is noted as living here with a single domestic servant, with the house itself recorded as a '2nd class' dwelling possessing nine rooms. By the time of the 1911 census the welsh-born Rev David John Williams had taken up residence, along with his wife, Annie, and their three young sons. The details of the house noted much as before, but with ten rooms recorded.

The property appears to have continued to be occupied as a manse until at least 1998, but seems to have been vacated in the early 2000s.

The hall to the immediate rear (west) of the house was built in 1898, and originally functioned as a lecture hall and Sunday school, with offices on the lower floor.

References- Primary sources
1 OS map 6in County Series, Down sheet 17 - 1834, 1859-60, 1902, 1920
2 PRONI VAL12B/23/18C-E Annual valuation revision books, Kilmood ED - 1883-1929
3 NLI Census of Ireland - 1901, 1911 (also available online)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey double pile house with canted bays, set close to the road side with the ground floor set well below road level. This manse house has a late Victorian appearance, but may have been built pre 1860 as a police station, or may represent a later remodelling of the original station. Whilst of some architectural interest it is not of listable quality.