Outbuildings, Hawthorn Hill, Wood Road, Killevy, Co Armagh, BT35 8DE

Outbuildings at Hawthorn Hill, Wood Road, Killevy

An early 19th-century rectangular courtyard enclosed on all sides by former stables and related farm buildings. All structures have been refurbished as offices, apartments, a conference centre and restaurant/service block by the Forest Service. The buildings are constructed in coursed granite rubble with natural slate roofs.

The courtyard is entered at the south-east corner through a large elliptical-headed arch set within a high rubble stone wall. The archway advances slightly from the wall and is constructed in granite ashlar with voussoirs, projecting spring stones and keystone, with stone coping. Plain cast-iron gates provide access. The courtyard surface is finished with brick pavers, decorative planting beds and gravel.

Apartment Block to the South

A two-storey three-bay former coach house aligned east-west, featuring a central projecting bay to the north elevation flanked by lean-to single-storey wings on either side. The hipped roof cat-slides over the projecting bay and contains seven large modern skylight windows to the north pitch and six to the south pitch. Single-storey wings have monopitched roofs and half-round metal rainwater goods.

The principal north elevation facing the courtyard has blank exposed faces except for the projecting central bay. The ground floor centre contains a large glazed entrance door in a segmental-arched opening. To either side, each floor has an equally aligned segmental-headed opening with voussoirs and concrete cills. Ground floor openings contain quarry-glazed timber lattice windows with narrow mullions to centre; first floor openings are slightly diminished in height and infilled with rubble stone. Each wing has a rectangular fixed-pane lattice window to the extreme end. The left east gable is blank.

The rear south elevation has a slightly advanced central bay containing a large central semi-elliptical-headed opening with voussoirs, infilled with tongue-and-groove sheeting with two fixed-pane windows. Above is an infilled window opening with granite cill. Left and right bays are mirror-image, each with an infilled door opening (tongue-and-groove sheeted with fixed window) and a fixed-pane lattice window to each floor. Ground floor windows have narrow central timber transoms and granite cills; first floor windows have concrete cills. The right west gable is rendered with a modern tongue-and-groove sheeted door to centre.

Office Block to the West

A single-storey former stable block aligned north-south. The principal east yard elevation has a two-storey central bay with half-hipped roof, ridge tiles and a tall brick chimney to the right side. Flanking single-storey wings have monopitched roofs each with five skylights. The central bay has a modern timber-sheeted door with narrow transom and granite lintel. Above is a timber fixed-pane window with granite cill and lintel. Exposed left and right cheeks each have a lattice window to the front end. The left wing has a large segmental-headed opening to the left gable. Its east elevation contains three door openings. The right wing has five openings; that to the left is a modern timber-sheeted door with granite lintel. All others are semi-elliptical-headed openings with glazed doors.

The rear west elevation is blank and forms a low boundary wall to gardens behind. The central bay is exposed at first floor level and contains a central modern timber door. To its immediate right is an infilled door opening with large granite lintel. The right north gable is blank and is abutted by modern steps leading to an elevated orchard to the rear, with a modern metal handrail affixed to the wall.

Conference Centre to the North

A two-storey block aligned east-west with half-hipped roof, brick eaves course and brick-dressed openings. The principal south yard elevation has a large segmental-headed glazed doorway set left of centre; to its right are two equally spaced segmental-headed windows with granite cills, all lattice-framed. Above at first floor are four small window openings containing pairs of lattice windows with a central 1x4 panel. Ghost marks of a former lean-to are visible abutting the left end, as the west block has been truncated to accommodate stairs. The left west gable is blank and abutted by a modern glazed walkway which wraps itself along the rear elevation.

The rear north elevation has six door openings, all now opening onto the modern glazed walkway. The exposed left end has a door with modern fire-escape stairs attached. The right east gable has a segmental-headed window opening with granite cill to each floor, both metal-framed lattice windows. The gable apex has a small modern fixed-pane window.

Restaurant/Service Block to the East

A single-storey block aligned roughly north-south, curving slightly to the south, with a monopitched roof. Pairs of modern skylights are positioned to the right end. The principal west elevation facing the courtyard has multiple openings: from left, a pair of glazed doors with tongue-and-groove panel to the left, six segmental-headed openings all glazed except for that to the right end which has a tongue-and-groove sheeted door, and three flat-headed tongue-and-groove sheeted doors to the right end (those to centre are larger). The left north gable abuts the conference centre at the north end of the courtyard.

The rear east elevation has a large pair of segmental-headed doors right of centre and an infilled doorway to the extreme right end. The right south side has a doorway just left of centre.

Setting

The courtyard is set at the foot of Slieve Gullion with a walled garden to its north-west and Hawthorn House to its south. It has two gate lodges: a much-altered back lodge to the north and a restored gate lodge to the east, opposite the entrance gates to the park.