Friends Meeting House 17 Derrymore Road Bessbrook Co. Down BT35 7DN

Friends Meeting House

An imposing two-storey building constructed of rock-faced stone with stepped red brick dressings to the jambs, located within Derrymore Demesne and accessed via a gravel drive from Derrymore Road to the north.

The building has a distinctive T-shaped footprint with gable ends and an inset hipped roof to the north elevation. It is set within a wooded enclave with burial plots to the east and south.

The principal north-facing elevation is asymmetrically arranged, with a gable front to the left containing two equally spaced windows at ground and first-floor levels. To the right, a hipped roof section features projecting stone eaves and a centrally located entrance door flanked by windows on either side, with three windows above at first-floor level. The entrance is a panelled double door with a fanlight over it.

Windows throughout are elliptic-headed with dressed red brick surrounds, featuring two-over-two painted timber frames, externally fixed protective mesh screens, and stone cills. The roof is natural slate with flush gable verges and a plain corbelled chimney at the apex. The walls have raised stone quoins at the outer corners and a projecting stone plinth to the base. Cast iron rainwater goods run throughout.

The south-facing rear elevation has a projecting gable to the right with flush verges. A high-level bulls eye window with dressed brick surround sits below the apex of this gable, with two elliptic and rectangular windows arranged equally at ground and first-floor levels. To the left is a first-floor flat roof extension with small rectangular windows, beneath which sits a covered external tiled porch supported by a simple Doric stone column connecting the projecting gable to the main façade. The remainder of this elevation has two equally arranged windows at both ground and first-floor levels, with the same stone detailing as the north elevation.

The east elevation is gable-ended with projecting stone eaves, containing three double-height six-paned timber windows spaced equidistantly across the façade, each with projecting quoins to the surrounds. A small first-floor window is located to the right.

The west elevation features similar stone finishes with a projecting gable to the right and a high-level bulls eye window with dressed brick surround below its apex. Projecting stone eaves extend across the gable. Two equally arranged elliptic arch and rectangular windows are positioned at ground and first-floor levels, with a recessed portion to the left having a hipped roof above stone eaves and two windows centred vertically above each other.

Throughout all elevations, the walls employ rock-faced stone with raised stone quoins at the outer corners and a projecting stone plinth to the base. All walling is random rubblestone, roofing is natural slate, windows are timber frame, and rainwater goods are metal.

The Meeting House sits within Derrymore Demesne, a registered Historic Park, Garden and Demesne. The mature, heavily wooded setting surrounding the building enhances its visual appeal, with burial areas located to the east and south. Vehicular and pedestrian access is from Derrymore Road to the north via an ascending gravel laneway.