Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB17/14/001

Address :
The Manse 44 Hillsborough Road Ballymacormick Dromore Co Down BT25 1QN

Townland:
Ballymacormick

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
25/10/1977 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:
202/4

IG Ref:
J2123 5385

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A symmetrical two-storey three-bay former manse; built c.1860 and located to the south side of Hillsborough Road east of Dromore town centre. Square on plan with return to rear. Hipped natural slate roof with leaded hips and ridges and two central rendered chimneystacks. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on projecting timber eaves. Windows are 6/6 timber-framed sliding sash without horns; projecting painted sills. Walling is pebble-dashed on a smooth rendered plinth. The principal elevation faces west and is three openings wide to each floor. To centre at ground floor is a elliptical-headed doorcase accessed via three stone steps, comprising replacement four-panelled timber door flanked by sidelights with panelled aprons and surmounted by a timber spider-web fanlight. The north elevation has two windows to ground and first floor. The east (rear) elevation has been modernised (see surveyor’s comments). The south elevation was not viewed (see surveyor’s comments). Setting Set on a secluded elevated site to the south side of Hillsborough Road. Accessed to northwest by a tarmac driveway with rendered entrance walls having flat coping stones and two Victorian square cast-iron gate piers with decorated shafts and finial to caps (right one without). Driveway is lined with mature conifer trees and leads to a rear yard. Lawn and shrub garden to front and north of house. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Pebbledash Windows: Timber RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Moore states that Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church’s manse was constructed in the early 1850s in Ballymacormick townland; however the two-storey dwelling does not appear on the second edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in 1859 and is first depicted on the third edition in 1903; the manse was included in Griffith’s Valuation of 1861 narrowing the construction date to between 1859 and 1861. Griffith’s Valuation notes that the Manse, which was valued at £22, was leased to the Rev. John McKee by a Mr. Robert Dickson. The Rev. John McKee resided at the Manse until his death in 1877 when James Rentoul became the new minister of Banbridge Road Presbyterian (PRONI Wills). Rentoul resided at the Manse until c. 1918; the 1901 Census states that Rentoul (61) resided at Ballymacormick with his wife Annie (34); the census building return described the Manse as a 1st class dwelling consisting of 14 rooms. A decade later the 1911 Census noted that the manse possessed a stable, three fowl houses, a barn and a store amongst its out offices, located in the sites sole outbuilding to the north-east side of the dwelling. Rentoul vacated the manse c. 1918 when the Rev. George McQuitty took possession of the site residing there until 1925 when the Rev. William Bates took possession, the last minister recorded in the Annual Revisions which ended in 1930. Prior to the construction of the manse in Ballymacormick the Rev. McKee of Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church resided at No. 17 Princes Street in Dromore, however between 1859 and 1861 the current two-storey Manse was constructed in Ballymacormick on land in the possession of McKee’s family. Moore states that the manse ‘was typical of many large houses at that time – a four-square Georgian type.’ McKee originally bore the cost of constructing the manse although the McKee family was later compensated by the congregation as the manse was occupied by later ministers. During the ministry of the Rev. James Rentoul (which began around 1908) the church committee met to deliberate whether to white wash the manse; however the plan was delayed so the Rev. Rentoul took matters into his own hands and tarred the building. The manse subsequently became known as the ‘Black Manse’ and became a local oddity that attracted visitors from around Ireland; despite numerous efforts the tar was not removed from the walls of the manse until 1967 when a pneumatic drill was employed and the plaster reapplied; the manse was also extensively renovated and modernized in 1967 when a new door was added and the rear return modernised (Moore; First Survey). The manse was listed in 1977 and in 1982 the congregation decided to sell the building in order to raise funds to erect a modern dwelling for the minister. The current manse was completed in 1984 and since that time the former Manse in Ballymacormick has continued to be used as a private dwelling. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/21/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map 1833 2. PRONI OS/6/3/21/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1859 3. PRONI OS/6/3/21/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1903 4. PRONI OS/6/3/21/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1919-20 5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/38A – Griffith’s Valuation 1861 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10A – Annual Revisions 1864-1878 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10B – Annual Revisions 1879-1891 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10C – Annual Revisions 1892-1898 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10E – Annual Revisions 1899-1908 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/10F – Annual Revisions 1909-1930 11. PRONI Wills (7 Dec 1877) 12. Census of Ireland (1901 / 1911) 13. First Survey Record – HB17/14/001 (1969) Secondary Sources 1. Moore, H. R., ‘A short history to celebrate the Sesquicentennial of Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church Dromore’ Dromore: Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church, 1988.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation J. Setting

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A symmetrical two-storey three-bay former manse, built c.1860. Square on plan with return to rear. The Presbyterian Church’s manse was occupied by ministers from c.1860 to 1930. In the early 20th century the manse was tarred, became known as the ‘Black Manse' and attracted visitors from around Ireland; the tar was removed in 1967. Although extensively renovated and modernised in 1967, it is a good example of the type in its original setting.

General Comments

Date of Survey

22 February 2012