Tubber na Carrig is a historic small farm and demesne of around 30 acres outside the village of Kircubbin, Co. Down. In recent times, a restoration project has seen the house and garden rejuvenated. First built in the 1780s, an extension to the farmstead, then known as Summerhill, took place in 1840.
The 5-bay Georgian House at Tubber na Carrig is now a Grade 1 listed building and the 11 acres of gardens and woodland feature a kitchen garden, a walled garden, a sunken garden, and a lake. A restoration project also uncovered a sunken trench or Ha Ha that allowed servants to pass the house unseen. There is also an underground tunnel that servants would have used to reach a nearby well. Where the lake now lies in the landscape was once a building with a little-known Second World War pedigree. Unfortunately, over the years, it fell into disrepair and demolition took place in the 2000s.
R.A.F. No. 82 Fighter Group
Royal Air Force No. 82 Fighter Group operated from this building in the centre of the pleasure gardens during the Second World War. This group was solely responsible for the aerial defence of Northern Ireland. Between the Autumn of 1941 and October 1942, it operated as the Sector Operations Room for Belfast.
Ernie Cromie of the Ulster Aviation Society speculates the building may have suited last-ditch defence. This would have come into play in the event of a Nazi invasion of the United Kingdom. The R.A.F. command post fell out of use in October 1942 following the abolition of No. 82 Fighter Group. The Senate Room at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Belfast then became the R.A.F. Headquarters for Northern Ireland. Following this, all personnel from Kircubbin relocated to the Belfast site.
Tubber na Carrig House stands on the Ards Peninsula in the vicinity of Ballyhalbert Airfield and Ballywalter Airfield.