Farm Yards, The Grange, Mourne Park Estate, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LB

An extensive range of farm buildings arranged around two interconnected yards, constructed of granite with machined-brick dressings. Nearly all structures are now derelict, with only two houses (HB16/05/058A and 058B) at the southern end remaining intact.

Yard 1

The buildings forming the yard immediately behind the houses comprise:

Stable Block (1) – A two-storey range aligned north-south along the right side of the yard, with a return at the extreme left. The roof has been lost but appears to have been hipped and natural-slated, tied to the rear pitch of the south-eastern house. The walls are of snecked random granite fieldstones with a fully dressed projecting granite cornice featuring a hollow soffit.

The main west-facing elevation centres on a semicircular-headed carriage arch with radiating undressed voussoirs, providing a passage out of the yard. To the right of this arch are five openings: from right to left, an infilled doorway converted to a window (now blocked); external stone steps rising to a first-floor door, partially obscuring the first of four ground-floor windows; and three further windows. All ground-floor windows have granite cills, two-paned timber casements with mesh covering, and undressed granite relieving arches above.

To the left of the coachway are five openings at ground floor: an infilled doorway at the extreme left, followed by a window, a door (now missing), and two more windows—all detailed as those to the right. At first floor, directly above these openings, is a doorway at the extreme right (served by the external steps), with single two-paned casements over the remaining ground-floor openings. The first-floor windows to the left of the arch have three panes with additional transoms. All have dressed cills and wire mesh but no relieving arches.

The return at the extreme left has a coach arch (matching that on the main block) in its west-facing gable, now infilled and abutted by the calf house. The right cheek of this return contains two infilled ground-floor windows and is abutted by the gable of the tack rooms. At first floor are three window openings (frames missing). The left cheek, set slightly back from the main gable, has two ground-floor doorways (the left narrower) with dressed granite jambs and lintels. The left gable contains two ground-floor openings: a pair of two-paned casements with concrete cill to the left, and a sheeted window to the right. At first floor is a sheeted loading door with remnants of a metal cantilevered loading platform. Inside the archway, the walls match the façade and the ceiling is boarded with a loading hatch. Single doorways with stooled granite jambs open to left and right; the right one retains a tongue-and-groove sheeted door.

The rear of this block is entirely abutted by the later carriage house, with the wall break clearly visible within the archway. The right gable is contiguous with the rear wall of the south-eastern house.

Carriage House (2) – A later addition aligned north-south with its rear wall shared with the stable block. The hipped roof has been lost. Walls are of coursed, squared granite rubble, with eaves formed by a single course of projecting brick headers. All openings have stepped brick dressings and heads, with dressed granite cills to windows.

The principal east-facing elevation centres on a semicircular-headed coachway (aligning with that in the stables), its head formed by three header courses of machined brick. Centred to the left at ground floor is a pair of similar but lower arches, flanked to left and right by single window openings with shallow segmental brick heads. To the ground-floor right are four arches matching those to the left. At first floor are nine windows aligned with the ground-floor openings, all matching those below except the window at the extreme left, which has had its cill lowered to create a loading door.

The left gable is abutted at ground floor by a single-storey block with two windows in its east wall. Its south wall is the high garden wall to the right of the south-eastern house, and its rear (west) wall is the house itself. The right gable is abutted by an integral single-storey extension in squared random rubble, which also abuts the rear of the stable block. Its east wall has a segmental-headed window, and in the party wall with the carriage house proper is a coach arch matching those on the façade. The right gable has a pair of two-paned timber casements to the left and a timber vent in the apex.

Calf House (3) – A rectangular plan with a return at front left, enclosing the north and west sides of the yard. The south and east walls face the courtyard; the end of the return forms a gateway with the rear of the south-western house, while the east end abuts the return of the stable block. The roof has been lost but appears to have been hipped and natural-slated with a gable to the east end.

The south elevation (fronting the yard) is of squared granite rubble brought to courses with a projecting Silurian eaves course. It features four fully dressed arches reduced to windows by infill. The east cheek of the return is similar but with two inset arches. The end wall of the return (south-facing) has an infilled doorway with a segmental brick head. Its west wall is in two stages showing the return as a later addition: the left section is blank; the return at right has three modern timber doors with brick dressings. The rear (north-facing) elevation is of coursed granite rubble with brick eaves, containing a tongue-and-groove sheeted door at either end and a third towards the right.

Midden Wall (4) – The midden is enclosed to north and west by the calf house, to the east by the tack rooms, and to the south by a 1.2-metre-high wall running west-east between the southern end of the calf house and the southern wall of the tack rooms. The wall is of coursed granite rubble with a fielded rock-faced coping, featuring a small gateway at the west end and a larger central one (gates now gone).

Tack Rooms (5) – A single-storey block aligned north-south. Its north wall abuts the return of the stable block and its west wall encloses the midden. The roof has been lost but appears to have been natural-slated, gabled to north and hipped to south. Walls are of snecked granite rubble brought to courses. The west wall has four windows, all brick-dressed with segmental heads and dressed granite cills. The south gable is blank. The east elevation has three brick-dressed doorways.

Yard 2

This yard adjoins Yard 1 to the north. It is enclosed to the south by the rear wall of the calf house and stable return, to west and east by north-south aligned buildings (the eastern block and western block respectively), and to the north by a dairy building linking the two side blocks. At the centre of the yard, with its north gable abutting the dairy, stands a hippodrome. To the right of the yard are several corn stands.

Eastern Block (6) – A single-storey structure aligned north-south, enclosing the east side of the north yard. The roof has been lost but appears to have been hipped at the south end and gabled to the north. Walls are of coursed granite rubble with timber battens at the eaves and machined brick dressings to openings.

The west-facing wall has three horizontal window openings with segmental brick heads, each containing a three-paned timber casement with granite cill. The south wall (partially collapsed at the left end) has a doorway to the left and a large three-paned casement to the right. This elevation continues to the right as a low yard wall with rock-faced copings (apparently predating the south elevation), which now supports a derelict lean-to on the east elevation. This lean-to has a corrugated metal monopitch roof and strap-pointed granite block walls, open on its north side.

The east elevation matches the west and is abutted by a lean-to corrugated shed to the left. It contains eight openings, four of which are doors. The entire elevation is enclosed by a low yard wall as that to the south. The north elevation is completely abutted by the dairy block.

Western Block (7) – A single-storey structure aligned north-south, enclosing the west side of the north yard. The roof has been lost but appears to have been hipped and natural-slated. The west wall is of granite rubble brought to courses with four brick-dressed windows. The south wall has a doorway. The east wall fills only the left third of this elevation (containing a window); the remainder may have been the open face of a lean-to shed. The north gable abuts the dairy building.

Dairy Block (8) – A long, single-storey structure aligned west-east with canted corners at each end, forming the northern enclosure of the yard. The roof has been lost but appears to have been hipped and natural-slated. The south wall is of coursed rubble; the others are of squared granite rubble laid randomly with ashlar quoins. All openings are machined brick-dressed, with dressed granite cills to windows.

The south elevation (facing the yard) is abutted at left of centre by the hippodrome and at either end by the western and eastern blocks. The wall to the left of the hippodrome has three doorways with single window openings between (timber lintels). The wall to the right has a central door with two flanking windows. All other openings have chamfered brick reveals and segmental heads.

The east elevation features an advanced bay at the left and canted corner at right. The left portion abuts the north gable of the eastern block and has a single canted window opening in its corner. Its right cheek (north-facing) has a red brick segmental-headed doorway. The right portion of the east elevation is blank save for a two-casement window on its cant.

The north wall has battened eaves. At the left is a doorway aligned with the infilled doorway on the north wall of the hippodrome, flanked on either side by a window with segmental brick head. Two similar windows are at the extreme right. This elevation is enclosed to the front by a low wall rising from two courses at the left to four at the right, with an embattled granite coping.

The west gable is abutted by a single-storey two-stage return projecting beyond the west elevation of the western block. The remaining wall has a doorway to the left. The return roof has been lost, but a red brick chimney remains on the party wall between the first and second bays. The first stage of the return has a door and window on the left cheek (north-facing) and a gableted door on the right cheek. The second stage is wider than the first with canted corners (forming an octagon internally); it advances to the left, leaving a portion of blank wall to the right. Its end wall is canted with a window in each cheek, and its advanced left cheek is similarly canted with a door and window, creating a three-quarter octagon. The right cheek is blank. The brick openings of this return have stop-end chamfered reveals.

Hippodrome (9) – A horse training shed aligned north-south. The pitched roof (slate now gone) is supported on common rafters and pairs of purlins over seven cast- and wrought-iron trusses. Overhanging eaves have decorative cut rafter tails. No rainwater goods remain.

The south gable is of random rubble granite with shallow buttresses at the left and right corners. At ground-floor centre is a door with granite jambs and segmental brick head. Above in the gable is an oculus with a two-course brick-header dressing. The north gable (abutting the dairy) is identical; its door is infilled and the oculus retains part of its spoked glazed window.

The east and west walls are identical. Each comprises a 1.5-metre-high wall supporting seven octagonal, truncated cast-iron colonettes, creating eight bays. The third bay from each end is open for access. The spans between colonettes are filled with vertical timber sheeting (with sliding slats behind to regulate ventilation). Beams along the eaves are stop-chamfered between each colonette.

Corn Stands (10) – Just east of the carriage house are the remains of at least six circular corn stands (more may be buried in dense undergrowth). They are 3.5 metres in diameter by approximately 55 centimetres high and are of rendered brick.