Irish Naitonal Foresters, 38 North Street, Lurgan, Craigavon, BT67 9AQ

Irish National Foresters, 38 North Street, Lurgan

A detached symmetrical three-bay two-storey building dating from around 1860, originally built as a house and now in use as a social club. It is located on the west side of North Street, Lurgan.

The building is L-shaped in plan with a return extending to the north side of the rear (west) elevation. An L-shaped range of two-storey outbuildings extends from the main building, with twentieth-century additions from around 1970 abutting the south side.

The pitched roof is covered with man-made tiles and features angled ridge tiles. Two rendered gable chimneysstacks rise from the roof, each with seven original octagonal clay pots and corniced caps. A hipped roof covers the return. Cast-iron ogee gutters are supported on corniced stucco eaves over a plain frieze.

The walling is painted render applied over a low contrasting chamfered plinth. The principal elevation is band-rusticated to ground floor level beneath a first-floor sill course, with smooth render above. Rusticated quoins appear at ground floor, with stepped quoins to the first floor. Windows throughout are generally rectangular 1/1 timber sashes set in moulded stucco architraves with painted projecting masonry sills.

The principal elevation faces east and is symmetrically arranged about a central round-headed entrance. The entrance has a deep alcoved and pole-moulded surround with a crude 'INF' panel later inserted to the head. The doorcase is fluted Ionic on plinth blocks with a plain semi-circular fanlight over a plain entablature. The timber door has four raised and fielded panels. Later plastic signage bearing "National Irish Foresters" is mounted over the entrance, with a suspended sign to the west side.

The south gable is blank. The south elevation of the return has blocked window openings and is abutted to the west side. The rear (west) elevation is largely obscured by the return and outbuilding range; the exposed section is blank. The west elevation of the return features a 2/2 horizontally divided window to the first floor and a later timber sheeted door to ground floor.

The north gable is extended by the return, sharing the eaves level, and has a window to each floor aligned north. The return itself has three openings stacked vertically on its east side: a bolection-moulded four-panelled door with infilled sidelights over painted brick apron panels, with panelled pilaster jambs, frieze and cornice; a round-headed stairwell window with stained margin-panes; and a spoked coloured glass oculus window. Two openings serve each floor on the west side of the return, with those at ground floor being 2/2 sashes horizontally divided.

The outbuilding range is plainly detailed with an artificial slate roof and plastic rainwater goods, featuring a variety of timber and uPVC casement windows. Ground floor to the east has an inserted entrance from around 1970 with enlarged window and door insertions and tiled surrounds. The walls are buttressed.

An original gateway stands flush with the north end of the front elevation. One pier is half-width and square, topped with half of a ball finial, attached to the main building itself. The other pier is full-width and freestanding with a panelled front and a lion figure as its finial. A rendered wall (roughcast on the outer side) stretches westwards from this pier, enclosing the northern boundary of the property. Several metres along this wall stands another taller pier, also topped with a lion finial. Beyond this point the wall height rises considerably; here the outer side is roughcast and the inner side bare rubble.