Clanbrassil Barn and Gateway, Tollymore Park, Newcastle, Co Down

Clanbrassil Barn and Gateway

A rubble-built, two-storey gabled barn of around 1757, built in the gothick style and set within Tollymore Park to the north-east of where Tollymore House once stood. The barn's most distinctive feature is a bell tower crowned with a narrow spire, added in 1789. The left side of the east façade merges with an elaborate gothick gateway. The gateway connects to a wall that encloses a tarmac-covered yard area to the south, with a further walled enclosure to the north.

The south façade features a tall pointed arch opening at its centre, fitted with a steel grill and gate. To either side of this opening are three evenly spaced window openings with multi-pane Georgian-style panes fitted with top hopper openings. Flanking window 3 are pointed arch-headed door openings, their frames set with stone dressings. Above each door opening is a stone lintel forming the base for a fanlight with Georgian panes.

The first floor of the south façade is lit by seven squat, arch-headed openings arranged symmetrically: three grouped in the centre and two groups of two flanking either side. Each opening contains a timber louvered ventilator, sized and shaped to match the fanlights below.

The east gable displays a high-level quatrefoil opening within a diamond-shaped stone surround. Rising from the gable's apex is a square tower, its lower section marked by three stone bands with four decorative bap stones between bands 2 and 3 on each face. The south face of this section carries a sun dial. Above this rises a taller octagonal section, each face pierced with a small pointed arch opening fitted with a louvered frame; the south face incorporates a clock. The octagon is topped with tall stone spike pinnacles at each corner, surmounted by a narrow stone octagonal spire. A small weather vane with compass points rests on the ball finial at the spire's top. Stone spike pinnacles line the base of the gable at eaves level.

The west gable features a quatrefoil opening and stone spike pinnacles similar to those on the east gable. At the gable's apex is a small square minaret with a pointed arch opening, topped by a small spirelet with crockets and ball finial.

The north façade's left section contains an arrow loop opening to the ground floor with another directly above at first-floor level, followed by a multi-pane fixed window to the ground floor. To the right is a stone wall enclosing the courtyard; its left side forms a balustrade to an external stair shaped to follow the stair's line. On both the west and north façades, solid stone stairs rise to gabled half-dormer doors, their side walls shaped to follow the pitch of the stairs. A large pointed arch opening runs through the building north to south; on its north side, this opening is flanked by two small pointed arch-headed openings. To the far left is a multi-pane opening set at a higher level. To the far right are two four-pane window openings with smooth cement bands, possibly former door openings. At first-floor level, a dressed door opening lies to the left of the large opening, with three small pointed arch openings to its right.

The decorative gothick gate merges with the east gable. Its matching gate pillars feature recessed pointed arch panels to their east and west faces, surmounted by squat octagonal sections with recessed pointed arch panels on each face. Each octagonal section is topped with a stone cap bearing a stone acorn motif. The arch itself is flat-pointed triangular in shape with a curved pointed gothic arch on its underside. Its apex carries a circular decorative panel, with small bap stone crockets along the outer sides. A further acorn motif surmounts the apex, and both sides of the arch are identical. The gate to the wall on the barn's west side is plainer, comprising two square gate pillars with shallow pyramidal stone caps.