Aghaderg Glebe, 18 Grovehill Road, Drumnahare, Loughbrickland, Co Down, BT32 3NF

Aghaderg Glebe is an asymmetrical two-storey over basement three-bay former Glebe House, built around 1800 with a west wing added around 1860 and remodelled around 1950. It is located to the east of Loughbrickland village, overlooking Lough Brickland.

The building is rectangular on plan with a front porch and return to rear, set in extensive gardens with outbuildings to the rear. It has a pitched natural slate roof, hipped over the west wing and partially concealed by an eaves cornice and stone blocking course. Several rendered chimneystacks feature octagonal clay pots. The building is fitted with concealed gutters, cast-iron downpipes and hopper heads.

The walling is ruled-and-lined rendered with stepped quoins, while the west wing has V-channelled granite quoins and plinth. The principal south-facing elevation is symmetrical, three openings wide, arranged about a central single-storey flat-roofed porch fronting the former entrance. This porch is plainly detailed with pilaster strips to the corners supporting an entablature. It is lit by a 6/6 window with wide central panes and accessed at the left cheek by a four-panelled timber door with round-arched margined fanlight and cast-iron door furniture. A granite step and cast-iron bootscraper complete the porch detail.

The original entrance is set in a wide elliptical opening and features a six-flat-panelled timber door with cast-iron door furniture, ornate geometric sidelights and fanlight, and pilaster frame.

Windows to the principal elevations are timber sliding sashes: tripartite (2/2, 6/6, 2/2) to the main elevation, slightly diminished in height to first floor; twinned 4/4 sashes to the canted bay at the west wing, with 2/2 sashes to the cheeks, divided by dressed granite mullions; and 6/6 to side elevations. The rear elevation features a variety of sashes and metal-framed casements.

The west wing is lit by a two-storey canted bay in dressed granite. The west elevation has two windows to each floor. The rear elevation is abutted by a two-storey over basement return to the left bay. The right bay of the west wing is lit by a 4/4 bi-partite window to first floor left and multi-pane metal casements to ground floor—one to centre (narrow) and one to left. The central bay is abutted by a flat-roofed stairwell extension lit to first floor by a large multi-pane metal casement and a diminutive multi-pane metal casement beneath, with a timber entrance door to the right.

The return is lit to either side by a variety of windows to each floor, with the basement exposed to the gable and east cheek only. The west cheek comprises two windows to first floor, while the ground floor is mostly abutted by a flat-roofed single-storey extension with two multi-pane windows at different levels and sizes to the west face, a timber glazed door to the right cheek, and a blank left cheek. The gable comprises a cast-concrete external stair leading to a glazed timber door at ground floor, flanked by a metal casement window to the right and a blocked-up opening to the left. Two timber casement windows to the basement sit one directly under the external stair and one to the left, with a heavy string course at first floor level and the remainder blank. The east cheek features a variety of openings: four metal casement windows to first floor, three to ground floor (the centre one deeply recessed), and two timber doors to basement with a 1/1 timber sliding sash (bottom sash timber sheeted) to the far left and a timber casement window to the far right.

The east elevation is over basement, accessed by a glazed timber door to the right and lit by a 6/6 window to the left. The only other opening is a slim metal casement to first floor right.

The building is set in a landscaped setting, well back from but visible from the road. A sloping tarmac courtyard to the rear contains two outbuildings to the east, with further outbuildings to the north and north east. The courtyard is fully enclosed by a rubble stone wall, accessed at the north side by a pair of timber gates supported by square piers with brick quoins having pyramidal caps inset with granite pebbles. The west entrance has piers only. Extensive gardens to the west, south and east are generally laid to lawn with mature trees and shrubs, set within a woodland setting with a burn to the east side. A tarmac forecourt is accessed by a lane from the public road at the west, through a pair of metal gates on square granite piers with pyramidal caps. An alcoved entrance wall features soldier coping.