Brewster’s Cottage

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A five bay long thatched cottage (roof collapse imminent) with white rendered walls extended to the rear by the full length of the building. The cottage accommodation consists of three rooms with the kitchen in the middle. The wide hearth is at the south west end and the entrance door in is in the position of a direct entry on the south east side. However in this case there is a porch with the internal door opposite. The other partition wall extends about 500mm beyond the porch door. On the rear wall there is a back door in direct line with the entrance door. There is a step down into the porch. Beyond the hearth is a bedroom, in the other direction off the porch is the best room. At each gable is a canted fireplace. Each unit has a ceiling of match boarding. Kitchen floor concreted, room and large bedroom boarded. The extended width of the cottage contains narrow bedrooms off the room and large bedroom and scullery off the kitchen. Because the low pitched corrugated metal roof slips under the thatch eaves there are three steps down into the extension to give sufficient headroom. The corrugated roof does not extend over the back door.

The thatch roof has not been renewed for some years and young trees are beginning to grow out of it adding greatly to its weight. However the roof construction consists of the former rough round members of the original construction and inserted around it a more modern arrangement of squared timbers.

The cottage is sited on the north side of the Duncrun Road and about 5 metres below road level. Around the cottage an extensive array of basalt built out houses set at various angles but endeavouring to enclose a farmyard. To the south there is an orchard. All indicates a substantial farm in the past.

Historical information

The owner, a retired teacher, was born in the house and the house remained unchanged in his memory of it. The cottage is recorded on the 1831 map and he states that his family occupied it for many generations. There was another thatched cottage adjacent but it has been demolished to make way for a new house. A stone with the date 1780 was uncovered when it was being demolished. It is likely because of the similar form that this building is of the same age.

References:

Ordnance Survey Sheet 1831
Owner (1997)
(Owner recalled Alan Gailey of Ulster Folk Museum visiting house in 1970's, so there may be extra information on the cottage in their records.)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A good example, though derelict with roof about to collapse, of a thatched farmhouse of a well to do farming family with good range of out houses.