Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/06/017

Address :
Masonic Hall 2 Back Road Cargacreevy Lisburn County Down BT27 6TR

Townland:
cargacreevy

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
19/03/2014 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Hall

Former Use
Hall

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
185/5

IG Ref:
J3253 5824

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Owner Category

Masonic Lodge

Exterior Description And Setting

A detached symmetrical three-bay two-storey Masonic lodge in the neo-classical style dated 1867, built to designs by William Redfern Kelly; located at the junction of Back Road and Old Ballynahinch Road, Cargycreevy. Rectangular on plan with single-storey flat-roof modern extension to rear. Hipped natural slate roof with blue/black angled ridge tiles and rendered chimneystack with four clay pots. Plastic rainwater goods on overhanging eaves with corbel brackets. Walling is painted smooth render with moulded platband under eaves, raised quoins and a chamfered plinth. Windows are replacement uPVC throughout in moulded window surrounds with projecting masonry sills; those to ground floor are surmounted by plain entablature and cornice; those to first floor are lugged, rising to arch at the centre with corbelled sills. The principal elevation faces north and is four windows wide to first floor with entrance door to centre flanked by paired windows at ground floor. Door is replacement double-leaf timber panelled with transom light, flanked by panelled pilasters and surmounted by entablature with moulded string course and a dentilled corniced canopy on decorative scrolled console brackets. Between the windows at first floor are three raised moulded roundels, each containing a Masonic symbol, from left; the Royal Arch Chapter, the Masonic square and compass with central ‘G’ and star with knight’s templar. The east elevation is blank. The south elevation has two windows and a central doorway (accessed via a steel stairwell) to first floor; three windows to ground floor with single-storey modern extension to right of centre. The west elevation has three windows to first floor and two windows with a door to centre at ground floor; door is timber-sheeted replacement with transom light. Setting: Set back from the road with a small-plan garden to front enclosed by a rubble stone boundary wall with hedgerow. To centre are square painted rendered gate piers with pointed caps and metal latch gate. Paved rear yard enclosed to west by low masonry wall with coping stones. Modern garage and large tarmacadamed car-park to east. Roof: Hipped natural slate roof Walling: Smooth render Windows: uPVC RWG: Plastic

Architects

Kelly, William Redfern

Historical Information

This former post office and Masonic Hall was constructed in 1867 and first appears on the third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps for the parish of Annahilt in 1902-03 where it was depicted as an oblong building situated in the townland of Cargacreevy, slightly north of Cargacreevy Presbyterian Church (HB 19/06/ 016). In 1867 a ‘Masonic Hall and garden’ valued at £14 15s. are first recorded in the Annual Revisions of that year. The valuer described the building as a two-storey 2a class dwelling which measured 16 by 9ft and cost over £800 to construct. The first occupant of the Masonic Hall was a Mr. Hugh Gill Patterson who let the house from a Mr. Samuel Neilson; Patterson was a member of Harmony Masonic Lodge No. 723. A plaque situated in the main meeting room of the Hall states that the Hall was constructed by a Mr. William Redfern Kelly (1845-1928) a member of the Freemasons and chief engineer for the Belfast Harbour Commissioners who appointed him Chief Engineer in 1905. The plaque also records that the ‘Chief promoters’ of the construction of the hall were the Rev. Samuel Scott and Hugh G. Patterson, both members of the Lodge. In 1879 the hall passed to a Mr. Thomas Patterson who installed a shop front to the building; by 1902-03 a post office had been added which continued to operate until at least 1920. Thomas Patterson operated the shop until 1896 when Vincent Brown, a Presbyterian Grocer, came into possession of the building. The 1901 census building return described the building as a 2nd class shop and private dwelling which consisted of between three and five inhabited rooms and possessed a slated roof, a stable and a storeroom. In 1906 the building passed to a Mr. Andrew Patterson, a local cattle dealer and caretaker of the hall, who dwelt at Cargacreevy with his wife Ellen and their six children. The 1911 Census solely describes the building as a ‘private dwelling’ without mention of the shop, post office or Masonic Hall; due to his occupation as a cattle dealer the store had been converted into a cow house by 1911. Andrew Patterson continued to occupy the building until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1929. Research conducted at the site has found that the post office and shop, which were originally situated at the west side of the ground floor, were removed in the latter half of the twentieth century. The Hall is still used as the meeting place of No. 723 Harmony Masonic Lodge who meets there monthly. References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/22/1 – First Edition OS Map 1834 2. PRONI OS/6/3/22/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1859 3. PRONI OS/6/3/22/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1902-1903 4. PRONI OS/6/3/22/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-1920 5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/35 – Griffith’s Valuation 1862 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/1 A – Annual Revisions 1866-1875 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/1 B – Annual Revisions 1876-1885 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/1 C – Annual Revisions 1886-1897 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/1 D – Annual Revisions 1897-1914 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/1 E – Annual Revisions 1915-1929 11. Census of Ireland 1901 / 1911 Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A detached symmetrical three-bay two-storey Masonic lodge in a classical style dated 1867; prominently sited at the junction of Back Road and Old Ballynahinch Road, Cargycreevy. The hall was modified in the latter half of the twentieth century with the removal of a shop and post office, altering the ground floor at the west side, which originally comprised round-headed tripartite mullioned windows to either side of a central entrance with corbelled canopy above. At this time three chimneystacks and a round-headed dormer were removed from the roof. The original fenestration has recently been replaced with uPVC. Despite these alterations, the lodge is well proportioned and retains much historic detailing, both classical and specific to the Masonic Order. Of social interest, this building is a prominent landmark in a rural area, and is of importance to the local community Retaining its original use, this is a relatively rare example of a comparatively large, and well detailed, rural Masonic Hall

General Comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance also apply.

Date of Survey

06 January 2011