New Grove House, 191 Ballylesson Road, Ballycarn, Lisburn, County Down, BT8 8JU

New Grove House is a Grade B1 listed building comprising an 18th century Georgian farmhouse with associated outbuildings, located at the end of a long driveway on the north side of Ballylesson Road, directly south of Edenderry village in County Down.

The house is an asymmetrical single-storey four-bay structure built as an addition to the front of an earlier two-storey dwelling, creating a composition of single storey to front and two storeys to rear over basement. It is believed to date from the mid-18th century (circa 1760–1779), though the underlying earlier block is presumed to predate this substantially. The principal elevation faces south and exhibits the modest architectural styling and proportions characteristic of mid-18th century Georgian design. The front door is located left of centre, accessed by modern paved steps with a round section metal handrail. It comprises a modern timber glazed door with associated side lights and a radial fanlight over, embraced by a segmental arched opening with long-and-short stone surrounds, painted. To the right of the door are three ground-floor windows; to the left are two. The left corner returns to form a segmental bow. The left elevation is two bays wide; the right-hand bay forms a broad segmental bow containing a large 8/8 Georgian sash window, whilst the left bay has a single 6/6 sash window with a hipped timber casement dormer above.

Windows throughout are 6/6 timber box-sash with horns, painted white, with stone cills painted bright blue. The walling is rough-cast render painted white. The roof is hipped natural slate with clay ridge tiles and leaded hips. A large smooth render chimney is set back behind the principal ridge line. Cast-iron rainwater goods with semi-circle gutters are fixed to a cyma-recta moulded corbel course at eaves level.

The rear elevation is two-storey over basement with a slight lower two-storey return to the left and a number of lean-to single-storey additions. It is asymmetrically arranged with an accumulation of irregular openings including timber sash, timber casement, fixed single pane and Crittall steel windows, reflecting the alterations and growth of the building over time.

The interior of the principal building has retained much of its original character. The rear elevation, part of the earlier block, has been substantially altered, resulting in an informal arrangement different from the front facade.

To the rear of the house are several early buildings predating 1833, some of which have been extended and altered as part of the historical development of the farm. The courtyard is bounded to the west by a two-storey outbuilding and to the north by an abutting wall with a former coach entrance, the gates now removed. A two-storey outbuilding abuts the rear elevation at ground floor with no internal access between buildings; it has a slated hipped roof on the left and is gable-ended on the right. Another gable-ended outbuilding abuts the rear return to the left. The outbuildings have multiple openings of various types and sizes. Extensive agricultural buildings occupy the rear of the property, some predating 1834, including slated mono-pitch single-storey red brick stables.

The building is set deep within rural landscape and is largely obscured from view from the long driveway. To the north are views of the disused canal, River Lagan and adjacent mill race. An ancient rath, located to the east of the house and now overgrown by trees, forms part of the garden.

The property appears on the first Ordnance Survey maps of 1834 in an arrangement closely resembling that of today, though it is believed to originate much earlier. New Grove appears on the 1778 Taylor and Skinner's Roadbook and was the residence of Roger McNeill Esq. The house is said to have been the residence of the agent for the Purdysburn Estate, of which Narcissus Batt (died 1840), a pioneering banker of the time, was the owner. The Townland Valuations of 1828–40 record the occupier as John Russell, with the house and outbuildings valued at £31 16s. By the Griffiths Valuation of 1864, the value had increased to £40, probably as a result of additions to the buildings as illustrated on the second edition Ordnance Survey maps of 1858. The occupier during this period was Crommelin Irwin, one of the twelve original members of the first select vestry chosen for Drumbo Parish Church in 1870. Little change occurred to the buildings during the later part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the property's value remaining at £40 through successive Annual Revisions. Several additional outbuildings appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1938. In 1940 the present owner's family purchased the building from James Dick and continued to use the buildings for agricultural purposes.

The building is also recorded as a monument and is situated within the Drumbeg Area of Village Character.