Adair House, Ards District Hospital, Church Street, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 4AS

Adair House is the original fever hospital built in 1845 as part of Newtownards Union Workhouse, located to the northwest of the main workhouse complex on Church Street in Newtownards. It latterly served as the maternity ward of Ards District Hospital before falling into disuse.

The building is a compact, formal two-storey structure constructed in basalt rubble with painted sandstone quoins and lintels, designed in a vaguely Tudor style with gabled roofs. Originally planned as an 'H' shape, the building has been extensively extended and altered in recent decades, though the original structure remains partially discernible.

The northeast facade presents the most intact elevation, featuring a central recessed bay flanked by projecting outer gabled bays. The ground floor of the central bay contains the main entrance: a panelled door with deep chamfered painted stone surround, multi-pane sidelights, and a fanlight with similar surround. Above the doorway is a recessed panel bearing raised letters reading "Adair House 1845 1954", with label moulding continuing over the sidelights and terminating in moulded end drops. The first floor window directly above the doorway features a similar surround and modern metal frame, with two slightly smaller windows set at a higher level to either side, fitted with painted sandstone lintels and modern frames. On either side of the doorway are two larger similar windows. The outer gabled bays each contain windows to both floors, with small painted trefoil vents set high in the gables.

The southeast facade retains five ground-floor windows; originally there were five matching first-floor windows, but the second and third have been converted to modern doorways providing access to a recently added fire escape. The fourth window on each floor sits within a full-height slightly projecting bay. The northwest facade is largely obliterated by a large modern two-storey extension in light brown brick. The rear facades of the outer bays mirror the front elevation, though a single-storey extension (constructed in brick, rubble, and render) has been added to the southern bay. The central recessed section has been entirely obscured by a modern two-storey rendered extension, which features a hipped roof section housing a water tank at its centre. The original roof sections are gabled and covered in Bangor blue slates; chimney stacks have been removed. Rainwater goods comprise cast iron and PVC. Original single-storey rubble outbuildings survive to the rear.

Historically, the Newtownards Union Workhouse was established in 1841 following the implementation of the Poor Law in Ireland in 1838, which divided the country into 130 Poor Law Unions, each centred on a market town. Designed to house 600 paupers, the workhouse admitted its first inmates in 1842. This fever block was added four years later in 1845. The designs of such early workhouse buildings, many based on plans by Oxford architect George Wilkinson, often incorporated Tudor or late mediaeval styling. Following local government reform in 1898, provision was made for converting union infirmaries to district hospitals serving both rich and poor. By the early 1900s, the Ards infirmary and fever block had begun treating the wider community. The Ards District Hospital officially came into being in 1932, at which point this building became the old people's unit. In 1954 it was renamed Adair House and extensively renovated as a maternity ward. A large two-storey extension was added to the northwest in the late 1960s. The building now lies unused, as functions have been transferred to the Ulster Hospital at Dundonald. The workhouse legislation continued in Northern Ireland until 1948, when it was superseded by new health and welfare provisions.