Former sexton's house (at Kilmore Presbyterian church), 6 Drumaghlis Road, Drumaghlis, Ballynahinch, Co Down, BT30 9JR

Former Sexton's House, Kilmore Presbyterian Church

This single storey, split-level sexton's house dates to around 1835 and stands adjacent to the gateway of Kilmore Presbyterian Church on the east side of Drumaghlis Road, approximately three and a half miles east of Ballynahinch. The building was constructed to guard against body-snatching from the adjacent graveyard. It appears to have been lengthened some time after 1858, with a mid-nineteenth century stable extension added to its east side.

The house features a hipped slate roof with a single yellow brick chimney stack and is finished in roughcast render. The asymmetrical front façade faces south and contains a semicircular headed timber sheeted door with glazed semicircular panel, flanked by two semicircular headed sash windows with Georgian panes (9/6 pattern). The short west façade has a small window with modern frame. The east façade is abutted by a gabled stable block, entered from the north where the ground level drops significantly. This change in level means the north façade of the house rises to two storeys and contains a timber sheeted door, boarded-up window openings, and boarded-up doorway. The stable's north façade comprises panelled screens or doors set between three cast iron columns. Cast iron rainwater goods run throughout. A curving rubble wall adjoins the west side of the house, and a decorative iron pedestrian gate stands to the east.

The building is of special interest for its style, proportion, ornamentation, and local historical and social importance. The deliberate positioning of the sexton's house in relation to the nearby bridge and church, combined with its group value alongside the similar schoolhouse and the adjacent Presbyterian Church (built in 1832), enhances its significance. The property is currently vacant and used primarily for storage.