Parkanaur Manor House

Thomas Doran Parkanaur Trust

Listed buildings within important demesne to provide new employment opportunities

Grade A Manor House and outbuildings, Grade B gate lodge

Parkanaur Manor House was built between 1839 and 1854 for John Burges, who had made his fortune in the East India Company. Designed in a Tudor Revival style by well-known local architect, Thomas Duff, it has a terraced front, with octagonal pinnacles and gables at each projection. The house remained in the Burges family until they moved to England in 1955, when it was bought by American millionaire, Thomas Doran, who had emigrated from nearby Castlecaulfield as a teenager. He made Parkanaur available to his friend Rev. Gerry Eakins to develop a new centre for the education of young adults with disabilities. The house reopened in 1960 as 'The Thomas Doran Training Centre' (now Parkanaur College). While the main house continues in this role today, the other listed buildings within this important demesne, including the courtyard buildings, gate lodge, walled garden and pavilion, are underused, with some of the buildings falling into a state of disrepair.

The Thomas Doran Parkanaur Trust is a registered charity committed to promoting the vocational education and personal development of people with a range of learning difficulties and disabilities, helping them to achieve their full potential. It also provides residential care to young people with disabilities and mental health issues, including people with autism and challenging behaviour, with students coming from across Northern Ireland and from a range of backgrounds. As part of a 5-year strategy for its development of the site, the Trust plans to bring all the buildings in the Parkanaur Manor House demesne back into use to provide employment opportunities for people who have difficulty securing and sustaining jobs. This includes extending its existing training and residential accommodation, as well as expanding existing social enterprises on site, informed by its work with the Strategic Investment Board and the Mid-Ulster Community Plan. The proposed adaptation of the stable block for supported living accommodation for long-term residents, residential students and staff, coupled with the ambition to develop social enterprises on site, would expand the Trust’s already significant social impact.

The AHF awarded the Trust a Project Viability Grant in 2021 to enable it to produce a viability report. The study adopted a phased plan for the rescue and return to productive use of the unused historic buildings and included indicative costs and outline plans. This allowed Trustees to identify statutory requirements and potential funding sources and provided the basis for approaches to philanthropic individuals and organisations. A Project Development Grant, awarded in 2023, is currently helping the Trust to build on the viability work, draw up detailed plans by a conservation-accredited architect, and to fully develop its business case.

https://parkanaurtrust.org/

AHF Funding

Project Viability Grant- £7,500 (2021)

Project Development Grant - £15,000 (2023)

Photo Credits

Thomas Doran Parkanaur Trust