‘Balloo House’ Pub and restaurant, 1 Comber Road, Balloo, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6PA

Balloo House, 1 Comber Road, Balloo, Killinchy

Balloo House is a long, two-storey gabled block situated on the east side of the Comber Road at its junction with Beechvale Road, at Balloo crossroads. It has operated as a pub and restaurant for a considerable period and has been substantially altered both internally and to the rear on successive occasions. Though sections of the building may have earlier origins, it appears to have assumed much of its present form in the later 19th century, and some late 19th century interior detailing survives. Successive alterations and extensions have, however, eroded much of its original character.

Exterior

The west-facing front façade is extremely long and reflects the building's complex history through its varied doorway positions and inconsistent window styles. Reading from right to left, the commonly used entrance sits to the right of the block, with a sash window featuring horizontal glazing bars immediately to its right. At the far left of the ground floor is a recent flat-roofed porch and conservatory addition. To its immediate right are three PVC windows designed to resemble sash windows. Moving further right, there are two large windows with Victorian-style three-light frames with semicircular arch heads, separated by a doorway that is now boarded up but retains its original timber sign board above. Directly above these two Victorian-style windows are two similarly sized tripartite sash windows with Georgian-paned glazing. To their right are two sash windows with horizontal glazing bars, with a further six of the same type to the left. Notably, the upper-floor sash windows on the left-hand section are set at a slightly lower level than those on the right. A projecting timber sign is fixed to the first floor at the far right end of the façade.

The south gable is blank. The rear elevation has been altered repeatedly. At the far left of the first floor are three sash windows matching those on the front, though a large flat-roofed modern section has been added at ground floor level. To the right the façade is recessed and dominated by a large, sprawling extension that now has a modern appearance, though it may incorporate earlier outbuildings within it. The main façade is finished in plain painted render. The main roof is gabled and covered in Bangor blue slates, with five yellow brick chimney stacks. Rainwater goods are metal and PVC. A row of single-storey outbuildings to the south may be as old as the main building itself.

Historical Development

The age of the building is not straightforward to establish. The current restaurant website claims a 400-year history in hospitality, suggesting origins in the early 17th century, though this is difficult to verify. The present Comber to Killyleagh road, to which the property is orientated, was not cut until 1749, making it unlikely that an inn existed on this spot before that date. This does not rule out the possibility of an earlier structure serving a different purpose — such as a farmhouse — that subsequently took on a hospitality role once the road was established.

The crossroads at which the building stands appears for the first time on James Kennedy's county map of 1755, and the placename 'Ballow' begins to appear in newspaper notices around the same period. A structure on this site is first depicted on Taylor and Skinner's road map of 1777, and again on James Williamson's 1810 county survey. The available evidence therefore suggests the present building has its origins in the mid-18th century, most probably tied to the creation of the new road.

By the time of the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834, a building of broadly similar plan to the current one — without the later rear additions and the more recent front projection, but with a detached block to the immediate south similar to what exists today — was already established on the site. The first valuation of around 1837 records a slate-roofed house measuring 49 feet by 22 by 14, with an addition of 17 by 22 by 10, an office (outbuilding) of 20 by 22 by 10, and a barn measuring 51 by 19 by 6½ feet. These dimensions suggest that the main dwelling at that time was roughly the northern section of the current block, extending as far as the line of the third chimneystack, with the lower addition stretching south to approximately the fourth chimneystack. The outbuilding formed the southern end of the block, and the barn was almost certainly the detached structure further to the south. The occupant recorded in the valuation was a Samuel Hay; no reference is made to the property serving as an inn, though such omissions are not unusual in early valuations.

From other contemporary sources it is known that an inn existed at Balloo from at least 1819, held in that year by David Lowry and by 1828 by 'Mrs Lowry'. These individuals may be the same David (died 1827) and Margaret Lowry (died 1856) who built the private residence further north at what is now 15 Comber Road in 1809. If so, Samuel Hay may have been a resident manager or caretaker. A Belfast News-Letter report from January 1833 refers to 'that long-established and well-conducted inn…belonging to Mrs Lowry', suggesting it was already considered a well-established business by that date. Mrs Lowry continued to operate it until at least 1849.

By 1861, the property was in the hands of David Henry, who held the lease from Samuel Murland of Annsborough, Castlewellan — who had by that time also acquired the freehold of the adjoining property to the north (present-day nos. 3–5 Comber Road). The second valuation of that year describes the property as a 'house (shop), offices and land', recording the same principal dimensions as before but also noting a newer section of 22 by 26 by 17 feet. This newer portion appears to correspond to the main two-storey section of the rear return, which appears on the revised Ordnance Survey map of 1859–60. That same revised map also shows the present road alignment, the road having been shifted slightly further west, thereby creating the forecourt in front of this property and its neighbour.

David Henry died around 1876, and the lease passed to Mrs Eliza Henry, presumably his widow. In or just before 1878, the valuation records note a 'new house', the construction of which raised the rateable value from £7 to £17. Later evidence suggests this involved the rebuilding of the addition noted in the 1830s and, judging from the larger upper-floor window openings, may also have included alterations to the original dwelling. A further new section was added to the south in or just before 1890, raising the rateable value to £23; this is likely the present southernmost section between the fourth and fifth chimneystacks. A significant proportion of the current structure is therefore late Victorian in date. Shortly after this second extension was completed — apparently around the time of Mrs Henry's death — the property was divided internally, with communication cut off between the dwelling house and the licensed public house.

Sometime in the 1890s (some sources suggest 1893), the leases of both parts were acquired by James McConnell, who in the 1901 census was recorded as living in the dwelling with a housekeeper, Jane McIlwrath. McConnell purchased the freehold of the dwelling around 1909, while continuing to rent the pub — known from around 1905 in contemporary notices as 'Balloo House' — from Joseph Reid, successor to Samuel Murland as landlord. He retained both properties until his death in early 1934, after which they appear to have passed to a relative, John McConnell, who retained the whole block into the 1970s. Various additions and alterations to the rear were made during the 20th century, as was the flat-roofed projection to the front. The building was advertised for sale in late 1981 and was reported to be undergoing extensive renovations in February 1983. The present owners acquired the property in 2004.