Gates at Ardara House, 11 Ballygowan Road, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5PG is a Grade B2 listed building in the Ards and North Down local planning authority area, Northern Ireland. First listed on 13 April 1989.

Gates at Ardara House, 11 Ballygowan Road, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5PG

WRENN ID
upper-entrance-crimson
Grade
B2
Local Planning Authority
Ards and North Down
Constituency
Strangford MP: Jim Shannon (DUP)
Country
Northern Ireland
Date first listed
13 April 1989
Irish grid reference
J 451 687
Coordinates
54.54644, -5.75839
Source
NI Environment Agency listing

Also on this page: radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The gates at Ardara House, located at 11 Ballygowan Road, Comber, County Down, are a curved cast iron gate screen likely dating to between 1871 and 1872. They originally fronted the main entrance to Ardara House and possess group value with the main house.

The screen, constructed in kit form with bolted sections, features spear-headed railings and a ‘pierced frieze’ at the base. It is flanked by two square cast iron posts with decorative side panels, an ogee top with finial, and curving sweeps that terminate in similar posts on either side. The railings largely match the gates and are set on a rendered base. The gates are marked with the name of the manufacturer, ‘Musgrave Belfast’.

The screen was relocated around 1988 when the original main drive was removed due to housing development. It is now situated halfway along what was once the ‘tradesman’s entrance’ to the south. While slightly damaged, probably due to the relocation process, the gates retain considerable architectural interest due to their style, proportions, and ornamentation. These are attributed to Musgrave of Belfast, a local foundry. Historical records, including correspondence from Thomas Andrews (1871-72), Ordnance Survey maps (1901), and a sales brochure (circa 1988), document the gates’ history.

Local climate

Gates at Ardara House, 11 Ballygowan Road, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5PG sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 990 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 79% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 6 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
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  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • No flood data for this area
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Ardara House, 11 Ballygowan Road, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5PG Grade B1 85 m
  2. Maxwell Court, 15 Ballygowan Road, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5PG Grade B1 131 m
  3. Former Maxwell Court Corn Mill, 8A Clattering Ford, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5QH 319 m
  4. Andrews Memorial Hall, 4 Ballgowan Road, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5PG Grade B1 349 m
  5. Andrew's Spinning Mill, 1 Ballygowan Road, Comber, Co Down Grade B1 392 m
  6. Pump, 1 Dalton Drive, Comber, Co. Down Grade Record Only 505 m
  7. Railway Bridge, Old Ballygowan Road, Carnasure, Comber, Co Down 563 m
  8. Masonic Hall, 11 Railway Street, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5HG Grade Record Only 584 m
  9. 9 Railway Street, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5HG 589 m
  10. 7 Railway Street, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5HG 591 m