Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB03/04/019

Address :
Ballintemple House 40 Churchtown Road Garvagh Coleraine Co. Londonderry BT51 5BE

Townland:
Ballintemple

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
17/01/1977 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:
40-11

IG Ref:
C8123 1494

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

An asymmetrical three-bay two-storey detached house built c.1840 and incorporating an earlier single-storey dwelling (1795), situated on a large mature site with a variety of outbuildings. East-facing inverted T plan with single-storey extension at south having bowed front; perpendicular gabled block to rear abutted to north by a one-and-a-half-storey servants wing; original single-storey dwelling (south-facing) forms a return to rear; single-storey lean-to extension with porch (lower) also to rear. Pitched natural slate roof with angled ridge tiles, rendered chimneystacks and bargeboards to gables. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on bracketed eaves. Walling is roughcast render with ruled-and-lined render to rear gable. Windows are timber sash without horns, 6/3 to first floor and 6/6 to ground floor; all in painted smooth-rendered surrounds with projecting painted sills (unless otherwise stated). The principal elevation faces east and is five openings wide at each floor. Off-centre elliptical-headed doorcase in moulded surround comprises original wide timber door with beaded muntin, four vertical panels and cast-iron door furniture, flanked by panelled jambs and margin-paned sidelights and surmounted by original timber fanlight with decorative vertical glazing bars. Door is accessed via three sandstone steps. The south gable has a 6/6 window at first floor left; abutted at ground floor by the single-storey extension. Extension has hipped roof with leaded ridges and hips; bowed front to east is two windows wide; abutted to south and west by a replacement timber conservatory. The west (rear) elevation comprises central gabled bay, abutted at north by the two-storey gabled block and at south by the single-storey original dwelling (1795). Gable has two round-headed 2/2 windows with horizontal glazing bars to first floor and diminutive timber casement window to ground floor. Single-storey original dwelling (1795) has, to south elevation, two 6/6 windows with horns flanking a half-glazed timber door; west gable with timber casement window at left. Gabled block to left has two 1/1 windows at first floor and is abutted at ground floor by the single-storey lean-to extension having 12/12 window with horns and diminutive timber casement window; porch to north cheek has replacement timber casement window. North elevation (gable) has two 4/4 windows at first floor left and an 8/8 window to ground floor left; abutted at right by the one-and-a-half-storey servants wing, having two 2/2 windows to attic and 2/2 window to ground floor at gable; east elevation with three 2/2 windows at ground floor. The north elevation has a diminutive four-light fixed window to first floor left and a 6/6 window to first floor right. Setting: Situated on large mature grounds to the south side of Churchtown Road, with gravelled entrances to northeast and northwest leading to an informal rear yard. Yard accessed to north side of the house via a set of circular pebbledash piers with pointed caps. Yard is laid with concrete and has a variety of single and two-storey pebbledash outbuildings including a fine two-storey coach house to west. Coach house has slate roof, pebbledash chimneystack with tall clay pot and bell-cote with bell to south gable. Timber casement windows and timber-sheeted doors throughout. Stable to coach house at ground-floor left, with original stone sett floor and traditional timber stalls and fittings. Lawned garden to east has variety of mature trees and bounded by mature hedgerow. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Pebbledash Windows: Timber sash without horns RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Ballintemple House was built in the late eighteenth-century as a single-storey thatched house and is shown on the first edition OS map of 1832 as rectangular on plan with an extended return and a group of outbuildings to the rear. The second edition of 1849-53 shows the plan form considerably altered and the building is now captioned ‘BallintempleHo[use]’. What is now G18, 19 and 20 are the earliest parts of the house, and there is a suggestion that these could date back to as early as the 1770s, the owner stating that the house was originally built as a hunting lodge for the Earl Bishop of Derry (Owner Information). The bow-fronted section at G16 and the lower storey of G15 may be original to the house or later additions but are present by the first edition OS map of 1832 as well as being described in OS Memoirs. The dwelling was then raised and further extended before the second edition of 1849-53, although the original hunting lodge, now a return, was reduced in length. The present-day Ballintemple House has largely preserved the plan form of c1840, with some minor alterations. OS Memoirs record that in the 1830s the house was the residence of Mrs Heyland, widow of Major Arthur Rowley Heyland.The Memoirs state that the single-storey thatched cottage was built in 1795 by Major Heyland’s father Rowley Heyland of Glenoak in County Tyrone, but it is possible that this was a remodel of an earlier hunting lodge, as the present owners contend. The house was ‘on the site of a beautiful glen’ and commanded ‘an extensive view down it and of the country on the east, backed by the county of Antrim mountains’.(OS Memoirs) The Townland Valuation (1828-40) values the property at £11.18s. A full description of the dwelling is given in the Memoirs; ‘The cottage is partly half-circle, thatched and stands one storey. There is a large range of the dwelling attached to the back part of the cottage. It is also thatched and stands partly 2 storeys. There is a good fruit and vegetable garden enclosed by a quickset hedge. The demesne consists of about 30 acres and well enclosed with quickset hedges and iron gates. The demesne is also improved by plantations of various kinds of forest trees. The cottage stands on an eminence over a large glen and river and commands a delightful prospect of the neighbouring hills’. (OS Memoirs) Arthur Rowley Heyland had a distinguished military career and fought in the Peninsular Wars under Sir Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington) before being killed at the Battle of Waterloo. A letter he wrote to his wife Mary on the eve of the battle has survived and tells of his expectations of death and his love for her and their children. Major Heyland’s memorial is at St Patrick’s Church, Coleraine.(http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com) By the time of Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) the house had passed to the Rev Mitchell Smyth, rector of Errigal parish, and was leased from the Lord Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. It was valued at £25 and situated on a plot of over 48 acres. Rev Smyth became the owner in fee in 1873 and the house passed to Arthur C Smyth in 1896. The 1901 census lists Smyth who was a JP and a retired major in the Royal Marines, together with his wife and four daughters. The family employed three live-in servants, a nurse, for the younger children, a parlour maid and a cook. (1901 census) In 1924 the house reverted back to the Heyland family with Dominick Heyland, a retired major in the Indian army, and then Clara Heyland, resident until 1940. The First General Revaluation of the 1930s lists the accommodation as on the ground floor: two kitchens, two pantries, a scullery, larder, dining room, drawing room, library, study, bathroom and WC and on the first floor, five bedrooms, bathroom WC, linen cupboard, two maids’ rooms and two small bedrooms. The valuer felt that the ‘culinary department’ was very well fitted and noted that water was laid on to the main rooms and hot and cold to the baths. The electric light was from a private dynamo and sewage to a cess pool. The Heylands carried on a farming business and had excellent outbuildings with electric light. The valuer particularly notes the new outbuildings which ‘are remarkable for construction and finish’. The lawns and garden were well-kept and it was a ‘typical gentleman farmer’s residence’. (Valuation records) The house was listed in 1977 and repairs and renovations were carried out in the 70s, 80s and 90s including the rebuilding of the conservatory. In the late 1990s the NIEA took the view that this was one of the ‘finest Georgian houses in County Londonderry’. (HB file) References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/5/18/1 First Edition OS Map 1832 2. PRONI OS/6/5/18/2 Second Edition OS map 1849-53 3. PRONI OS/6/5/18/3 Third Edition OS Map 1904-5 4. PRONI OS/6/5/18/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1924-33 5. PRONI VAL/1/B/56 Townland Valuation (1828-40) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/13A-F Annual Revisions (1864-1929) 7. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/2 First General Revaluation 1933-57 8. PRONI VAL/3/D/6/3/L/1First General Revaluation 1933-57 9. Griffith’s Valuation online 10. 1901/1911 census online 11. HB file – 03/04/019 Secondary Sources 1. Day, A., P. McWilliams, English L., eds. “OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Londonderry VIII, 1830, 1833-7, 1839, Vol. 27.” Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994. 2. Owner Information 3. OS Memoirs vol 27 – Ballintemple the– it is a 1-storey thatched cottage, built by Rowley heyland of Glenoak Esq, in the county of Tyrone in 1795. It is situated in the townland of Ballintemple, 4. http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H+. Alterations enhancing the building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Z. Rarity R. Age S. Authenticity U. Historic Associations

Evaluation

Ballintemple House is a well-preserved three-bay two-storey detached country house built c.1840 and incorporating an earlier single-storey dwelling (built c.1795), situated on a large mature wooded site and accessed via two gravel drives with variety of outbuildings forming an informal yard to rear. Retaining much of its original character, architectural detailing is relatively intact including original fenestration and a fine doorcase, making this a particularly well-preserved example of an early nineteenth-century house. In continuous ownership by the same family Ballintemple House is of historic importance, of national interest and remains one of the best examples of its type in the area. It has historic accociations with the Earl Bishop of Derry and a previous owner, Arthur Rowley Heyland, had a distinguished military career and fought in the Peninsular Wars under Sir Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington) before being killed at the Battle of Waterloo.

General Comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and U - Historic Associations also apply

Date of Survey

12 October 2012