The Saddle House, No 5 The Adam Yard, Castle Upton, Templepatrick, Co Antrim, BT39 0BE

The Saddle House

The Saddle House occupies the north-west corner of the south yard, including the middle west tower of a detached symmetrical quadrangular-plan range. Built in 1790 to the designs of Robert Adam, it comprises two-storey multi-bay stone former stable buildings. The complex features a main arched entrance clock tower to the south, a further arched rear entrance block to the north, and a central range on an east-west axis with an additional arched tower flanked by a pair of square-plan blocks. Six square-plan towers with chamfered corners define the corners of the two yards.

The building was renovated and converted to 12 dwellings between 1988 and 2000. Natural slate roofs with lead ridge rolls are pitched to the linear sections with several skylights, hipped to the towers and to the north and south arched entrance blocks. An octagonal-plan spire surmounts the entrance clock tower with lead ridges, natural slate to the lower half, and metal louvres to the upper half, topped by a lead globe and weather-vane. A square-plan lead spire was added to the central arched tower around 2008.

The south and central arched towers and all six corner towers except that to the north-west feature crenellated parapet walls with sandstone coping, resting on a redbrick corbelled course. This parapet is employed on the front south elevation of the two linear ranges with slender arched recesses with redbrick heads. The central arched tower has four bartizans to the corners formed in redbrick with sandstone corbelling and replacement sandstone capstones. Replacement cast-iron rainwater goods on iron drive-through brackets project from rubblestone eaves courses, with some lead hoppers. Redbrick chimneystacks with octagonal clay pots and lead flashing are scattered throughout.

Coursed and snecked rubblestone walling with lime pointing and a projecting rubblestone plinth course form the external walls. The south entrance tower is flanked by a pair of full-height projecting stone piers to both elevations with a parapet wall and sandstone coping on a redbrick corbelled course. These piers have blind balistrariae to the upper stage and blind loop-holes to the lower stage on both elevations. Balistrariae also adorn the outward facing chamfered corners of the four outer towers, with double-height round-headed recesses to the south-facing elevations of the front two corner towers only. The rear entrance block has a series of balistrariae to the ground floor of the south elevation, some glazed to the interior wall, while the north elevation has loop-hole openings to the ground floor, also glazed to the interior wall.

Windows are generally square-headed with rendered reveals, concrete sills, and timber sash windows with exposed sash boxes, installed around 2000. Between the paired piers flanking the arched entrance tower is a slender round-headed window opening to the ground floor with 4/4 timber sash windows, with slender 4/4 timber sash windows to the first floor. Window openings facing the two yards are 6/6 timber sash to the ground floor with oculi openings to the first floor formed in redbrick with circular timber casement windows. Some large round-headed window openings occupy former carriage arch openings to the central linear range, with voussoired stone arches and multi-pane timber windows with integrated fanlights. The linear east and west ranges each have a lucarne opening to the centre of the range facing into the yards, with timber weatherboard to the gable and timber casement windows. Some tripartite sash windows have been inserted to the outward facing elevations with central 6/6 flanked by 4/4 timber sash windows. To the first floor of the outward facing elevations are 3/6 and 6/3 timber sash windows.

The main south entrance clock tower features a large round-headed carriage arch with a sandstone architrave surround, plinth blocks, and impost blocks. Above impost level is a timber panel with glazing, while a pair of 19th century vertically-sheeted timber doors on iron hinges give access to the yard. The walls and soffit within the arch are smooth lime rendered with a small square-headed door opening to either side having replacement timber panelled doors. Door openings are generally square-headed with multi-paned glazed timber doors, some double-leaf. To the corner towers of the front south elevation, within the double-height recess is a round-headed door opening formed in voussoired stone with double-leaf multi-paned timber glazed doors with Gothick tracery fanlights and an oculus to the upper stage with circular timber casement windows.

The two yards are surfaced in gravel, while the rear north yard contains a flower-bed formed in stone setts in the form of a Prussian iron cross with a carved stone pedestal and iron sun-dial on a moulded redbrick base. Stone flags surround the east, north, and west elevations.

The stable range, now known as the Adam Yard, is set to the east of Castle Upton and is accessed by a long tree-lined avenue set perpendicular to the main street of Templepatrick (Belfast Road). To the north of the rear is a lawned area with a stone ha-ha and small stone bridge, with a bitumac driveway giving vehicular access to the north yard. To the north-east is a seven-bay single-storey stone-clad garage, built around 2000, abutting the wall of the Upton graveyard.