Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB14/04/010

Address :
9 Bluestone Road Lisnamintry Portadown Co. Armagh BT63 5SH

Townland:
Lisnamintry

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
21/02/1994 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
Thatched House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
Yes

Thatched:
Yes

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
182/13

IG Ref:
J0458 5468

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A single storey lobby entry house of T-plan layout. At the front the four left-hand (north-east) bays are thatched and the one and a half storey end bay to the south-west has a pitched roof of natural slate. The ridge is of blue clay tiles and rainwater goods are of cast iron. The single storey two bay direct entry return has a thatched roof covering. The house faces north-west behind a small grassed area enclosed by a timber ranch style fence with modern metal gate between square roughcast pillars topped by projecting pyramidal cappings. There is a further stretch of lawn between the fence and the Bluestone Road. In the front section the thatch covering is draped over the left hand (north-east) gable and on the opposite side it abuts the one and a half storey building and is finished with a lead flashing. The ridge is of the block type. The roof covering of the return is similar to the front including the covering of the gables and the block ridge that includes a small hip on either apex. A corbelled brick chimneystack rises over the position of the kitchen hearth and there is a similar feature over the fireplace of the former parlour now a bedroom. A further stack serves the fireplace in the dining room in the extension. Each stack in the main house contains one chimney pot and that in the extension has two pots. The wall finish of the thatched parts of the building is of whitened rough plaster, roughcast or exposed stone apart from the end gable of the extension that is of unwhitened exposed rubble stone. The slated section at the south-west end is of rubble stone and brick construction. On the road frontage a timber ledged and sheeted door is recessed within a projecting windbreak porch with natural slate lean-to roof and plastic rainwater goods. To the left (north-east) there is one and to the right there are four vertically sliding windows with sashes divided into two vertically. Sash stops are moulded and sills are of intermediate depths. At the right hand extremity of the thatched elevation a door opening has been built up retaining a timber sheeted door to preserve the earlier appearance. The stone section at the south-west end of the front elevation has a single window at low level similar to those already described but of slightly larger dimensions, increased exposure of the sash boxes and a sill of traditional depth. A lattice-paned window in the gable with brick arch and deep sill lights the upper accommodation The rear of this part has a widow similar to that at the front but of further increased dimensions. There are two windows lighting the rear of the thatched section before reaching the extension. The first is of similar construction to the others lighting the building but there is no exposure of the sash box as is also the case with the second window that exhibits an increase in depth. At the other side of the extension in the rear wall of the living room there is a small vertically sliding window with exposed sash box. The left hand (north-east) gable of the main house is blank. The openings in the extension are as follows: - The entrance or south west elevation has a stone built windbreak porch under a slight projection of the thatched covering. The door that is timber sheeted contains a diamond-shaped observation panel. The porch is flanked to the left by a window of the usual type and to the right by a pair of similar windows. At the rear there are two windows of the usual type.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

A building matching the present is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834-35, however it is not noted in the 1836 valuation. It is included in the second valuation of 1862, however, when Joseph Malcomson was leasing the property from the Manchester Estate; the building is recorded as an old thatched house measuring 20yrds, with the rateable value calculated at £2-5-0. The house remained in the hands of the Malcomsons until 1901, when the lease was taken up by Hnry Harrison, who acquired the freehold in 1910 and was still in residence in 1929. According to local historian Francis McCorry, the brick annex to the west side of the building is said to have been added c.1820, (it appears to be present on the 1834-35 OS map), specifically to accommodate an itinerant Methodist minister and his horse. The horse was stabled at ground level while the minister’s quarters were above. By the mid 1800s the Bluestone Road area had declined as a Quaker stronghold, becoming Methodist in character. A Methodist church, just to the west of this house, was built sometime between 1835 and 1860. Returning to more recent history, in 1985 the Craigavon Development Officer stated that he had been advised that repair of the thatch was no longer possible. In reply, however, HMBB furnished examples of similar buildings in the vicinity where the owners had met the challenge successfully by carrying out acceptable schemes. The present owner purchased the house in 1991 and an acceptable restoration scheme was submitted the following year. Re-thatching was undertaken in 1993 and in 1995 by Thatch Advisory Services Limited in reed. The block ridge was added at this time reducing the historic appearance of the building.. References- Primary sources 1 Linen Hall Library ‘Survey of the County of Armagh by John Rocque’ (1760) 2 PRONI D.727/23/A-D Duke of Manchester Estate maps- Maps of various townlands including Lisnamintry etc. (1771, 1785, 1805) 3 PRONI D.727/50/A-C Duke of Manchester Estate maps- Maps of various townlands including Lisnamintry etc. (1807) 5 PRONI VAL/1A/2/10 OS map, County Armagh sheet 10, with valuation
references (1834-35) 6 PRONI VAL/2A/2/10A OS map, County Armagh sheet 10, with valuation references (1860 [-c.62]) 7 PRONI VAL/2B/2/19C Second valuation, Seagoe (1862) 8 PRONI VAL/12B/14/7A-E Annual valuation revision books, Kernan ED (1864-1929) Secondary sources 1 Brett, C.E.B., Oram, R., et al, ‘Lists of Historic Buildings…Craigavon’ (revised edition, Belfast, [?1979]), p.8 (Section 1) 2 Brett, C.E.B., ‘The Buildings of County Armagh’ (Belfast, 1999), p.213 3 McCorry, Francis, ‘Journeys in County Armagh and Adjoining Districts’ (Lurgan, Inglewood Press, 2000), pp.18-27 Other references 1 EHS files T

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation F. Structural System H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

Z. Rarity X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A single storey lobby entry T-plan thatched house. At the front the first four left hand (north-east) bays are thatched and the one and a half storey end bay to the south-west has a pitched roof of natural slate. The building has been restored to an acceptable standard and retains its historic plan form and some historic detail. It has a historic roof which is of interest. It is well sited and adds greatly to the character of its surroundings and has an unusual historical association. Though the use of a block cut ridge has altered its character it is an important survivor of a once common but now rare type.

General Comments

Date of Survey

20 August 2003