Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/07/039

Address :
15 Howe Road Ballykeel Dromore County Down BT25 1ET

Townland:
Ballykeel

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
14/03/2014 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
Yes

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
203/06

IG Ref:
J2682 5262

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A vacant two-bay single-storey hearth-lobby vernacular dwelling, built c.1800 and located on the south side of Howe Road, Ballykeel. Rectangular on plan with projecting porch to front. Pitched overhanging natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and rough-cast rendered chimneystack having two clay pots. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods to porch only. Walling is painted roughcast render on plinth with smooth-rendered platband to eaves. Windows are a variety of timber-framed sliding sash with projecting masonry sills; timber-framed casements to rear. The principal elevation faces northwest and is set at a lower level than Howe Road. Three openings wide, the elevation is almost symmetrically arranged with windbreak porch to right of centre, having timber-sheeted door with cast-iron latch; left bay is longer and contains a small 6/3 window; right bay has a larger 1/1 window. The northeast gable is blank. The southeast elevation has two six-paned timber casement windows to right of centre; to far right (at a slightly higher level) is a single-paned timber-framed casement window. The southwest gable is blank. Setting: Located on a wooded site opposite Howe Farm (HB19/07/030), surrounded by farmland and enclosed by a wire fence and hedgerow; rubble stone gate piers and early farm-gate to southwest. Bounded to road by low rubble stone verge with barbed wire fence and hedgerow; partial wrought-iron fence attached to wrought-iron piers supporting cast-iron latch gate. Free-standing corrugated metal shed to rear. Roof: Pitched natural slate Walling: Rubble stone Windows: Variety of timber-framed sliding sash and casements RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

This single-storey two-roomed vernacular house first appears on the 1833 edition of the Ordnance Survey map for the townland of Ballykeel where it was depicted on the grounds of ‘the Howe,’ a farmhouse and yard occupied by the Smyth family from at least c.1830 until 1917 (HB 19/07/030). The 1833 map depicts this single-storey house as a small oblong building situated to the east of the main farmhouse of the Howe. In 1859 the second edition of the Ordnance Survey maps showed no change to the building although Griffith’s Valuation (1861) tells us that the house was valued at £1 and was let by David Smyth of ‘the Howe’ to a Mr. James Kearns. There was no further alteration to the site by the third and fourth editions of the Ordnance Survey maps (1903; 1919-20) although additional outbuildings and a gate lodge had been added to the Howe during the same period. It is unclear who occupied the house after James Kearns and without access to the Annual Revisions for the area it is difficult to ascertain with certainty the later history of the house, however, it is likely that a small two-roomed house recorded in the 1911 Census and let by a Mr. James Cathcart Smyth of the Howe is this building. The 1911 Census tells us that Smyth let the house to a Mr. David Chambers, a 46 year old Presbyterian ‘fabric weaver.’ Chambers lived with his wife Agnes (42) and their two daughters (both of whom were seamstresses) and two sons. The Census building return records that the 2nd class house was slated by 1911 and possessed a fowl house as its only out office. The Howe was later purchased by a Mr. John Young whose family has continued to occupy the site since 1917. The current edition of the Ordnance Survey shows that the small corrugated iron out building situated to the rear of the house had been put up by 1975. References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI VAL/1/A/3/21 – Field Map c.1830 2. PRONI VAL/1/B/342 – Townland Valuation c. 1830 3. PRONI OS/6/3/21/1 – First Edition OS Map 1833 4. PRONI OS/6/3/21/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1859 5. PRONI OS/6/3/21/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1903 6. PRONI OS/6/3/21/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-1920 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/38 E – Griffith’s Valuation 1861 8. Census 1901 / 1911 9. Ordnance Survey map 203-6 (1975)

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

Z. Rarity X. Local Interest R. Age S. Authenticity

Evaluation

A vacant two-bay single-storey slated hearth-lobby vernacular dwelling, built c.1800 and located on the south side of Howe Road, Ballykeel. A typical two-roomed vernacular dwelling, the original proportions and floor-plan are intact making this a good example of an unaltered hearth-lobby house. Situated in an unspoiled rural setting opposite Howe Farm (HB19/07/030), it was originally let by the occupiers of ‘the Howe’ to a tenant during 19th century and has group value with the farmhouse. Retaining much of its external elements and character, this vernacular structure is a rare survivor and contributes to the historic landscape of Ballykeel and the wider area.

General Comments

Date of Survey

07 January 2011