Ballydevitt House, Ballydevitt Road, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT51 4DR

Ballydevitt House is an asymmetrical, detached, three-bay two-storey rendered Victorian house built around 1890. It is located to the south of Ballydevitt Road in a mature rural setting near Aghadowey.

The main house has a rectangular plan with a substantial two-storey return extending to the north-east, which formed part of the original construction. A further single-storey return running parallel was added in the early to mid 20th century. The building is topped with a flat-topped hipped slate roof with angled terracotta ridge and hip-tiles, and features a pair of tall rendered chimneys to the front and rear ridge-lines. The lower level returns are gabled with pitched slate roofs and terracotta angled ridge-tiles, each with a single matching chimney to the ridge-line.

The principal elevation faces south-west and is asymmetrical. It has two-storey advancing bays, with a shallow box bay window to the left and a canted bay to the right. Both have hipped slate roofs breaking through the eaves, fitted with black or grey hipped ridge-tiles. The eaves are finished with ogee cast-iron rainwater goods mounted over bracketed eaves, edged in plain timber fascia to the main house, with round and squared downpipes and some decorative brackets. The main return has plainer projecting, moulded eaves.

The walling of the main house is ruled-and-lined rendered on the upper floor with projecting strip-quoins. A projecting string-course below has smooth render with horizontal channelling to the ground floor, sitting over a smooth rendered base on a projecting plinth. The returns are generally ruled-and-lined rendered with roughcast to the gable and south elevation of the primary return. Windows are characteristically segmental headed with original 1/1 horned timber sashes in plain reveals. Continuous moulded and projecting sill courses wrap around the main house elevations, while stone sills are used to the rear elevation and returns.

The principal elevation is dominated by a full-height double-light bay-window to the left and a similar canted bay-window to the right. Above the centre sits a window over an original eight-panelled double-leaf door, surmounted by a segmental plain glass transom. A projecting triangular pediment above the door-case is supported on scrolled brackets and engaged, panelled pilasters on plinths. Sandstone steps with dwarf-walls on each side lead up to the main entrance door.

The north-west elevation is asymmetrical and two bays wide, containing three windows to the upper floor and two to the right-side of the ground floor. The left-side contains a pair of windows to an advancing flat-roofed single-storey box bay. A small gabled return to the left-side of the main north-east elevation contains matching windows to each cheek and gable. All are squared 1/1 timber sashes with decorative frosted glazing from the early 20th century. A narrow timber sheeted door with a plain-glass transom over is located on the left cheek.

The rear north-east elevation is roughcast to the centre, containing a single window to the far-left. Two semi-circular headed leaded-and-stained-glass stairwell windows occupy the centre, with the upper being of larger scale and having timber glazing bars. A two-storey gabled return abuts to the right-side, featuring a single square-headed timber casement window to the upper gable. The right cheek is asymmetrical, ruled-and-lined rendered, and lighted by five windows at each level, with a continuous moulded sill course to the first-floor and a string-course with projecting rendered base. The left cheek is also asymmetrical with four windows to the upper floor, the far-right being square-headed. A pair of replacement timber sheeted doors occupy the right, with two windows to the left, one very narrow.

The south-east elevation is asymmetrical with two windows to the upper floor, a window and canted bay-window below. An original narrow six-panelled timber door to the far-right is in similar style to the main door, with a plain-glass segmental transom over.

Associated Historic Outbuildings

Double-height historic stone and roughcast outbuildings form an informal yard to the east, dating from the mid to late 19th century. Both have been re-roofed in recent decades with refurbishments to the interiors and modern replica or replacement windows and doors.

The northern outbuilding dates from around 1830 and is a former stable and tack building. It is two-storey and gabled with louvered upper openings, metal frame windows with timber sheeted doors to the south elevation, and a large sliding door to the right-side. A plain glass replacement transom and side-lights are fitted to the door right-of-centre. A decorative iron weather-vane crowns the centre of the roof-ridge. The interior is modernised with animal stalls inserted and the floor above is refurbished for group use.

The eastern double-height outbuilding has a hipped roof with two replacement metal and timber louvered lanterns. Two six-pane metal windows and a timber-sheeted sliding door are present. The interior has a modern concrete floor and rendered walls, with the upper floor to the southern proportion serving as former storage. Original ladders remain but are not in place. Both outbuildings feature decorative vents to the exterior.

Three further outbuildings are located within the yard, all rendered with mono-pitched corrugated metal roofs, replacement timber sheeted doors, and metal windows. Modern farm-related buildings to the north-east are of little interest.

Setting and Access

The house is set back on the southern side of Ballydevitt Road within mature rural farmland, on an elevated site overlooking fields, woodland, and the Aghadowey River. Main access to the north-west is via a pair of curved, painted and capped walls with large spherical capped piers supporting cast-iron gates, which open onto a winding gravel drive. The associated gate lodge is sited opposite.

The outbuildings to the east form a yard accessed via stone-capped circular rubble-stone pillars to the north-east. Coursed and uncoursed rubble-stone walls extend along the main road and abut to the gable of the principal return. A rendered wall punctuated by two large squared piers extends south-east from the eastern corner of the main house, enclosing the yard with a hung sliding metal gate. Beyond the outbuildings to the north and east lies a working farmyard and fields, in which a brick watch house remains from the period of linen bleaching. Wigmore House is situated to the north-east.