The Orange Hall, Belfast Road, Templepatrick, BT39 0AT

The Orange Hall at Templepatrick

A detached, three-bay, two-storey gable-fronted rendered Orange Hall dated 1923, occupying an elevated position on the south side of the A6 on the eastern approach to Templepatrick, facing north. Designed by Henry Seaver, with tender issued in May 1923, the building was constructed in 1925 and first appears on the 1932 Ordnance Survey map. According to Valuation Revisions notebooks, it was valued at £17 15s 0d. The hall served during the Second World War as quarters for troops and subsequently functioned as a courthouse.

The rectangular-plan building comprises a main two-storey block with an attached single-storey gabled entrance porch. The roof is pitched natural slate with roll-moulded clay ridge tiles, covered by a shaped gable with torus-moulded coping and moulded string course terminating in skew corbels. Plastic rainwater goods are present. The walling throughout is ruled and lined cement render with a low projecting plinth course. All windows are uPVC in concrete sills.

The principal north-facing gable elevation is symmetrical. The gable rises above the roof line with shaped form, torus-moulded coping and moulded string course below, terminating in skew corbels to either side. At centre is a diamond-shaped panel with ovolo moulding containing a white marble panel and hood moulding. The panel is inscribed: "Templepatrick / War Memorial Hall / erected 1923 / in Memory Of Our Gallant Dead / 1914-1918 / These Do Not read Our Praise Or Tears / We Need Their Courage Through / The Coming Years". Ground-floor windows are square-headed with torus-moulded reveals, lugged and kneed architrave surrounds featuring semi-circular moulding to the head, and concrete sills with underside moulding. First-floor windows are round-headed with torus-moulded reveals flanked by pairs of fluted pilasters on plinths, with archivolt over.

The single-storey entrance porch has pitched natural slate roof with terracotta roll-moulded ridge tiles behind a raised gable with simple moulded coping and moulded string course below, terminating on skew corbels. The round-headed door opening features heavy moulded architrave with keystone. Rendered soldier quoins to either side may have replaced original pilasters. A pair of replacement vertically-sheeted timber doors retains the original timber-framed fanlight with coloured glass margin lights. The doors open onto a pair of nosed concrete steps to a front gravel area.

The east elevation is four-bay two-storey with plain square-headed window openings and a single square-headed door with sheet metal door. An inset rectangular Portland stone panel is inscribed: "The Stone / Was Laid On 8th September 1923 / By Sister (Mrs) Janet Cunningham".

The south rear elevation has been recently re-rendered with plain square-headed window openings to the first floor and glass bricks to the ground floor. A square-headed door opening with sheet iron door and concrete step is present.

The west elevation is four-bay two-storey with a cast-iron vent pipe and plain square-headed window openings.

The site is bounded by high cement render walls to east, south and west, constructed c.2007. At the road frontage stands an original low rendered wall with saddle-back cement coping and moulding below, with plinth course. A pair of octagonal squat rendered piers with stepped cement octagonal capstones, moulding below and string course with plinth base, provides vehicular access to the site. The entrance opens onto a raised slip road with grass bank separating it from the main road.