Gate Lodge, Portaferry House, 1A The Strand, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1PE

Gate Lodge at Portaferry House

This single-storey Swiss chalet style gate lodge with attic stands at the entrance to Portaferry Demesne at the west end of The Strand, positioned on a slight slope overlooking Strangford Lough. The building probably dates from before 1834, though its picturesque façade may have been remodelled during the late Victorian or Edwardian period. It was greatly extended and altered around 1983 when a new section was added to the south end, nearly doubling the building's size.

The front elevation faces south and features a plain timber sheeted door left of centre, with a large multi-pane modern timber window to its left fitted with a small top-hung upper opener. Two similar windows occupy the right side of the door, the nearest being smaller. All ground floor windows have concrete cills. A small six-pane timber attic window sits directly above the door, with the roof raised and hipped above it.

The west gable displays two ground floor windows similar to those on the front elevation, with the left window slightly smaller, and a comparable small attic window. The east façade has an off-centre plain sheeted timber door with two timber windows on each side and an attic window. The ground floor windows here are somewhat shorter and set at a higher level than those elsewhere. The north rear elevation contains only a small timber window to the eaves.

The building is finished in plain render and painted. The roof is Bangor blue slate with large overhangs at the eaves and gables, though the roof pitch is eccentric with a longer side to the rear. Decorative barge boards run along the gables. An off-centre rendered chimney with paired square stacks set at an angle rises from a largely plain base. The building has no gutters or downspouts.

To the south-east stands a simple gate screen with wrought iron spear-head railings and simple metal gate posts, which appear to be modern replacements.

Ordnance Survey maps from 1834 and 1860 show a building at this site, marked "Lodge" and "Gate Lodge" respectively, and it is recorded in the 1838 valuation as an old single-storey building in good condition. The existing structure is probably the same building, though its ornamental appearance suggests late Victorian or Edwardian remodelling of the original façade.