Hardford Lodge, 65 West Street, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT23 4EN

Hardford Lodge is an unusual and largely intact two storey gabled formal house, possibly dating from around 1835-40, now converted to offices. The building is situated at the western end of West Street in the north-western corner of Newtownards. It is distinguished by outward curving wings at each gable end, a notably original design for the period.

The front south facade features a central stone doorway of local 'Ards' type with a semicircular arch fanlight, now fitted with a PVC door. To the left is a window opening with simple surrounds including entablature, cornice and blocking course, now containing a two-pane PVC frame with security grille. To the right are three further windows to the first floor, smaller than that to the left and resting on a cill course. The lower half of the front facade is finished in rusticated render, whilst the upper half is finished in lined render with a parapet and pilaster ends topped with square pyramidal caps. The front facades of the curving one-storey side wings are similarly finished in lined render, each containing a single window with surrounds matching those on the first floor, and are topped with a parapet with pilasters to the outer ends.

The eastern curving wing continues into a wall running parallel with the line of the street beyond the pilaster. This wall contains a doorway with a plain sheeted timber door, encased with pilasters and a lintel with keystone. The western gable of the main building is blank and rendered, with one sash window to the rear (north) of the curving western wing.

At the centre of the north (rear) elevation of the main building is a large full-height gabled return. To the right of the return is a sash window with grille to the first floor and a slightly larger modern-looking window with grille to the ground floor. To the left of the return is a similar arrangement, but the ground floor window is a sash with horizontal glazing bars, also with a grille. The north gable of the return is blank, containing a sash window to the first floor of the east facade and a modern window to the ground floor, both with grilles. The west facade of the return has two sash windows to the first floor (with that to the right being larger) and one to the ground floor, all with grilles.

The rear of the curving eastern wing rises to two storeys at the rear (north). The rear elevation is flush with the rear of the main house and contains a squat sash window with 'Georgian' panes to the first floor and a taller sash window with horizontal glazing bars to the ground floor. The east facade has two further squat sash windows with 'Georgian' panes to the first floor (of the two-storey section) and a metal sheeted door to the ground floor of this section. To the left, on the single-storey section, is an odd narrow window opening with a triangular pointed arch head, containing a sash frame with small panes filled with toughened glass, many of which are now cracked. The entire rear facade is rendered and principally lined.

All roofs are covered with Bangor blue slates, with two rendered chimney stacks to the main gables and stone parapets to the main roof. The roof of the eastern curving wing has a slight 'hump' due to the awkward rise to the two-storey level at the rear. A mixture of cast iron and PVC rainwater goods is present. A rendered wall with pyramid-capped gate posts encloses the front of the property.

The building is shown much as it appears today on the Ordnance Survey map of around 1858-60, and the original construction likely dates from around 1835-40. A slight rear projection appears to have been present by around 1858, though the present return is probably later. The wing to the east, particularly its two-storey rear section, appears awkward and may not be original to the design, however it appears to have been constructed some considerable time ago.

Much of the original interior remains, though there have been some minor alterations to the layout and modern fittings have been introduced. The building may have been extended at the rear some time ago and now contains some modern windows. The property has been converted from residential use to office use.