244 Whitewell Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 7EN, (The Old Throne Hospital)

The Old Throne Hospital, 244 Whitewell Road, Newtownabbey

A detached ten-bay two-storey building with attic, built in 1874 to a French Gothic-revival design by architect Thomas Hevey and constructed by local building firm H & J Martin. The building is constructed of red brick with buff sandstone dressings and features a rectangular plan with a pair of two-storey octagonal towers flanking the south elevation.

The south elevation is the principal facade, with a segmental arched opening spanning between the two towers to support a balcony over double doors with fanlight. The gabled south elevation has buff sandstone coping to a raised parapet. The octagonal towers have banded natural slate roofs with gablets to the south, west, north and east, and feature exposed rafter tails. Decorative eaves courses to the towers include machicolation with trefoil insets and a buff sandstone and mosaic string course below.

Ground floor openings on the south elevation are segmental-headed with depressed arches, buff and red sandstone headers, hood moulds and tiled mosaic spandrels topped by moulded stone coping with stooled ends. First floor openings are Gothic-arched with depressed roundel details to buff stones, hood moulds, square hood stops and red and blue alternating brick headers over. Decorative metal railings form guarding at the balcony edge. An attic-level trefoil-arched louvred opening features a decorative mosaic banded spring course.

The east elevation is a ten-bay two-storey elevation with a projecting two-storey entrance bay and gabled dormer, now used as the main entrance. The gable-dormer has a raised roundel to its pediment with projecting moulded sandstone eaves course supported on piers with a corbelled brick table. Ground floor openings are segmental-arch with alternating buff and red sandstone headers, bull-nosed inset edges, roundels to keystones and springing stones, and blue brick headers over. First floor openings are square-headed with projecting sandstone sills, except for the northernmost window which has a segmental arch. The pair of square-headed openings immediately north of the projecting bay are separated by a sandstone pilaster mullion. The ground floor of the projecting entrance gable contains a square-headed opening with a modern steel beam supporting a pair of pointed-arch openings over timber-sheeted double entrance doors. The doors have a buff sandstone architrave with raised roundel, set within a trefoil-headed arch with sandstone hood mould and square hood stops. First floor openings are a pair of trefoil-headed windows with stone cusping, set within a square-headed opening. A buff-sandstone eaves course with brick corbel table, buff-sandstone springing course and sill course run across the elevation with blue brick banding below and a battered brick plinth. A third bay from the south end projects further to form an external chimney breast; this is corbelled out from the sandstone string course at ground floor between arched window openings and then tapers back in at eaves level.

The west elevation features a projecting two-storey bay with similar detailing to the east. Ground floor openings are segmental-arch with buff and red sandstone headers, bull-nosed inset edges, roundels to keystones and springing stones, and blue brick headers over. First floor openings are square-headed with projecting sandstone sills. A buff-sandstone eaves course with brick corbel table, buff-sandstone springing course and sill course run across the elevation with blue brick banding below and a battered brick plinth.

The north elevation comprises a two-storey extension with a chamfered brick plinth. Ground floor openings are square-headed with concrete lintel, mullion and splayed sill, while first floor openings have sandstone sills. A former door opening on the west side has been bricked in.

The roof structure is hipped natural slate with stone ridge tiles and projecting stone eaves course over brick corbelled table. Modern metal roof-lights are installed at attic level. Rounded uPVC guttering and downpipes are fitted throughout. The projecting east and west bays have hipped roofs, while the gabled dormer to the east projecting bay has moulded buff sandstone raised parapet with acroteria. The north extension has a mono-pitched roof with crow-stepped parapet and moulded sandstone coping.

A six-bay two-storey extension was built to the west circa 2003, constructed of rendered walls. The building is located on a plateau overlooking Whitewell Road, within its own grounds with car parking and lawns to the east and south. A metal fence forms the perimeter to the west and north. Rendered walls from the north-east lead to entrance doors with a ramp to the east. A hedge boundary defines the east and south boundaries, with a contemporary metal entrance gateway to the east. Replacement timber windows are fitted throughout.