Saturday 3 December 2022

Dundarave: Lodges

Dundarave Main Entrance in 2014

During a visit to Portballintrae and Bushmills, County Antrim, my curiosity was aroused by the boundary walls and gate lodges of Dundarave estate, erstwhile seat of the Macnaghten Baronets.

The main gate lodge, and the closest to Bushmills, is almost opposite the Clay Field.

Main Entrance Lodge in 2014

This is easily the grandest of the lodges, of which there used to be four in total.

J A K Dean, in his Gate Lodges of Ulster, describes it thus:-
"A mini-palazzo ... and its grand porte-cochère ... the extensive gate-screen of tall, square, sandstone piers with restrained friezes below moulded cappings ... Wide, double, cast-iron carriage gates flanked by wicket gates and concave sweeps beyond."

There is a modest, plain lodge - almost like a cottage -  at a side entrance which leads to a courtyard.


At the rear entrance to the estate there is another charming little lodge.

Dundarave estate now comprises 1,300 acres of land; though during the Victorian era its extent was 7,134 acres.

First published in 2014.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

I hope it ends up in good hands. VC

Anonymous said...

Hi Tim - I always wanted to visit Dundarave, but it was a private estate before I emigrated. There was a tradition in the Bushmills area that the tree plantings in the home demesne represented the disposition of the Duke of Wellington's troops at Waterloo - do you know anything about this?

Keep on blogging

Dave from Down Under