Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB24/01/089

Address :
2 Kearney Village Kearney Road Kearney Portaferry Co Down BT22 1QP

Townland:
Kearney

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
07/09/1976 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
School

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
Yes

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
207/6

IG Ref:
J6492 5182

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Owner Category

Heritage

Exterior Description And Setting

Single storey vernacular cottage of probable pre 1834 origin, with large gabled rear return of 1993-4, and small gabled ‘projection’ to W. The property is set on the N edge of Kearney Village (itself c.3 miles SE of Portaferry). Front (S) façade is asymmetrical. To the left of centre is a timber stable door with small sash window to left of door with similar window to right, with another to far right. Between both windows to right of door are two double sash windows, with the second window slightly taller. E gable of main house blank. Partly attached to left side of W gable is a small gabled ‘projection’ with a double sash window to the S façade and a single window to its W gable. Rear façade of main house has plain timber door to left (with steps) with single window as before to right. To right of this window is a gabled return with two windows as before to the W and E faces. The whole façade is finished in rough cast and painted. The gabled roof is covered with Bangor blue slates and stone parapets to all sections of house, with two rendered chimney stacks at gables of main house. Cast iron gutters and down spouts.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

House shown on 1834 OS Map without projection to west or return to rear. During the early nineteenth century this building was used as a school with Catholic and C of I pupils. The projection to the west is indicated on the revised OS map of 1860. The return was built in 1993-4, at which time the whole house was also renovated. KEARNEY VILLAGE In early medieval times, the townland of Kearney was a possession of the McKearneys, a family possibly distantly related to the O’Neills of Tyrone. During the later medieval period this land came into the possession of the Gaelicised Norman family of the Savages, who appear to have leased much of it to the Smiths, a dependent family of similar origin. A lease from Patrick Savage to Patrick Smith from 1643 mentions what was then one of the most lucrative aspects of Kearney, ‘the mill, mill ponds and watercourses’, from which the landlord received at not inconsiderable income. By the later 17th century the Savages had leased much of Kearney to the Ross family (of Rosstrevor) who continued in possession of the lands throughout the 18th century. It is from a lease of March 1729 that we have the first indication of a substantial settlement on the site of the present village. This settlement was to grow throughout the remainder of the century, with locals employed on the local farms and the two near by flax and corn mills, whilst supplementing their incomes by salvaging the not infrequent shipwrecks, and perhaps smuggling. Wrecking may have taken place also. The village probably reached its greatest extent in terms of population and activity in the 1830s, when there were 33 families, two schools (one C of I and Catholic, the other Presbyterian), and a ‘ceilidh house’. Most of the buildings we see today appear to have been present at this time, but as most were exempt from rating, very little is recorded of the village in the 1836 valuation in terms of house dimensions and occupiers*. The only dwellings which are mentioned are three single storey houses, occupied by Hugh and John McNabb and Widow Hasty (who owned the close by windmill). The slow decline in Kearney’s fortunes began in the latter half of the nineteenth century and by 1900 the population had halved, many seeking more prosperous lives in the towns, or emigrating. By 1938 most of the Kearney farms and cottages had passed into the possession of Hugh Orr, who had established a model farm close by. The decline continued unabated, however, so that by 1945 only three houses were occupied by a total of seven residents. When the National Trust acquired the village twenty years later (with money collected during the Enterprise Neptune campaign), it was practically a ghost town. Since 1965, the Trust have attempted to restore and reconstruct Kearney based on the plan of the village as shown on the 1834 OS Map, when the settlement had probably reached its zenith. Most of the houses are now occupied as full time homes once more, with a few as holiday residences, with all properties leased from the Trust. Currently only one of the original dwellings lies vacant awaiting imminent restoration. *The second valuation poses similar problems for the buildings in the village are not individually numbered on the valuation map, thus making it very difficult (if not impossible) to put the name of an occupant to a dwelling. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI D.552 Savage/Nugent Papers 2 PRONI OS/6/3/32/1 Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st ed., 1834, Down sheet 32 3 PRONI VAL/1B/38 First valuation, Parish of Ballytrustan, 1836 4 PRONI OS/6/3/32/2 Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st rev., 1860, Down sheet 32 5 PRONI Second valuation, Parish of Ballytrustan, 1861 (in print) 6 PRONI OS/6/3/32/3 Ordnance Survey maps, 2nd ed., 1899-1900, Down sheet 32 7 Admiralty Chart of Strangford Lough, surveyed by Richard Hoskyn Master R.N. 1859-60, with small corrections 1918-38 (HMSO) Secondary sources 1 The above history was mainly compiled from various articles kindly supplied to the authors by the National Trust, in particular one by Mrs. M.A.K. Garner, charting the early history of Kearney 2 Jim Blaney, "Mary Ann Donnan of Kearney" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.3' (1979), pp.24-5 3 Reta Lyttle, "Kearney" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.4' (1980), p.15

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

Single storey vernacular cottage of probable pre 1834 origin, with large gabled rear return of 1993-4, and small gabled ‘projection’ to the west end. In the early 19th century, this building served as a school house. As well as its intrinsic value it has group value with the other listed buildings in Kearney

General Comments

Date of Survey

11 August 1997