Old Hall, 16 Warrenpoint Road, Rostrevor, Co.Down

Old Hall, 16 Warrenpoint Road, Rostrevor

Old Hall is a domestic residence in Rostrevor, County Down, most likely built shortly before May 1815, when a notice in The Newry Register recorded that a lodge in this location had been "lately fitted up in a very handsome style" by Smithson Corry. It may be one of two buildings shown fronting onto the road in this vicinity on James Williamson's county map of 1810. The building remains in residential use and is privately owned.

Origins and Name

The name Old Hall is thought to derive from an earlier residence that stood on or close to this site, though little is firmly established about this predecessor building. A castle belonging to Rory Magennis, Lord of Iveagh, is said to have stood "near the centre of the town between the main street and the shore", and a large house is shown in the vicinity on a county map of 1755. Whether either of these relates to the original Old Hall is uncertain. It is also possible that the older building on this site may equate to a castle built by Edward Trevor in 1611–12.

The Road Setting

Old Hall stands on Warrenpoint Road, which forms part of a thoroughfare on the western side of Rostrevor lying along the original route between Kilkeel and Newry. By the late 1760s this had come to form the western end of the village's main northeast–southwest axis. The south-eastern corner of nearby Mary Street was already developed by 1767, with further scattered structures along the southern side recorded on Williamson's 1810 map and the Ordnance Survey map of 1834. Development remained limited until the 1960s, when housing schemes to the north were created, followed by equally large schemes to the south around the turn of the 21st century. In 1877, what is now Shore Road was cut to the south of Mary Street to carry the Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramline, a horse-drawn service running approximately three miles from Warrenpoint railway station to Rostrevor Quay. It operated from July 1877 until January 1915, when falling revenue combined with storm damage led to its closure.

The Builder and Early History

Smithson Corry (1780–1856), who built the house, was the son of Isaac Corry (c.1723–1809) of Abbey Yard, Newry, and a member of the prominent merchant family of that town. He is recorded as occupant in the 1835–36 valuation, where the house is described as a "new" building. The valuation records detailed measurements: the main house measured 47½ ft × 22 ft × 18 ft, with a porch (the entrance bay) of 8 ft × 5 ft × 18 ft, a wing of 18½ ft × 23 ft × 20 ft, three return sections measuring 9½ ft × 14 ft × 9 ft, 9½ ft × 13½ ft × 18 ft, and 36½ ft × 17 ft × 18 ft, and a scullery office of 13 ft × 8 ft × 6 ft. Outbuildings measured 59 ft × 18 ft × 8 ft, 28 ft × 13 ft × 7 ft, and 11 ft × 9 ft × 7 ft. A gate lodge, which stood to the west of the house, measured 21 ft × 12 ft × 7½ ft with a return of 13 ft × 6 ft × 5 ft, and there was a further office on the opposite side of the road measuring 24 ft × 14 ft × 6 ft.

To the south and west of the house lay a large garden, with an even larger garden on the north side of the road. Where the southern garden bordered the shore of Carlingford Lough, the 1834 Ordnance Survey map marks what may have been a wall or ditch, with a small building — possibly a belvedere or summerhouse — at its southern end. Abutting the house on the east side, both then and now, is a separate residence (the present 12 Warrenpoint Road). The continuity of the roofline and eaves detailing between the two properties suggests they were built at the same time.

Later Occupancy and Alterations

Smithson Corry's widow, Jane Adelaide Corry (née Douglas), is listed as occupant in the 1861 valuation, where the property is described as "a very commodious house" which "looks into very beautiful grounds, [and] also [a] fine view of hills and sea." By this date the building comprised portions measuring 12 yards × 6 yards 2 ft × 2 storeys, 6 yd × 7 yd × 2 storeys, 9 yd × 7½ yd × 2 storeys, 3 yd × 5 yd × 2 storeys, 3 yd × 3 yd × 2 storeys, 4½ yd × 6 yards 2 ft × 1 storey, a conservatory of 4 yd × 4 yd × 2 storeys, and a return of 12 yd × 6 yd × 2 storeys. There was also an office partly finished as a house measuring 12 yd × 6 yd × 2 storeys, a further office of 8 yd × 5 yd × 1 storey, and an additional conservatory of 13 yd × 5 yd × 1 storey.

Mrs Corry died around 1881 and Mary Jane Vandeleur — most likely a relative of Ormsby Vandeleur of nearby Drumsesk House — is recorded as occupant in 1884. The 1901 census does not record details of the household, but in 1911 Miss Vandeleur, a 68-year-old spinster from County Dublin, was living there with two domestic servants. The house was recorded as a first-class dwelling with 13 rooms in use.

Miss Vandeleur died around 1926 and the house passed to Cecil E. Vandeleur, who appears to have acquired the freehold from the Ross estate. In March 1937 he advertised it for sale, the newspaper notice describing it as an "exceptionally charming old residence…which generous expenditure and refined taste has made one of the most attractive houses in the district." At that time the house contained a drawing room, dining room, library, conservatory, nine bedrooms, a bathroom, lavatories, kitchen, pantries, china and glass storeroom, maids' sitting room, servants' bathroom and lavatory, and a chauffeur's room. The outbuildings included a garage, stables, and lavatories fitted with electricity and all other modern conveniences.

By at least June 1942, a Miss Anne Edith Yorke Hewson was living at Old Hall, remaining there until her death in March 1955. Both Old Hall and Oak Cottage — a small house built within the grounds in 1897 — were advertised for sale later that year. It appears to have been following this sale that the house was divided into separate properties: John James Patterson and Gerald Sydney McVittie (d. 1962) and his wife Dorothy are all noted as being of "Old Hall House" in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. By the time of the 1979 Ordnance Survey map the building appears to have contained three properties, one of which was located in a section of the rear return that has since been demolished. Old Hall was listed in 1981. In around the 1990s the gardens to the south and west of the grounds were developed for housing.