Cowan Heron Hospital & Gates, Dromara Road, Dromore, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 5EU

Cowan Heron Hospital & Gates

A two-storey Arts and Craft style former cottage hospital, now sheltered housing, built around 1900 to designs by Peter Chalmers Cowan, located adjacent to the junction of Dromara Road and Circular Road, southeast of Dromore town. The building comprises an irregular-plan central block flanked by T-shaped single-storey wings, with a two-storey adjoining block to the rear and a further single-storey block to the southeast.

The main structure displays rosemary tile pitched and hipped roofing with crested terracotta ridge tiles, moulded finials, exposed shaped rafter tails, and moulded timber barge boards. Red brick chimneys feature incised detailing with corbelled upper courses and moulded terracotta string-courses; terracotta pots crown the stacks. Cast-iron ogee-moulded rainwater goods and louvered square-headed vent dormers with matching materials complete the roofline detailing.

Painted roughcast rendered walling rises from a projected squared uncoursed masonry plinth to cill level. Hammer-dressed long-and-short quoins with chisel-draught margins define the corners, while applied neo-Tudor timber framing adorns the gable apexes. Windows throughout are a variety of timber sliding sash and casement types, predominantly composite irregular timber 6/1 sliding sash windows with horns over 3-paned casements. These are set in irregular long-and-short sandstone surrounds with sandstone lintels featuring mould stops and chamfered sandstone continuous cills.

The principal north-facing elevation of the central block is asymmetrically arranged and dominated by a striking ashlar sandstone Tudor-arched porch to the ground floor left. The porch features moulded surrounds, label moulding with foliated stops, and foliated carved spandrels. A carved frieze reads "COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE SAITH YOUR GOD", all surmounted by a moulded stepped pediment embracing a carved heron with the lettering "AVEC MA VIE" ("With my life") below. The porch features geometric terracotta tiled flooring. Above is a moulded sandstone panel with a marble plaque reading "HERON'S COTTAGE HOSPITAL ERECTED BY Wm COWEN HERON 1898". The ground floor right comprises two 6/1 timber sliding sash windows, with a tripartite sliding sash window to the first floor embraced by Tudor-style timber framing rising to the gable.

The timber front door features two etched glazed upper panels and two raised-and-fielded lower panels with bolection mouldings, flanked by single-pane etched side lights with panelled aprons. A moulded timber frame rises to a dentilled cornice, topped by a tripartite rolled-glass overlight.

The east elevation is asymmetrically arranged, largely abutted at ground floor by the single-storey east wing. The gabled right bay contains a single first-floor window; the hipped projected left bay features a variety of first-floor sash windows with a replacement uPVC window to the ground floor. The pitched-roof single-storey wing matches the central block details. The north elevation is four windows wide, with a diminished-in-scale right window and a timber louvered dormer left of centre.

The south elevation lacks dress stone. A timber panelled door with 6 glazed panes and tripartite overlight is positioned to the left. The east gable is abutted by a pitched-roof single-storey block added in the early 20th century, matching the original details but with higher eaves and ridge levels. This block features a tripartite window to the north gable and a timber panelled door (without overlight) to the right cheek. Its east elevation comprises two windows with a louvered vent dormer above, while its rear gable is blank and abutted by a single-storey flat-roofed abutment with casement windows.

The rear elevation is symmetrically arranged and abutted by the two-storey block. A timber sliding sash window occupies the first floor with replacement uPVC windows to the ground floor. A central two-storey pitched-roof corridor link adjoins the rear block, with sliding sash first-floor windows and ground-floor doors on both cheeks. The adjoining rear block has no dress stone, features various replacement uPVC windows throughout, and presents a gabled north elevation with chamfered ground-floor corners and a hipped south elevation. Its asymmetrical west elevation is abutted by a single-storey wing mirroring the east elevation. A later-added adjoining single-storey asymmetrically hipped-roof block to the right features sliding sash windows and timber panelled doors to the west elevation, replacement windows to the east, and blank north and south gables.

Associated with the hospital is a set of wrought-iron gates and railings, manufactured by Riddel & Co of Belfast and installed around 1900, located at the northeast of the site adjacent to the later gate lodge, at the junction of Dromara Road and Circular Road south of Dromore town. The gates feature masonry piers of pointed-faced sandstone with chiselled draught-margins, three blocks tall on projected plinths, surmounted by gabled caps on reverse ogee moulding. The wrought-iron gates feature a mid-rail ornamented with lyre-motifs and twisted balustrades, with the top-rail surmounted by spear-finials and flanking scrolls. The associated railing rests on a smooth rendered masonry plinth with details matching the gates and cast footings to the bottom-rail.

The hospital is situated on an elevated site partially screened from public view by hedgerows bounding the north. Access is via the wrought-iron gates with masonry piers, with a gate lodge adjacent to the entrance. A sweeping inclined driveway flanks the principal elevation, bordered by a large lawn with landscaped trees and planters. A modern ramp provides accessible access to the entrance. A single-storey boiler house stands to the east. Grounds to the rear comprise parking and an overgrown garden, beyond which lies modern housing.