BUILDINGS AT RISK FOR SALE

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1 BUILDINGS AT RISK FOR SALE Updated 30th January From its inception a key objective of the Built Heritage at Risk Northern Ireland project has been to encourage owners to restore their historic buildings or, where this is not deemed feasible, to offer them for sale to new restoring purchasers. The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society is often contacted by members of the public interested in buildings that are available to purchase and the printed Built Heritage at Risk catalogues have proven effective matchmakers in this regard. At any one time there are usually 3 or 4 buildings for sale, and several which are currently on the market are highlighted over the following pages, together with amended versions of their BHARNI Register entries. Follow the links to the relevant estate agent website for sale particulars. It is our intention to update this page on a regular basis as and when required

2 ROSES LANE END, 43 CRUMLIN RD, BALLINDERRY, COUNTY ANTRIM Historic Buildings Reference: HB19/01/027 Listing Grade: B2 Status: For Sale with Bill McCann Estate Agency This rural post office is described in its listing record as a two-storey fivebay harled and whitened building with slated roof a good example of a small rural building which retains most of the original external detail. Only a tiny room on the left-hand bay of the building was in use until recent times and, as a result, the overall condition of the property is poor. Its historical significance as a former rural post office is clear, yet another use is urgently needed to not only help justify the cost of the necessary repair and sensitive modernisation, but, in the longer term, to help generate sufficient income in order to pay for its continued upkeep. It is unfortunate that a pilot scheme devised by the Housing Executive, which would have included this building, failed to come to fruition. Monuments and Buildings Record

3 DONAGHMORE METHODIST CHURCH, CARGABANE ROAD, NEWRY Historic Buildings Reference: HB16/14/011 Listing Grade: B+ Status: For Sale with Shooter Property Services One of only eight Primitive Methodist churches to have been built in Ireland, dating to the 1840s, the simple beauty of this church is immediately obvious. Yet, it has been empty for just over a decade, its isolated and secluded location being potentially both a blessing and a hindrance to its future prospects. Walker noted the simple symmetrical gabled façade of three bays, further adding that the interior, is lined with box pews and the sanctuary area has a rather Anglican arrangement. It is substantially original, and is to be hoped that buildings such as this can find sympathetic new uses that respect both their architectural and historic integrity while allowing them to be viably reused. Walker, S (2000) Historic Ulster Churches, The Institute of Irish Studies Queen s University Belfast, pp Monuments and Buildings Record

4 MAYDOWN HOUSE, MAYDOWN, BENBURB Historic Buildings Reference: HB15/12/013 Status: For Sale with Robert Wilson Estate Agency Described in the Monuments and Buildings Record as a Two-storey farmhouse, symmetrical plan with Georgian detailing, this rather impressive rural house is now vacant and in need of major repair. Set back from the road, close to the pretty village of Benburb, it is sheltered on one side by trees and on the other by an extensive range of outbuildings, giving an overall air of seclusion. Hopefully these sought-after characteristics can ensure that it will soon be restored and reused. Monuments and Buildings Record

5 STRANGFORD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DOWNPATRICK ROAD Historic Buildings Reference: HB18/08/052 Status: For Sale with Templeton Robinson Recently closed due to lack of numbers, this church was described by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society as an unusual stucco façade of considerable merit, with six pilasters (four paired), three round-headed recesses, and a triangular pediment supporting a curious small obelisk. It is no longer used for worship and has suffered from some minor vandalism, with several of the panes to the round-headed window openings on the side elevations having been broken. The future of redundant buildings such as this usually lies in conversion to a new use which, in the case of churches, requires a great deal of skill. This is particularly difficult for residential conversions and, as this building is currently for sale, it is to be hoped that a new owner will approach any scheme sympathetically. Bell, GP, Brett, CEB and Matthew, R (1969), Portaferry & Strangford, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, p.30

6 FORMER DRUMBEE NATIONAL SCHOOL, COUNTY ARMAGH Historic Buildings Reference: HB15/15/004 Status: For Sale with Joyce Estate Agents The former Drumbee National School is an unusual single-storey hipped roofed building, now in a very poor state of repair. Housing classroom accommodation either side of the recessed central bay, which once formed the master s living quarters, the building appears not to have been in use for some time. Monuments and Buildings Record

7 22-23 THE SQUARE, MOY, COUNTY TYRONE Historic Buildings Reference: HB13/08/ A Listing Grade: B Status: For Sale with Robert Wilson Estate Agency A pair of boarded-up, late-18th century properties, in the centre of the Moy conservation area. They featured in Buildings at Risk Catalogue, Volume 4 (p.99), and are the only unoccupied terraced buildings in the historic core of the village.

8 MARKET HOUSE, CHURCH SQUARE, RATHFRILAND, COUNTY DOWN Historic Buildings Reference: HB16/08/008 Status: For Sale with Osborne King An important focal point for the square in Rathfriland, the former market house was described in the OS Memoirs as a plain old market house, in which once a month is held the manor court house. Dating form the 1760s, it was last used as a recreational club, a function that ceased several years ago. It appeared in Buildings at Risk Catalogue, Volume 6 (p.81), and will hopefully find a new sustainable use that it so obviously deserves. OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Down 1, Volume 3, p.15

9 METHODIST CHURCH, UNIVERSITY ROAD, BELFAST Historic Buildings Reference: HB26/28/006 Listing Grade: B Status: For Sale with CBRE This former church is an important piece of townscape and an imposing building in its own right; one of a group of ecclesiastical buildings in this part of the Queen s Conservation Area. Designed by WJ Barre, and built circa 1865, it was recently deconsecrated and has been for sale on a number of occasions, together with the substantial unlisted halls to the rear which are physically attached. The campanile and polychrome brickwork are the most obvious features of interest but the interior is equally of note. Walker considers it a remarkable building, constructed in a flamboyant style and representing a departure from the classical idiom, which had been the norm for Methodist church architecture. Concerns have been expressed that the character of the building could be damaged by too intensive a redevelopment scheme on the site, with proposals existing for the demolition of the halls and the construction of an apartment block, and the insertion of mezzanine floors within the nave of the church itself. Walker, S (2000) Historic Ulster Churches, The Institute of Irish Studies, Queen s University Belfast, p.122

10 1 STEWART S PLACE, HOLYWOOD, COUNTY DOWN Historic Buildings Reference: HB23/20/020 Status: For Sale with BTWCairns Nos. 1 and 3 Stewart s Place are sited just within the northern boundary of the Holywood Conservation Area; designated by the Planning Service in 2004 after much public pressure. They are thought to have been built about 1840 by William Lowry, and are said to be named after the first post-master of the town, Hugh Stewart. Benefiting from early listing status in the mid-1970s, they essentially comprise a pair of three-storey stucco houses with rounded corners, which have lost some of their historic context due to past demolitions, but help this part of the town centre to retain some sense of place. No. 3 was restored by Hearth in 1993 but no. 1 is empty and in a very poor state of repair. Hearth (2005) Hearth: A Review of Projects 2005, Belfast Monuments and Buildings Record

11 TURNPIKE COTTAGE, 131 HILLSBOROUGH ROAD, DROMORE Historic Buildings Reference: HB19/05/124 Status: For Sale with Robert Wilson Estate Agency Planning permission has been given for the restoration and extension of this early-19th century building, reputed to be the last remaining turnpike cottage in Northern Ireland. It is single-storey, T-shaped in plan with a hipped slated roof and, although in a poor state of repair for a number of years, has recently been fully boarded up. It featured previously in Buildings at Risk Catalogue, Volume 1 (p.56).