1 Manor Drive, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, BT28 1JH

One Manor Drive is a detached three-bay single-storey former gate lodge with attic storey, built around 1865 in the Tudor Gothic style. The building is constructed of uncoursed squared tooled sandstone with ashlar plinth course and clasping piers, and sits within its own grounds at a corner site facing Manor Drive to the north and Hillsborough Road to the east.

The rectangular plan building is characterised by good proportions and ornamentation typical of its style. The pitched natural slate roof features roll-moulded black clay ridge tiles, lead valleys and tapered timber finials to all gables. Decorative foliate timber bargeboards and drop finials ornament all gables and sheeted eaves. A replacement sandstone-clad chimneystack with octagonal clay pot and replacement metal rainwater goods are present.

The symmetrical front elevation comprises a central projecting entrance gable with decorative bargeboard and painted carved armorial plaque bearing the words "Viet Virtute" above the front entrance. Slender window openings flank the entrance porch, each with a single timber casement window. The square-headed door opening has chamfered sandstone ashlar surround and hood moulding with a replacement timber panelled door opening onto a front step and short footpath.

The east side elevation displays an original single-bay gable with a bipartite window to the attic level and a tripartite window to the ground floor, both with decorative bargeboard. The west side elevation mirrors the east gable. All window openings are square-headed with chamfered sandstone ashlar surrounds, sills and hood mouldings, fenestrated with gothic-arched timber casement windows. An attic-level bipartite pointed-arched timber casement window on the west elevation may have been salvaged from the original rear elevation.

A yellow brick extension was added to the rear around 1970, laid in stretcher bond and set back behind the east gable. This extension features wall-head dormers with concrete sills and timber casement windows, and a catslide roof serving a rear entrance porch with a square-headed door opening and hardwood glazed and panelled door. The extension retains decorative foliate bargeboards consistent with the original building and includes a wall-head dormer to the east and ground floor windows.

The surrounding landscape comprises hexagonal concrete paving encircling the building with a bituminous macadam parking area to the west enclosed by a concrete wall. Hedging encloses the front area facing Manor Drive, while the east elevation is enclosed to Hillsborough Road by a rubble stone wall with stacked coping.

Historically, the gate lodge was built around 1865 as the entrance lodge to Manor House. The Manor House itself was a much earlier building, appearing to have been a remodelling of a former fever hospital shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833. By the second edition OS map of 1857, the house was captioned "Manor House", though it did not yet have a gate lodge. According to Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64, the Manor was the residence of Walter Stannus, valued at £60 for the house, offices and land with buildings. Walter James Stannus was the son of Dean Stannus, rector of Lisburn Cathedral until his death in 1876 and agent for the Marquess of Hertford. When Walter took over as agent to the Marquess around 1863, the gate lodge soon entered the valuation records, valued at £5. Around 1870, this lodge was designated the "Front Gate Lodge", with a newly-built "Back Gate Lodge" erected on Chapel Hill (later demolished in 1907). The house and lodge remained in the Stannus family until falling into disrepair, when around 1921 they were let to the Irish Church Missions as an orphanage. The lodge is currently in private use as a dental surgery.

Although compromised by the modern brick extension of around 1970, alterations to the original interior, and loss of original setting, the lodge retains many original materials and features including the sandstone walling with hood mouldings, gothic-arched casement windows and restored decorative elements such as the foliate bargeboards. It remains of architectural and historic interest for its attractive features and its historical associations with the Rector of Lisburn Cathedral and the Marquess of Hertford, making a positive contribution to the heritage of the Lisburn area.