Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB17/07/050

Address :
32 Castlewellan Road Banbridge Co Down BT32 4JD

Townland:
Tullyear

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
18/12/2013 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
221-5 NW

IG Ref:
J1308 4567

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A symmetrical two-storey with attic three-bay Victorian house built c.1895; square-plan form with single-storey abutments to the side and rear. Located to the north off Castlewellan Road, east of Banbridge town centre. Hipped natural slated road with clay ridge and hip tiles; replacement uPVC rainwater goods; moulded timber eaves brackets; plain timber soffits and fascia; polychromatic chimneys with moulded caps; tall octagonal moulded clay pots. Polychromatic brick walling laid to Flemish bond; contrasting brick quoins and eaves course; projected smooth rendered plinth. Irregular 2/4 timber sliding sash windows; segmental arched; with horns; painted masonry cills; ground floor windows have projected yellow-brick surrounds rising to moulded cornice, projected apron with contrasting brick quoins; the second floor windows have contrasting brick surrounds. The front entrance door is timber four-panelled with brass ironmongery; replacement tripartite overlight (stained glass added c.1970); moulded pilaster surrounds with entablature; yellow-brick segmental-arched inset; two stone steps. The principal elevation faces southwest and is symmetrically arranged. Centrally positioned front entrance flanked by single windows. Three diminished-in-height first floor windows. The northwest elevation is asymmetrical; two ground and first floor windows arranged slightly left of centre. The rear elevation is abutted by a shallow two-storey projection and a one-and-a-half-storey coach house. No-ornamentation; single ground and first floor window left. The two-storey projection is centrally located; painted smooth render; slightly wider at ground floor level with brick corbelling; small segmental-arched window at ground floor with casement window; large segmental-arched fixed 6-pane landing window over. Gabled one-and-a-half-storey coach-house abuts the right; red-bricked; natural slate roof; timber sheeted coach entrance doors with round-headed loading door to the gable; variety of openings including an elliptical arched door addressing the enclosed courtyard. The southeast elevation is asymmetrically arranged; abutted to the right by single-storey outbuildings. Painted smooth rendered walling; ground floor window to the left; narrow first floor window centrally positioned. Gabled abutment to the right; single-storey with gable chimney; replacement uPVC window; further abutted to the rear by single-storey hipped roofed accommodation; leaded hips and ridge; the southeast cheek comprises a modern canted bay window to the left and abutting greenhouse to the right; the northwest elevation has a variety of segmental arched openings addressing the enclosed courtyard. Setting The house is located on an elevated site, partially visible from the main road; modern dwellings built in front of the house obscure the view. The site is accessed by octagonal masonry piers carrying robust decorative wrought-iron gates with castings. A sweeping driveway leads to the forecourt. Gardens addressing the front and sides of the house with a concrete yard to the rear. A secondary gated entrance to the east; single wrought-iron gate with concrete piers. The courtyard is enclosed with brick walling and accessed via timber sheeted gates off smooth-rendered piers with plinths and moulded caps; the courtyard is laid with concrete flags. Further detached outbuilding to the north; overhanging hipped roof canopy; timber sheeted sliding doors with multi-paned glazing. Roofing: Natural slate Walling: Polychromatic brick Windows: Timber sliding sash RWG: uPVC

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

No. 32 Castlewellan Road, a two-storey late-Victorian dwelling formerly the Manse to the Non-Subscribing Church in Banbridge (HB17/06/003), was constructed in c. 1897. The polychromatic-brick dwelling is the second building on the current site; the first dwelling was constructed between c. 1863 and 1864 on a plot of land formerly utilised as a bleaching green by Robert Fennell & Co., a linen manufacturing business owned by Samuel Hill of Solitude House (HB17/07/033). The Annual Revisions first recorded a dwelling on the current site in 1864, valued at £37; by that year the plot of land formerly owned by Hill had been leased by the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian congregation of Banbridge. The first occupant of the new dwelling was a Mr. Alfred Hodgekinson; no information concerning the first resident can be found, however it is certain he was not a minister of the Non-Subscribing Church (at that time the incumbent was the Rev. John Montgomery). Alfred Hodgekinson resided on the Castlewellan Road until the property was occupied by the Rev. Francis McCammon. Although the property on the Castlewellan Road had been constructed in c. 1863-64 and was leased by the Non-Subscribing Church, the Annual Revisions suggest that the Rev. McCammon was the first minister to occupy the site in 1868; McCammon became minister of Banbridge Non-Subscribing Church upon the death of the Rev. Montgomery in 1867 and served the Banbridge congregation for 18 years until his own death on 28th October 1886 (PRONI Wills). The Manse was briefly occupied by the Rev. Charles [Quail] in 1888; however by 1892 the Rev. Andrew Breakey Hamilton had come into possession of the site. It was during Hamilton’s occupancy that the former c. 1860 building was replaced by the current two-storey polychromatic-brick manse; the new manse was completed by 1897 and resulted in a reduction of the value of the site from £37 to £29. The manse first appears on the third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in c. 1900 which depicts the building in its current layout, possessing the two single-storey rear returns. The 1901 Census records that the Rev. Andrew Hamilton (43) resided at the manse with his wife Annie (46) and their two daughters; the census building return described the manse as a 1st class private dwelling that consisted of eight rooms and possessed a number of out offices that included a stable, two cow houses, a dairy, piggery, a barn and stores, all of which were located to the rear of the dwelling in the enclosed courtyard. The Rev. Hamilton died in July 1905 at which time the manse passed to his replacement, the Rev. Edgar Lockett (PRONI Wills), who the 1911 Census noted resided at the manse with his wife Bessie (39) and their three infant sons. Lockett briefly resided at the manse on the Castlewellan Road until 1914 when the Rev. James Davies came into possession; however he was subsequently replaced as occupant in 1922 by the Rev. Percival Godding who became incumbent of Banbridge Non-Subscribing Church but also served as editor of ‘Challenge’ magazine, a Belfast-based Unitarian publication that was printed up until the 1950s. The Rev. Godding served as minister of Banbridge until at least the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930. The dwelling on the Castlewellan Road, although now in private ownership, was originally constructed as the manse to Banbridge Non-Subscribing Church. The meeting house was erected c. 1845 on the Downshire Road to the north-west of the future manse and was described by Brett as ‘one of the last and best of the classical Presbyterian Churches of Ulster’ to be constructed (Brett). The first manse was constructed during the incumbency of the Rev. John Montgomery, one of the longest serving ministers of the church, but the dimensions of this structure are not known. The current manse was erected by 1897, perhaps completed as part of a general renovation scheme that included the Non-Subscribing Church; in 1888 Young & Mackenzie advertised tenders for repair work to the church (see HB17/06/003). Banbridge Non-Subscribing Church was listed in 1976, however its former manse having remain vacant and in poor condition for almost 10 years was sold in 1967 to its present owners. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/27/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1860 2. PRONI OS/6/3/27/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1903-1918 3. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/64C – Griffith’s Valuation c. 1863 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/A – Annual Revisions 1864-1874 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/B – Annual Revisions 1874-1884 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/6/D – Annual Revisions 1885-1894 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/8/A – Annual Revisions 1894-1898 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/A – Annual Revisions 1899-1910 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/B – Annual Revisions 1911-1922 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/7/C – Annual Revisions 1921-1930 11. PRONI Wills Catalogue (28 Apr 1867; 28 Oct 1886; 31 Jul 1905) 12. Census of Ireland (1901 / 1911) 13. Ulster Street Directories (1843-1918) 14. Ordnance Survey map – 221-5 (1960) Secondary Sources 1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the Borough of Banbridge’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1969.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A symmetrical two-storey with attic three-bay Victorian house built c.1895. In typical style of its period, this large Victorian former manse, set in its own grounds on an elevated site, exhibits much of its original historic fabric and character. Largely renovated in the late 1960s, it is a good example of the type with robust detailing and character and unusual in the town. The setting with attached outbuildings to the rear survives and is of good quality.

General Comments

Date of Survey

27 February 2012