Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/05/154

Address :
54 Grove Road Backnamullagh Dromore County Down BT25 1QX

Townland:
Backnamullagh

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
10/10/2012 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Outbuildings

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
Yes

Thatched:
Yes

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
184/13

IG Ref:
J2284 5463

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Detached single-storey lobby-entry lime-rendered thatched dwelling, built c.1800. Rectangular on plan facing south and located down a lane off the south side of Grove Road with three roofless rubblestone outbuildings to the south. Pitched corrugated iron roof over original straw thatched roof with two rendered chimneystacks and metal guttering on iron brackets. Lime render over rubblestone walling. Square-headed window openings with concrete sills and single-pane timber sash windows with exposed sash boxes. Front south elevation is four windows wide with a central windbreaker entrance porch with main roof extending down to cover the porch. The entrance contains a square-headed door opening with vertically-sheeted timber door. The front elevation is extended to the west to incorporate a byre having two square-headed door openings with vertically-sheeted half-doors. West gable has steel ties to roof and a single square-headed window opening with replacement glazing. Rear elevation has an irregular placement of diminutive window openings, a pair of square-headed door openings with sheeted timber doors and abutted to the east end by a lean-to extension, built c.1940. East gable abutted by lower rendered accretion having corrugated iron roof. Diminutive square-headed window opening to the attic level. Setting: Set on an east-west axis, facing south at the end of a lane to the south of Grove Road with wrought iron gates on round pillars at each end. Set in an informal front yard; yard enclosed to west by rubblestone low walling, to the east by a ruinous rubblestone agricultural building and to the south by a modern timber dwelling erected c.1990. Roof Corrugated iron over thatch RWG Metal Walling Lime render over rubblestone Windows Single-pane timber sash

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

This single-storey vernacular dwelling in the Townland of Backnamullagh first appears on the 1833 edition of the Ordnance Survey maps where it is depicted as an oblong building possessing a number of outbuildings; a large building to its north and two smaller out offices to its south. Neither the house nor its owner are recorded in the Townland Valuation of c.1830, however in 1861 a Ms. Mary McCloughan is recorded as the occupant in Griffith's Valuation. McCloughan lived in the Townland of Backnamullagh from at least 1849 when her husband, John McCloughan died at the age of 76 (Clarke). Griffith's Valuation notes that there were two dwellings at the site, the larger of which was valued at £1 15s and was occupied by Mary McCloughan. The smaller house was valued at £1 and was let by McCloughan to a Ms. Ellen West. Mary McCloughan paid rent of £13 to the Marquis of Downshire. By 1866 the house passed to a Mr. John McCloughan at which time it was valued at £3; the previously separate dwellings then recorded as a single property. There is no discernible change to the site between the first edition Ordnance Survey map in 1833 and the fourth edition in 1919-20, except that a small out office was added to the east of the house between 1859 and 1903. The 1901 Census describes the dwelling as a second class building which contained five rooms and originally possessed a thatched roof. In 1901 John McCloughan was a 61 year old local farmer; the out office return for the house recorded that he possessed stables, a cow house, piggery, fowl house, a barn and a potato house. By 1911 McCloughan no longer worked his farm although he continued to live there with his brother James' family; James McCloughan (born c. 1844) took over the farm in that year and lived there with his wife Mary and their three children. In 1913 James McCloughan purchased the farm from the Marquis of Downshire and continued to occupy the farmhouse until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1929. Later changes to the site include the installation of a lean-to extension to the east gable c. 1940, and the covering of the original thatched roof with a corrugated iron replacement. This building is in a good state of preservation although it has long been abandoned as a dwelling whilst the former farmbuildings have fallen into a state of disrepair; the site is currently used as a workshop for the current owner. References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/21/1 – First Edition OS Map 1833 2. PRONI OS/6/3/21/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1859 3. PRONI OS/6/3/21/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1903 4. PRONI OS/6/3/21/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-1920 5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/38E – Griffith’s Valuation 1861 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/2A – Annual Revisions 1866-1881 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/2B – Annual Revisions 1882-1889 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/2C – Annual Revisions 1890-1908 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/2D – Annual Revisions 1909-1929 10. 1901 / 1911 Census Secondary Sources 1. Clarke, R. S. J., ‘Graveyard inscriptions’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form F. Structural System I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance W. Northern Ireland/International Interest V. Authorship

Evaluation

Detached single-storey lobby-entry lime-rendered thatch under corrugated iron dwelling, built c.1800. Rectangular on plan, with its original outbuildings and in its original rural setting. This building is a good example of a lobby entry vernacular house. Retaining most of its original interior layout and detailing, early thatched roof structure, including evidence of cruck blades, and lime rendered walls - this house is a remarkable survivor of the vernacular tradition and forms an important part of the architectural heritage of Northern Ireland.

General Comments

Listing criteria R, S & T also apply.

Date of Survey

02 December 2010