Gate Lodge, Rathmoyle, 40 Craigdarragh Road, Helen's Bay, Co Down, BT19 1UB

Gate Lodge to Rathmoyle

A single-storey gate lodge situated to the north-west of Rathmoyle, built in 1901 to designs by Vincent Craig as part of the house complex. The lodge is styled similarly to the main house but with plainer detailing.

The building features a hipped, tiled roof with exposed rafter tails and a half-timbered projecting gable over corbel blocks. A roughcast chimneystack with moulded caps rises from the structure. The walling is roughcast over a projecting plinth finished with a stone chamfered string course. Windows are timber casements with projecting stone sills. The timber entrance door is positioned to the right side and is sheltered by a canopy supported on paired stone brackets. A porthole window is located to the north side of the porch. A single-storey kitchen extension has been added to the rear.

The lodge bears a date stone of 1901 and appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1900-02. It enters valuation records in 1902, recorded alongside the house, offices, and land valued at £143 15 shillings. Valuer's notes of 1902 indicate the total cost of construction was approximately £5,000. Vincent Craig, elder brother of Lord Craigavon, built the house for himself as a prominent local architect. He remained the occupier until 1911, when he moved to England and sold the property to Herbert Brown, a Belfast linen merchant, who is recorded as occupier in 1913. The house subsequently passed to the Mitchell family in 1927. In 1933, William Charles Mitchell is listed as occupier, at which time the main house comprised thirteen bedrooms, three reception rooms, a kitchen, scullery, two pantries, and two bathrooms. From 1947 onwards the property has been used to accommodate overseas visitors, for hospitality, and for training and conferences, while retaining its domestic character. Refurbishment and redecorating took place in 1993 under the supervision of Michael Priest of London.