House approx. 200m north of

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached single-storey four-bay rough-cast rendered former thatched dwelling, built between 1830 and 1853. Rectangular on plan facing east with later addition gable-fronted projecting entrance porch and a two-storey rubblestone outbuilding to the north. Set on an elevated site on a steep hillside to the north of Baranailt Road accessed via a long laneway.

Pitched corrugated metal roof with cement skews and steel rainwater goods. Three rendered chimneystacks centred on ridge (one to south gable, one projecting from north gable and one to the south wall of the north bay). Whitewashed rough-cast render over rubblestone walling (unless otherwise noted). Square-headed window openings with painted concrete sills and timber sliding sash windows with exposed sash boxes (unless otherwise noted).

Front (east) elevation comprises three bays to left under a continuous roof with sloping eaves and a taller bay to right with a level eaves. The three-bay section to the left has a later addition central projecting pitched roof porch (asymmetrically pitched) flanked to left by a 1/2 pane window and to the right by a 2/2 pane window. Right bay has a single 2/2 pane window. Porch comprises a three pane metal casement window to east face right of centre, north face has a modern flush timber door with glazed upper section to far left and south face has a central two pane metal casement window.

Blank south gable with cement rendered walling and a chimney centred on ridge.

Rear (west) elevation comprises three bays to right under a continuous roof with sloping eaves and a taller bay to left with a level eaves. The three bay section to the right has a single fixed pane timber window left of centre flanked by a 3/3 pane window to each side (that to left is narrower and taller). Left bay has a single central 1/1 pane window.

North gable is abutted by a corrugated metal lean-to addition; exposed section is blank and has a masonry chimney flue which projects forward from the gable.

Lean-to comprises a blank north and west face; east face is fully abutted by a mono-pitched -roof out-building; South face is abutted to left by the dwelling, exposed section to left is blank and exposed section to right has a two pane casement window to left and a vertically sheeted door to far right.

Corrugated metal mono-pitched -roof out-building is constructed from a mixture of concrete block, vertical timber and corrugated metal cladding, all of no interest. West face abuts the lean-to; exposed section to right is blank. East face is fully abutted by the gable of the two-storey out-building. North face has a single central fixed pane window. South face has a vertically sheeted timber door right of centre with a two pane casement window to far right and the remains of a window opening to first floor left.

The two-storey out-building has a pitched natural slate roof and white-washed rubblestone walling.
South face has a vertically sheeted timber half-door to left and a single fixed pane window to right at ground floor; first floor has a flush door to right (left reveal aligned over the left reveal of the ground floor door) and a fixed pane window to right directly above ground floor window.
North elevation is blank. A central construction break would indicate that the out-building was constructed in phases. There are also very small random openings at the lower levels of the wall.
West face is abutted by the mono-pitched -roof out-building; exposed upper section has a partly concealed central opening.
East face is abutted by a single storey lean-to; exposed upper section is blank.

A construction break between the two-storey out-building and the lean-to would indicate that the block was constructed in phases. The lean-to has white-washed rubblestone walling (unless otherwise noted) and a natural slate roof with cement skews, clipped eaves and a cast iron rooflight centred on roof slope. The lean-to has been raised in blockwork along the east face and rubblestone along the north and south faces reducing the pitch of the roof. East face has a central vertically sheeted timber half-door; south face has a square single fixed pane timber window (lower half obscured by corrugated metal cladding; north face is blank.

Setting
Set on a sloping elevated site on a steep hillside to the north of Baranailt Road, the front elevation faces east onto a yard enclosed to the north by a two-storey rubblestone outbuilding. It is accessed via a long laneway which also provides access to a near-by vernacular dwelling (HB01/02/038B) located approximately 120m to the north. A further vernacular dwelling (HB01/02/038C) is located approximately 200m to the west and is accessed separately off Baranailt Road.

Roof Corrugated metal
RWG Steel
Walling Rough-cast render over rubblestone
Windows Timber/Metal

Historical information

This single-storey vernacular farmhouse, located in the townland of Ballymaclanigan, was constructed between 1830 and 1853. The farmhouse did not appear on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (1830) but was depicted on the second edition (1849-53). The map records that the single-storey dwelling had been built by c.1850 but the two-storey outbuilding had not been built at that time.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1832-38) note that, following the Plantation of Ulster, the majority of land in the parishes of Cumber Upper and Lower was owned by the Church of Ireland with the remainder of the land being distributed out to the Goldsmith, Skinners and Fishmongers Companies. By the early-19th century the decline in local linen weaving had resulting in increased agriculture labour and by the 1830s most of the land in Cumber parish was occupied by farmers ‘of a low rank’ (Ordnance Survey Memoirs, pp 3-18).

Griffith’s Valuation (1857) records that the farmhouse was located on lands owned by the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and was occupied by Samuel Marshall in the 1850s. The valuer set the total rateable vale of the farmhouse at only 10 shillings. Marshall purchased the farmhouse and its land from the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers in 1886 following the passing of the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act in 1885. This act, which was also known as the Ashbourne Act, made it easier for tenants in Ireland to buy land, providing them the facility to take out loans (worth 100% the value of the property) and to pay back the Government in monthly instalments (Oxford Companion to Irish History, p. 309).

Samuel Marshall continued to reside at Ballymaclanigan until his death in 1899 when the farmhouse passed to his relative (most likely his daughter) Catherine Marshall. The 1901 census and the third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps records that the two-storey rubble-stone outbuilding, located to the north-east side of the farmhouse, had been constructed by at least the turn of the 20th century. The 1901 census building described Marshall’s farmhouse as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of two main rooms and possessed a slate or iron roof. The census also notes that the two-storey outbuilding was utilised as a stable, cow house and barn.

The Marshall family vacated the farm by 1907 when a Mr Matthew McLoughlin took possession of the site. A local farmer, McLoughlin’s family continued to reside at Ballymaclanigan until at least the 1970s. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) increased the rateable value of the farm and its outbuilding to £3 and 5 shillings. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) this value had been further raised to £4. Field Inspection of the site finds that the thatched roof has been replaced with corrugated iron. The farmhouse retains its original floor plan and many of its original features.

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/5/23/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830)
2. PRONI OS/6/5/23/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1849-1853)
3. PRONI OS/6/5/23/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1905)
4. PRONI OS/6/5/23/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1925-26)
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/47B – Griffith’s Valuation (1857)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/31/12A-F – Annual Revisions (1860-1933)
7. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/6 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
8. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/9 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
9. Ordnance Survey Memoirs: Co. Londonderry Vol. 28 (1832-38)
10. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)
11. PRONI Wills Catalogue (8 Jun 1899)
12. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
13. Ordnance Survey Map – 50-5 (1970)

Secondary Sources
1. Connolly, S. J., ‘Oxford companion to Irish history’ Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A single-storey four-bay former thatched dwelling built between 1830 and 1853, located on an elevated site on a steep hillside to the north of Baranailt Road, Claudy. The dwelling was constructed on lands owned by the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers who obtained the land following the Plantation of Ulster. The vernacular grouping remains largely intact with much of its detailing remaining. The later addition porch and modern lean-to out-buildings do not significantly detract from its interest and the development of the dwelling and the grouping as a whole can be clearly seen. It is an example of an increasingly rare typology that once characterised the local area.
Its interest is enhanced by its fine relatively unaltered setting and the two-storey rubblestone outbuilding to the north.
The dwelling has group value with a vernacular dwelling (HB01/02/038B) located approximately 120m to the north.

General comments

Additional listing criteria apply - R-Age, S-Authenticity & T-Historic Importance