Stonebridge Furniture factory 122 Battlehill Road Richhill Co Armagh BT61 8QJ

Stonebridge Furniture Factory, Battlehill Road, Richhill, County Armagh

This is a substantial, mainly two-storey former furniture factory complex, begun in 1934–35 and significantly extended in 1947 and again in 1955. The facade of the principal block was remodelled into its present, vaguely Streamline Moderne form at the time of the last extension. The site sits in semi-rural surroundings on the south-eastern side of Battlehill Road, just north-east of Stonebridge Roundabout, approximately 2km north of Richhill and 6.5km south-west of Portadown. A car park lies to the west of the site, and a large triangular loading yard to the south.

The Complex as a Whole

The complex comprises three separate blocks. The main building is a two-storey factory constructed in stages from around 1934 to 1955. To the north-east of this stands a roughly square-plan two-storey block dating from around the 1960s, now used as a gym. The largest structure is a long, double-height warehouse on lower ground to the south, built after 1967. These latter two buildings are overwhelmingly utilitarian and of no architectural or historic interest.

On the opposite side of the road there is a much smaller Nissen hut structure, built before 1953. This does not appear to have formed part of the factory complex, as it features in none of the historical valuations. It may have served as a privately run canteen for factory workers, though this is uncertain. It currently functions as a shed for a garden centre and nursery.

The Main Block

The main block is of irregular plan and is made up of two large, distinct offset two-storey structures and one small single-storey section, all of which have been uniformly re-clad — probably in 1955 — so as to read as a single unified composition. The front section is rectangular in plan, measuring roughly 36 metres by 12 metres, and has a curved roof from which all cast-iron covering has recently been removed. Attached to the eastern end of this is a relatively small single-storey section. Directly behind the taller front portion is an enclosed full-length yard containing several corrugated-iron lean-tos. Behind this in turn is the largest of the three component parts: a long gable-ended section measuring approximately 44 metres by 14 metres. Although this rear section is slightly taller than the two-storey front portion, the sloping ground means the two have roughly the same roof level. This rear section has a corrugated asbestos-covered double-pitch roof. Built into its eastern corner is a square brick chimney stack, the top third of which — above parapet level — is battered. This chimney has the appearance of having originally been free-standing, though no documentary evidence has been found to confirm this.

The entire ensemble is almost completely finished in wet-dash render, with lined render across the ground floor of the front (north-west) elevation and smooth render surrounds to the long, almost continuous rows of windows that stretch across both floors of the front and rear (south-east) elevations, and across the upper level of the side elevations. Most windows are filled with metal frames of the Crittall type; those to the ground floor of the front elevation are now boarded up. To the front and sides, the walls rise into parapets. The side parapets have crow-stepped features, and that to the south-east carries the factory name "Stonebridge Cabinet Works (Rowntrees) Ltd." spelled out in large raised capital lettering.

The front elevation of the front section, facing the road, has a central bowed entrance projection with a recessed doorway containing timber and glazed double doors, flanked by large three-light windows (now boarded up). To the upper floor is a broad multi-light window, and above this the factory name and logo appear in large raised italicised lettering reading "'Stonebridge' Furniture". The front section has been entirely gutted, with its roof covering and all internal features removed, save for a central supporting wall and some steel joists and supports. The curved metal roof trusses and purlins are now exposed.

History and Development

Prior to the factory's construction, the site was farmland attached to a house at the western end of the property. The land was bounded to the north by Battlehill Road, to the east by the grounds of St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, and to the south by the Armagh to Portadown stretch of the Ulster Railway, which opened in 1848.

In or shortly before 1934, the property — including the farmhouse and associated outbuildings — was acquired by Charles H. Rowntree (1892–1956) of Charles Rowntree and Sons, furniture manufacturers of Richhill. By the end of 1935 a new factory had been built on the western side of the plot. Valuers described it as a "new furniture manufacturing factory on the side of a good road", measuring 60 feet by 40 feet, "well built" but "plain", with 6-inch concrete walls, steel stanchions, boarded floors carried on steel beams, and steel roof trusses carrying a corrugated iron roof. This building stood on the site of the present front block and appears to form part of the existing structure.

By December 1947 the factory had been greatly expanded. The main building had been extended to its present length and the small single-storey north-eastern section added. Valuers' plans and near-contemporary map evidence show that the main block at this stage had two flights of steps along the roadside frontage, indicating that the facade was then markedly different from its present appearance. Immediately behind the main factory building, a large corrugated-iron sawmill had been constructed — described by valuers as "really only a covered yard" with an earthen floor — along with a smaller, similarly built store to the north-east. This smaller building had been originally constructed as a piggery but was in use as a store for bed fittings. A concrete-built boiler house stood just to the south.

In November 1955 valuers recorded new extensions to the factory. The precise details appear to be missing from the valuation book, but photographic evidence from September 1958 indicates that the main front block took on its present appearance at around this date. The large offset rear section also appears to have been added at this time, occupying the position previously recorded as the sawmill. The former piggery to the north-east appears to have been extended or possibly rebuilt before 1953, as its footprint on the Ordnance Survey map of that year is considerably larger than the 96 feet by 30½ feet noted in 1947.

By at least 1967 the north-eastern block (now the gym) was in place, with another separate structure built just to its east. A freestanding building to the immediate south of the rear end of the main block had also been added by this time, though by the 1981 Ordnance Survey map its location had been absorbed by the large warehouse that now spans the southern end of the complex. The factory is believed to have remained in production until around 1996, after which it was sold to its present owner. Manufacturing continues on the site, carried out by a number of tenants, with the gym occupying the north-eastern building.

The front section of the main block was stripped of its roof covering and internal detailing in around 2022 and, as of March 2023, was understood to be awaiting refurbishment. The farmhouse at the western end of the site, which appears to have been at least partly of pre-1830s construction, was demolished around 2010 and replaced with the present dwelling.

Significance

The principal block is the main point of architectural and historic interest on the site. However, its significance has been greatly diminished by the complete loss of its interior, as well as its roof covering, and as a result it cannot be considered to be of special interest. The complex as a whole retains interest as an example of industrial archaeology.