Killaney Lodge, 19 Carryduff Road, Lisburn, County Down, BT27 6TZ

Killaney Lodge is a substantial two-storey, multi-bay detached former rectory with attached outbuildings, built in 1858 and set within a large, mature landscaped site to the east of Carryduff Road, Lisburn. Despite some modern additions and internal alterations, the building retains considerable architectural interest and has group value with the nearby listed St Andrew's Church.

EXTERIOR

The house is U-shaped in plan, with a conservatory to the west and attached outbuildings to the north. The roof is hipped natural slate with raised stone verges, leaded ridges and hips, and large chimneystacks carrying tall decorative clay pots. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods run on ovolo-moulded projecting eaves, which project heavily on the south elevation. Walls are finished in painted smooth render with raised quoins and a chamfered plinth. Windows are mainly two-over-two timber-framed sliding sash with horns, set in moulded architraves to the ground floor with projecting masonry sills. The stairwell window is a segmental-headed three-over-two leaded and stained glass unit.

PRINCIPAL ELEVATIONS

The principal, south-facing garden elevation has a central recessed section two windows wide. The left bay has a rectangular bay window to the ground floor with a window above; the right bay has a canted bay with a glazed timber door and transom light to the central opening and a window above.

The west elevation has the stairwell window at its centre. To the left are two small one-over-one timber-framed windows at first-floor level and a single window to the ground floor, with a modern timber conservatory abutting at the left.

The north elevation is abutted at the right gable by a two-storey rubble stone and brick outbuilding. The right return is abutted at ground-floor level by a single-storey lean-to porch with a modern timber-framed window and timber-sheeted door. The east face of this return has a window at first-floor level and two windows to the ground floor. The central recessed portion has a window at both ground and first-floor levels. The left return has a window to the right at first-floor level; to the right at ground floor is a mullioned window with a vertical glazing bar to the central pane, and to the left is a two-over-two window. The west face of this return has a small window to the right at first-floor level.

The east elevation contains the main entrance, with a slightly recessed bay to the right under a single eaves line. To the left is a rectangular bay with a timber mullioned window surmounted by a single first-floor window. The entrance at the centre is approached by two masonry steps and features a double-leaf four-panelled timber door — the upper panels are segmental-headed — framed by panelled pilasters and surmounted by a spiderweb fanlight with a brass bell-push in a moulded surround. The right bay has two windows at first-floor level; at ground-floor level a rubble stone wall abuts the left bay.

OUTBUILDINGS

The outbuildings have been fully refurbished and integrated into the main house. They are arranged in an L-shape to the east of the main house, with north and west ranges forming a courtyard at the centre. The north range is the older of the two, built of rubble stone laid to courses, with an elliptical-headed carriage arch. The roof is hipped natural slate, with a rendered chimneystack to the north wing. Walling is mainly rubble stone with red-brick dressings. Windows are six-over-six timber-framed sliding sash, mostly replacements, with six-over-three units to the first floor. There is a variety of timber-sheeted doors and half-doors with cast-iron strap hinges, and a large modern timber garage door on rollers to the right of the west wing.

INTERIOR

The interior has been largely restored and finishes are mostly modern, though some historic detailing remains intact. The internal floor plan has been modified to incorporate rooms within the adjoining former stable block. A modern kitchen has been installed.

SETTING

The house sits within a large mature site with a landscaped garden to the south and west. A long tarmacadamed, tree-lined driveway is accessed via rendered gate piers with ball finials on plinths, supporting modern cast-iron electric gates, with modern cast-iron railings on a curved parapet wall to either side of the entrance. The western boundary to the road is formed by a mature hedgerow and trees. The stable yard to the east is surfaced with brick pavers and enclosed by a rubble stone wall with Flemish-bonded red-brick gate piers having bead-moulded masonry caps and ball finials on plinths, with decorative cast-iron gates. To the east is a single-storey house accessed via the main driveway and attached to the outbuildings.

HISTORY

Killaney Lodge first appears in the historical record in 1859, when Griffith's Valuation records it as the local vicarage, occupied by the Reverend Richard L. Scott and valued at £35, let to him by the Marquis of Downshire. The valuer's observation confirms the building was newly constructed at that time, describing it as "a very nice new house with good offices and a well enclosed yard." The house appeared on the third edition Ordnance Survey maps of around 1900 as an oblong building with a rear north-facing return, with a rectangular outbuilding to the north side — the structure now attached to the house.

Reverend Scott occupied the vicarage until 1874, when it passed to the Reverend W. H. McAdam. Scott had been responsible for the construction of St Andrew's Parish Church in the 1860s; the local congregation had previously met elsewhere but had grown too large for its original site. Scott obtained land from the Marquis of Downshire, and the new church was consecrated in April 1867.

By 1896 the house was occupied by the Reverend Edward C. Fife, who the 1901 Census records as living there with his wife Margaret and at least two servants. The census building return classified the vicarage as a first-class dwelling with nine rooms, a cow house, a number of stores, and the surviving large stable block to the rear.

After 1911 the house passed into private ownership. A local farmer, Abraham Smith, took over the former vicarage, and by the 1911 Census the building return recorded fifteen rooms, suggesting extension had taken place, though Ordnance Survey maps show no discernible physical alteration between around 1900 and 1920. The site valuation was reduced to £25 at this time. Smith remained until 1917, when the house was taken over by Robert Davies, who occupied it briefly until 1923, when William Price moved in — the last occupant recorded within the Annual Revisions for the area.

The northern outbuilding, formerly used as a stable block, was attached to the rear return of the house between 1920 and 1974, when this configuration first appears on the Ordnance Survey map of that year. The house has been significantly enlarged and renovated since it was depicted on the 1919–20 Ordnance Survey map, with the exterior character of the original farm buildings nonetheless maintained.