Former rectory was once at heart of parish life in Drumquin

ONE of the oldest surviving buildings in Drumquin – the former Langfield Rectory – still stands today as a renovated private home, though its roots trace back more than 250 years.

Originally known as ‘Glebe Ho’, the rectory appears on the first maps of Drumquin, dating back to 1762. According to a Department for Communities report on its listed status, the name reflects its function as a ‘house belonging to the parish’.

It was renamed ‘Lower Langfield Rectory’ in the second edition of the Ordnance Survey maps almost 60 years later.

At that time, the property was described as having two dwelling houses, a kitchen, an underground pantry, three offices, a ‘carhouse’, and a shed.

“It is situated three-quarters of a mile west of the town of Drumquin. There is nothing remarkable in its appearance,” reads one early account.

“It is a plain but large whitewashed building of an oblong form, with a good quantum of fir trees about it.”

Yet another entry from the first OS map gives a more complimentary account of the house’s character: “1762 – A large and unusually early rectory, built into the side of a hill in park-like surroundings below the church. Five-bay, two-storey, with a two-storey central pedimented porch. Only one room thick. Five-panelled doors in lugged surrounds inside.”

Griffith’s Valuation placed the value of the house and associated buildings at £30 – around £3,000 in today’s money – leased from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

The Ordnance Survey memoirs of the time also note: “West Longfield, Glebe House, the residence of Rev Gilbert King, is the only gentleman’s residence in the parish.”

While Rev King is the first officially recorded resident, the rectory’s cornerstone carries the name of a previous figure.

Inscribed in Latin, it translates to: In the year 1762, Rev Benson DD, the parish rector…established…’

The building wasn’t spared from conflict.

During the 1798 rebellion, a group of 16 United Irishmen – a revolutionary movement of Catholics and Presbyterians – attempted to raid the rectory, likely in search of arms. Led by Edward Lynn from Leitrim, they met fierce resistance from soldiers stationed on-site. Nine of the attackers were killed, with more wounded, and one shot while retreating.

Tragedy struck in the early 1900s, during the ministry of Rev TLF Stack, when a teacher named Mr Vizard drowned near the rectory after falling into the river.

Rev Stack, asleep at the time, was said to be deeply distressed at not hearing the man’s cries. In another incident, local man Barney McGrath slipped and drowned while crossing stepping stones at ‘Cow-Gate Lane’.

In more recent times, the rectory opened its doors during a European Heritage Open Day in 2017.

Local historian and photographer Kenneth Allen visited the house, then owned by the late Georgina Thompson, sister of Ken Thompson, former principal of Campsie Primary School.

“There were many artefacts kept within the house over the years, like the old oil lamps – a reminder that Drumquin didn’t have electricity until 1953,” Kenny recalled.

“In the drawing room, I noticed one charming detail in the windowpane: a name scratched into the glass by a young lady, Marcia, with a diamond ring during a visit in 1888.”

Though the house underwent major renovation in the 1990s, its structure and facade are a reminder of Drumquin’s origins, and the long-standing religious presence of the Langfield parish.