Delamont House, 88 Killyleagh Road, Mullagh, Killyleagh, Co Down, BT30 9NB

Delamont House is a large two and a half storey residence located on the east side of Killyleagh Road, approximately one and a half miles southwest of Killyleagh, County Down. The property now serves as an outdoor educational centre and sits within its own extensive estate.

Origins and Development

The building probably dates from the later 1700s and originally formed a fairly typical large late Georgian country house. Around 1875, the façade underwent substantial remodelling along loosely Tudor lines. At this stage, various features were added, including gabled bays, dormers, tall chimneys, an octagonal entrance tower, and a secondary ogee-capped bell tower. In the mid-twentieth century, a large portion of the western side of the building, including the bell tower, was destroyed by fire. The remaining structure was refashioned in 1967-68 into its present form.

East Elevation

The front façade faces east and is roughly symmetrical, arranged in three bays. The centrepiece is a three-storey octagonal entrance tower, flanked by two and a half storey gabled bays. At ground floor level, the original main entrance comprises a panelled and glazed door with a small segmental fanlight and simple moulded surround. The doorway is set within a large porch recess cut into the tower base, flanked by plain pilaster-like piers and a plain entablature. This porch surround may have been obscured by a late nineteenth or early twentieth century conservatory-like glazed outer porch. The first floor of the tower contains a semicircular-headed sash window with Georgian panes, while the second floor features a roundel window with spoke tracery. The tower is topped with an unusual balustraded parapet set on a slightly projecting base.

To the left of the tower is a projecting gabled bay with bevelled outer edges, broader at ground floor level. At ground floor, this bay contains a large tripartite sash window, repeated with similar proportions at first floor level, with a smaller window set within the gabled half dormer. The right-hand bay mirrors the left in arrangement, but features a canted bay window at ground floor with sash windows to each face.

South Elevation

The south elevation is asymmetrical. To the left is a large, two and a half storey projecting gabled bay with bevelled edges. The first floor contains a large glazed screen with Georgian-style panes and a doorway. A large tripartite sash window with Georgian panes appears at first floor, with a much smaller single sash window (3/3 panes) set within the half dormer. Attached to the right of this bay is a much narrower and shallower bay with bevelled edge and short lean-to roof merging with the main roof. Its ground floor holds a sash window with vertical glazing bars (2/2 panes), while the first floor contains a slightly taller sash window with Georgian panes (6/6). To the right is a bay similar to the far left but narrower, with French doors at ground floor and a double sash window at first floor, with a much squatter window in the half dormer. To the far left of this elevation are narrow sash windows to ground and first floor levels.

North Elevation

The north elevation is asymmetrical with a complex functional appearance. To the right are a partly glazed door and sash window (6/6 Georgian panes) at first floor level. To the right lies a large two-storey and single-storey flat-roofed projection. The two-storey section has a modern spiral staircase fire escape on its south face. The single-storey section features a large modern doorway on its south side and an oil tank against the north face.

West Elevation

The now rear west façade was originally an internal wall, refashioned after the building's western half was destroyed by fire. It now displays an informal Georgian character. To the right of centre at ground floor is an elliptical arched entrance with panelled door, sidelights, and fanlight. To the far left, the façade is single storey, with an elliptical arched opening leading into an enclosed yard and a glazed door to its right. Three sash windows of varying sizes with Georgian panes (6/6, 6/6, and 4/4) appear on the ground floor of the main two-storey section to the left of the entrance. A full-height projecting pier, all that remains of a former internal wall, stands to the left of the entrance. To its right is a double sash window with vertical glazing bars (2/2 each). The first floor contains five sash windows with Georgian panes, mostly 6/6 except the smaller third window which is 4/4. The façade is rendered and painted.

Roof and Chimneys

The roof is partly gabled, partly hipped (to the south and east), and partly flat (to the north and west). The pitched sections are covered in natural slate. A small gabled dormer to the west now appears to overlook an area of flat roof. Three very tall Tudor-style brick chimney stacks have survived. A modern rendered stack is positioned to the north. Rainwater goods are mainly metal.

Outbuildings

Southwest of the house stands a large two-storey outbuildings complex arranged around a courtyard. This complex has undergone substantial recent alterations. The northern block is in the process of conversion to offices, while the southern block has already been converted to recreational facilities. The southern block features large modern-looking elliptical arches to the ground floor of its north façade, with slate cladding and modern oriel windows. The northern block is rendered with modern multi-pane timber window frames and timber-sheeted doors. The eastern block is single storey and appears greatly modernised. The western block is a lean-to structure with a dilapidated east façade, currently used as a store.