2015:243 - 43 Main Street, Bellaghy (Semaus Heaney Centre), Derry

The excavation at Main Street, Bellaghy uncovered scant remains of the Manor House as well as what appeared to be the remains of an outbuilding lying just to the north. It is clear from the excavated remains that these buildings would have been, at one time, connected by a series of cobbled surfaces.

The remains in Area A, although almost obliterated by reinforced concrete, undoubtedly formed part of the foundations of the Manor House. The first Edition OS maps of the 1830s indicate that this site was the location of the Manor House, and subsequently the Manor House was taken over for use by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (laterally the Police Service of Northern Ireland) as a barracks.

The building is recorded within the 1836 OS Memoirs for the area as being ‘…a good 2 storey brick house…’ (Day and McWilliams, 1990: 46). While obviously the excavation was unable to provide any detail concerning the height of the building it did show that it was indeed built of brick and constructed on a stone foundation. From what could be seen of the foundations they appeared to be quite shallow. The shallowness of the foundations was undoubtedly a response to the underlying geology; during monitoring it was noted that the bedrock was visible in several areas. Given the solid nature of the geology, deep foundations were not required. Indeed it is the shallowness of these foundations that made it vital to add the reinforced concrete ring-beam and further concrete reinforcing as an extra security measure when the house was in use as a police station.

One of the most illustrative pictures (see image attached) of the upstanding building was taken in 1983 by James Stevens Curl for his book on the Londonderry Plantation (Curl, 1986: 373). Taken from the current entrance on Main Street, Bellaghy it is clear that the manor was a large two-storey building, as mentioned in the OS Memoirs (Day and McWilliams, 1990: 46), and would have sat impressively on the hill at the end of the Main Street. It is also clear, from the lack of security features and the fact that the author was able to take the photograph, that the building had not yet been utilised by the RUC.

The material uncovered within Area B can be divided into two separate categories, the cobbled surfaces located in the south-eastern end of the trench and the wall and cobbled surface located within the north-western end of the trench.

As can be seen on the OS map of 1830 a small outbuilding is recorded to the north-east of the Manor House. This building is recorded again on the Second Edition OS map of 1860 but has disappeared by the Third Edition of 1905-1906.

Clearly the wall that was recorded within the north-western area of the trench relates to the south-eastern wall of this outbuilding. On the basis of the map evidence this outbuilding would seem to have been associated with the Manor House and, with the exception of being able to state that the building had a rough stone floor, little more can be definitely confirmed about this building. Although speculative, given the period in which the Manor House was constructed, and given that there appears to be a lack of other buildings, it is possible that this outbuilding was a stable for horses.

The OS maps from 1830 through to 1906, and even on to the Fourth Edition of 1927-29, all appear to show a drive leading to the Manor House from the Gulladuff Road. Given that the house faced onto Main Street it seems unlikely that the Gulladuff Road entrance was the main one, otherwise visitors would have been presented with a view of the side of the building. All of this would suggest that the cobbled surfaces uncovered within the south-eastern section of Area B would have formed part of the drive and yard that ran along the side of and behind the Manor House. Indeed this may explain the difference in the style of the cobbles. Surface S8 was constructed from larger, flatter stones, with what appears to be the remains of a kerb running along its eastern edge. Meanwhile surface S9 comprised much smaller stones with no evidence for formal kerbing. On the basis of their make-up it is probable that S8 would have formed part of the driveway, i.e. it would have been seen and used by formal guests, while S9 formed part of the yard around the outbuildings.

In conclusion, the remains, while sparse and quite badly damaged, uncovered part of the Manor House, outbuildings and yards that were once present on top of the hill at the western end of the Main Street, Bellaghy. It is somewhat unfortunate that the use of the site as a barracks by the RUC, and laterally the PSNI, and the large amount of security measures that had to be put in place, destroyed most of what would have once been an impressive brick built manor house.

REFERENCES

Curl, J.S. (1986) The Londonderry Plantation, Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd.

Day, A. and McWilliams, P. (1990) Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland: Parishes of Co. Londonderry 1, 1830, 1834 and 1836, Belfast: The Institute of Irish Studies, Queens University Belfast.

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