Farmyard, Narrow Water Demesne, Warrenpoint, Newry, Co Down

A late 19th century farmyard complex at Narrow Water Demesne, constructed or comprehensively remodelled in 1880, as confirmed by a datestone inscribed 'W J H / 1880' — the initials of William James Hall. The farmyard is an attractive and substantially unaltered ensemble of outbuildings erected as a single entity and of considerable value within the wider estate. Historical mapping shows an L-shaped structure on the site as early as the 1834 Ordnance Survey six-inch map, which had become a fully enclosed yard by the 1901–02 edition.

The yard is square in plan, located immediately to the north-west of the walled garden, and is enclosed on all sides by single- and two-storey outbuildings. The ground surface is partly concrete and partly earth. At the centre of the yard stand two walls — running south-east and north-east — forming the remains of a former midden, with a curving south-east corner. Access is through archways set into the south-west and north-east boundaries.

The north-east archway opens from the main driveway and is a finely dressed ashlar granite construction. Raised imposts carry a segmental-headed arch with an advanced keystone, into which the date and initials 'W J H / 1880' are incised. A pair of modern wire mesh gates hangs from the jambs. Above the archway head, a coped coursed granite rubble wall is built up. The south-west archway is of similar finely dressed ashlar granite construction, with raised imposts carrying a segmental-headed arch and a plain advanced keystone, also with modern wire mesh gates. Above it, again, is a coped coursed granite rubble wall.

The outbuildings share a consistent material palette throughout: coursed granite rubble walls with stepped brick dressings to openings and a single brick eaves course. Windows are generally six-over-six timber sashes with the top part centre-pivoting, set in dressed granite cills, unless noted otherwise.

The south block enclosing the north-east side of the yard is a single-storey, six-bay building facing south-west onto the farmyard, with a pitched natural slate roof aligned north-west to south-east, hipped to the south-east end and gabled to the north-west end. The north-west gable has red brick skews and a matching chimney. The north-west gable itself is blank. On the right bay of the north-east external elevation is a window opening with a six-over-six timber window and dressed granite cill. The south-east gable is blank. The south-west yard-facing elevation has six distinct bays: the left bay contains a window to the left and a framed tongued-and-grooved sheeted door with a transom light to its right. The right bay is abutted by the north-east end gable of the outbuilding enclosing the east end of the south-east boundary. All remaining bays are open, with timber beams to the eaves supported on three cast iron posts. The right bay is abutted by the north-east end gable of the outbuilding enclosing the east end of the south-east side of the farmyard.

The south-east boundary of the farmyard is enclosed by three separate blocks of single-storey outbuildings, the south-western of which steps up with the slope of the ground. All share the same detailing as described above.

The left (north-east) block on the south-east boundary is single storey and two bays wide, with a pitched natural slate roof aligned south-west to north-east. Its south-west and north-east gables are abutted by other outbuildings. The south-east external elevation has a single modern door. The north-west yard-facing elevation has two windows and a central door, the windows fitted with modern grilles.

The central block on the south-east boundary is two bays wide, the north-east bay being wider than the south-west. Both bays are roofless. The south-west and north-east gables and the south-east wall are blank. The north-west yard-facing elevation of the east bay has a narrow round-headed window to the left and right of a segmental-headed doorway. All timber is gone, but the surviving old window frame indicates the windows were two-by-three paned and fixed. The west bay has a window to the left and a door to the right, all timbers also gone. A red brick chimney rises from the north-east gable.

The west block on the south-east side of the farmyard is a single-storey, six-bay building facing north-west onto the farmyard, with a pitched natural slate roof aligned south-west to north-east, though the roof is gone to the east bay. The remainder is hipped to the south-west end and gabled to the north-east end. The south-west gable is blank. The right bay of the south-east external elevation has a doorway fitted with a flat iron gate. The north-east gable is blank. The north-west yard-facing elevation has six distinct bays: the left bay has a window to its left and to its right. The right bay is abutted by the south-east end gable of the outbuilding enclosing the south-west side of the farmyard. All remaining bays are open, with timber beams to the eaves supported on three cast iron posts.

The south-west side of the farmyard is enclosed by two blocks, one to the south and one to the north, with the south-west archway between them. The south outbuilding on the south-west boundary is single storey and three uneven bays wide. This block is roofless. The south-west elevation and the north-west and south-east gables are blank. The north-east yard-facing elevation has six openings alternating window, door, window, door, window, door. The left three openings serve the left bay, the rightmost serves the right bay, and the remaining two serve the central bay. A red brick chimney rises between the central and right bays.

The north block on the south-west boundary is L-planned and wraps around the west corner to enclose the west end of the north-west boundary. This is a two-storey barn with a pitched natural slate roof hipped to each blank end wall. The north-east farmyard-facing elevation has, from left to right: a doorway, a segmental-headed archway, a window, and another archway. At first-floor level, aligned with these, are two sets of openings each comprising a window to the left and a framed tongued-and-grooved sheeted loading door with transom to the right. The south-east farmyard-facing wall has, from left to right: a doorway, a window, and a segmental-headed archway; at first-floor level above are windows to left and right. The south-west external wall has a window at ground-floor left, with ground level rising to the left and abutting the ground floor. At first-floor level there are four window openings — one to either side of centre and a pair at the north (left) end. The north-west wall of this outbuilding has a high external ground level that obscures the ground floor. The first floor has four openings, three of which are windows and one — to the right of centre — is a segmental-headed doorway.

The central block on the north-west boundary is single storey, roofless, and derelict. Its north-west external wall is blank, and the south-west and north-east gables are abutted by other outbuildings. The south-east farmyard-facing elevation has two window openings with a central doorway between them. Two steel casement windows have also been inserted into modern openings cut one to each side of the door.

The east block on the north-west boundary is likewise single storey, roofless, and derelict. Its north-west external wall is blank, and the south-west and north-east gables are abutted by other outbuildings. The south-east farmyard-facing elevation has two window openings with a central doorway. The left window has a steel casement inserted and the void has been infilled with concrete blockwork. Steel casement windows have additionally been inserted into modern openings at both the left and right ends of the elevation.

The north block enclosing the north-east boundary is single storey and derelict. Its pitched natural slate roof has collapsed across all but the southernmost bay, which retains a red brick skew and a matching chimney. The south-east gable is blank and the north-west gable abuts the outbuildings at the north-east end of the north-west boundary. The south-west yard-facing elevation is five openings wide: the second, fourth, and fifth are windows; the first (at left) is a segmental-headed doorway now blocked up; and the third is a doorway. The north-east external elevation has a small window at the left (south) end. A single-storey two-bay return abuts the north end of this block. The return is roofless and has a door on its left (south-east) cheek. Its north-east front wall has a window and a door to each bay, and is enclosed on two sides by walls of similar height, each with a doorway on its east face. The north-west gable of the return is blank.