The Agent's House, Baronscourt, Newtownstewart, Co Tyrone, BT78 4EZ

The Agent's House, Baronscourt Estate

This is a detached, symmetrical Palladian villa of three bays, single storey, built in red brick and stone around 1745, possibly to the designs of James Martin — who was simultaneously working on the construction of Clogher Cathedral. It preceded the current Baronscourt House as the principal residence of the Hamilton family, the Earls of Abercorn, until around 1780 when the present mansion was built on its current site. With its temple front and elegant proportions, the Agent's House represents a modest yet academically accomplished exercise in classical architecture. It is one of the most significant buildings on the Baronscourt Estate and forms the focal point of the current main avenue. It also has group value with the main house and other listed structures on the demesne.

The house is rectangular on plan, faces east, and is approached head-on along a long rear avenue that now serves as the principal approach. It is surrounded by a series of estate offices positioned to the south of the main stable yard.

Exterior

The roof is hipped and covered in natural slate with roll-moulded clay ridge tiles, a lead-covered central flat section, and a single off-centre rendered chimneystack with three octagonal clay pots and a stone cornice. The front pitch is interrupted by the pitched natural slate roof of the central portico pediment, which has a timber bargeboard. Ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering runs to a stone ashlar cornice with a plain stone frieze below; the rear elevation has red brick eaves and cast-iron downpipes. The walls are red brick laid in Flemish bond with lime mortar, with a smooth render plinth course.

The centrepiece of the front elevation is a tetrastyle pedimented Tuscan Doric portico in antis — that is, a four-column classical porch with the outer columns engaged into the wall rather than freestanding. The portico comprises a pair of Tuscan Doric columns with a further engaged column at either end, supporting a plain frieze and cornice, a stone pediment with a plain tympanum and raking cornice. The portico interior has painted plaster walls, a diagonally-laid square stone flagged floor, and a pair of steps spanning its full width.

The symmetrical three-bay front elevation has a central square-headed door opening with a heavy painted stone ashlar architrave surround and an original painted eight-panel raised-and-fielded timber door with a central fillet and iron door furniture. To either side of the door is a circular window opening with a painted stone ashlar architrave surround and an early fixed-pane timber wheel window with a central circular pane containing bulls-eye glass panes. Beyond the portico on each side is a further square-headed window opening set below the stone frieze, with smooth cement render surrounds, cement sills, and replacement steel casement windows inserted around 1940. Although the original windows have been replaced, the openings to the portico remain intact.

The south side elevation is largely obscured by a lean-to extension built around 1970. This addition has red brick walling to the front laid in stretcher bond, painted ruled-and-lined rendered walls to the south, and a natural slate roof set below the stone cornice of the main house, with steel rainwater goods to a timber fascia. It has a central square-headed door opening with a timber half-glazed door and a concrete step, and square-headed window openings to either side with timber casement windows and concrete sills.

The symmetrical three-bay rear elevation has a central three-sided canted bay window added around 1900. The walls are red brick laid in Flemish bond with deep red brick eaves supporting cast-iron rainwater goods and a flush rubblestone plinth course. The windows to either side of the bay have brick flat arches, concrete sills, cement reveals, and single-pane timber sash windows with ogee horns, inserted around 1990.

The north side elevation is abutted by a flat-roofed single-storey extension built around 1960. The original side elevation at this point has a single square-headed door opening fitted with double-leaf glazed steel French doors opening onto two concrete steps and a paved patio area. The 1960s extension has uPVC windows.

Interior

The interior retains a richly detailed classical scheme and contributes significantly to the building's importance. Historical correspondence records that chimneypieces were made bespoke in Dublin by David Sheehan in 1745, as discussed in letters between the Abercorn estate and its agent (references: Gebbie, pp. 8–9 and Rowan, p. 133).

Historical Background

The building is first depicted on a map of Baronscourt Park dated 1777, held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, where it is recorded as rectangular in plan. Ordnance Survey maps from 1833 and 1907 show projecting extensions to the south and east ends, though by 1947 the building is again recorded as rectangular. The Townland Valuation of 1828–40 records a "house, offices, gate house etc." — referring to Baronscourt House and its associated offices — valued at £150. Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64 records "castle, offices, steward and game-keeper's houses and gate lodges" valued at £220. By the second revision in 1895 the Agent's House appears as a separate listing, leased by Robert Bell from the Duke of Abercorn and valued at £20.

The house was apparently started by the 7th Earl of Abercorn in 1741 and completed by his son (Rowan, p. 133). Correspondence between the estate agent and the Earl suggests James Martin as the designer. A letter dated 17th April 1744 states: "Mr Martin is seldom at Barrons Court. I write to him this post to Clocher, where he's building a church, to meet me at the building where I will acquaint him with your Lordship's desire." Further letters discussing staircases and stair rails confirm that the building was originally two storeys in height.

Its function as a residence for the Earl of Abercorn was relatively short-lived. Around 1780, the current Baronscourt House was built on its present site. By 1781, plans were already underway to convert the earlier building: "Mr Steuart has finished his accounts, and has made several drawings of the lodges, and for converting the late house (as I may now call it) into conveniences for stables farming etc, still however retaining a look of the house as it was…" (James Hamilton, Barrons-Court, to the Earl of Abercorn, 2nd September 1781). The upper floor is thought to have been removed at this time, and by 1783 the "late house" was described as "completely fitted up" (Rowan, p. 134).

According to Rowan (p. 134), the house was originally flanked by freestanding brick wings linked to it by straight brick walls, though the south wing had recently been removed at the time of his writing. These wings do not appear to be shown on the surviving historic maps. The lean-to extension to the south elevation was possibly built around 1970 in connection with, or following, the removal of the south wing.