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

Outbuildings at Aghaderg Glebe

A group of traditionally constructed nineteenth-century outbuildings located to the rear of Aghaderg Glebe, dispersed around a courtyard behind the main house. The group comprises a two-storey stable with loft and single-storey store bounding the east side of the courtyard, a byre to the north, and a coach house to the north-west.

All outbuildings are of rubble stone construction, laid to rough courses with roughly cut granite quoins and brick dressings to openings. They are roofed in pitched natural slate and have timber-sheeted openings.

The stable block, located east of the courtyard, features a loft over and gable chimneys. The north-west yard-facing elevation has a large segmental-arched vehicular opening to the left; to the right of centre and right are timber-sheeted doors on granite plinth blocks, with the rightmost flanked by 20-pane fixed windows with granite cills. All ground-floor openings have segmental brick relieving arches. The loft contains a 12-pane window over the vehicular opening and a door to the far right, with a louvred loading door offset to the right of centre and flanked by ventilation slits. The north-east gable has a first-floor loading door accessed by external stone steps. The rear south-east elevation has a 12-pane window to the right and two ventilation slits at first-floor level, abutted at ground level by a lean-to woodshed with its right bay roofless. The south-east face comprises a single square-headed door opening (no door present) to the roofless bay and four large square-headed openings with continuous timber lintel, the left two divided by a round timber post. The left cheek is blank; the right cheek has a single bricked-up window opening with cill remaining. The south-west gable has a 20-pane window to ground level with the remainder blank.

The cart house is located to the right of the stable block, separated by an entry with a metal gate. It is detailed similarly to the stable block, with a 20-pane window to the right and square-headed vehicle doors to the left. A partially-engaged circular pier abuts the south-west gable to the left. Blocked brick-dressed segmental-arched openings occur at the apex of the north-east and south-west gables. A slate-roofed lean-to abuts the rear south-east, with an exposed blank section. The south-east face of the lean-to is blank; the left cheek has a timber-sheeted door to the left and a diminutive four-pane window to the right.

Set further north in the rear lawn is a byre with attached store. The south-west elevation has two segmental-arched vehicle doors to the right of centre. The north-west gable has two semi-circular-arched openings, that to the left containing a timber-sheeted door and that to the right brick-infilled. The rear north-east face has three equally spaced square-headed metal casement windows.

The coach house is located to the north of the site, accessed by a tarmac drive west of the house. It features segmental-arched double doors to the south-west gable. The south-east elevation comprises a square-headed timber-sheeted half-door left of centre with brick dressings and relieving arch. The rear north-east gable is blank. A metal gate with a square rubble-stone pier with brick dressings and pyramidal top is attached to the south-east.

The outbuildings are set within a landscaped setting at the rear of the main house. A sloping tarmac courtyard, enclosed by a rubble stone wall, is accessed at the north side by a pair of timber gates supported by square piers with brick quoins and pyramidal caps inset with granite pebbles; the west entrance has piers only. Extensive gardens to the west, south and east comprise generally lawn with mature trees and shrubs in 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 with soldier coping is present.