17 Boghill Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A detached single-storey five-bay limewashed and slated, direct-entry vernacular house, pre-dating 1830. Located in a rural
setting to the north-eastern outskirts of Coleraine. Rectangular on plan comprising four bays to the east with an additional out-house and outdoor toilet abutting to the west. A small timber framed outbuilding is located to the north.

Pitched slate roof with blue/black roll-moulded ridge tiles, raised verges and rendered chimneystacks to gables (west is tarred and eastern is whitewashed), partial remains of east ridge stack; vestiges of diminutive metal framed skylights to south side. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods wall mounted to projecting eaves; uPVC to south side. Walling is rendered and limewashed random rubble-stone with large coursed and squared corner blocks. Generally square-headed window openings with plain reveals and no cills, having a combination of 2/2 timber sashes or replacement timber casements. Generally replacement timber doors in plain openings, located on south-side only.

The principal elevation faces south and is arranged about a central doorway having a late 20th century timber panelled and glazed door to left of centre; two casement windows to right with a plain timber door to far right with two 2/2 timber sash to left with angled horns and painted reveals. Similarly detailed bay to far-left is roofed in corrugated metal having a single (braced) timber-sheeted door.

West gable is abutted by small mono-pitched timber structure clad in corrugated metal with a timber sheeted door to south cheek; remaining elevation is blank and concealed beneath heavy ivy growth.

North elevation is six openings wide containing a diminutive plain-glass, frame-less window to far-right; 1/1 casement and a late 20th century side-hung casement to left. Single-pane casement to far-left with openings on either-side infilled.

East gable has single-pane casement with whitewashed projecting masonry sill.

Setting:

Situated in a rural farmland setting to the north-east of Coleraine town and accessed via a gravel drive having iron gates supported and square metal posts, to the west side of Boghill Road. The perimeter of the site is planted with hedges and mature trees, a garden is located to the north and east and the area is surrounded by fields. The main door is accessed via a small gravel path and gate in the southern hedge; the path extends to the privy on the west gable but the immediate base of the building is lined with grass or flower beds. A timber and corrugated metal outbuilding is situated to the north.

Roof: Slate
Walling: Whitewashed & rendered rubblestone
Windows: Timber sash & casement
RWG: Cast-iron & uPVC

Historical information

The current dwelling, originally a pair, pre-dates 1830 and is shown on the first edition OS Map (1830). The buildings were not listed in the Townland Valuation of 1828-40 as they did not reach the threshold for inclusion. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64), the two dwellings, valued at 15s each were occupied by William Sinclair and William Campbell and leased from John Black who farmed the surrounding land. No land is associated with the two cottages and this suggests that Sinclair and Campbell were agricultural labourers working for Black rather than farmers in their own right. By 1886 both houses were vacant and remained vacant for some years until 1907 and 1910 when they were taken over by James Leighton and Mrs Hickison respectively. The cottages then passed through a rapid succession of tenants, only one cottage being identifiable in the 1911 census, where it is listed as a two-room thatched dwelling, designated third class and occupied by farm labourer, King Crawford, who was resident with his wife and three children (1911 census). The building remains in domestic use and retains gas lamp fittings in the main sitting rooms.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/7/1 First Edition OS Map 1830
2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/2 Second Edition OS map 1849-50
3. PRONI OS/6/5/7/3 Third Edition OS Map 1904
4. PRONI OS/6/5/7/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1923
5. PRONI OS/6/5/7/5 Fifth Edition OS Map 1949
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/4A-F Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
7. Griffith’s Valuation online

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

An asymmetrical limewashed and slated single-storey direct-entry vernacular house, built prior to 1830 and located within a rural farmland setting to the north-east of Coleraine. The narrow depth, thick load-bearing walls and elongated-rectangular plan are typical of the tyoe. Likely to have been originally thatched, the building has been incrementally modernised over the years with alterations to internal and external fabric, and some minor alterations to layout. It is not of special architectural or historic interest.