176 Garron Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached four-bay single-storey with attic rendered house, built c.1800, with detached two-storey rubblestone outbuilding to the west and lean-to extension to rear. Rectangular on plan facing north, set well back on the south side of Garron Road on an elevated site overlooking the Coast Road.

Pitched natural slate roof with rolled lead ridges, concrete coping to either gable end and three rendered chimneystacks. Cast-iron guttering on iron drive-through brackets and cast-iron downpipes. Painted trowel textured cement rendered walling. Square-headed window openings with flush sills and replacement 6/6 timber sliding sash windows with concave horns.

Four-bay (three windows) front elevation with off-centre windbreaker entrance having lean-to slate roof and replacement vertically-sheeted timber half-door. Door opens onto concrete paved front area.

Blind gabled east side elevation with lean-to structure, detailed as per front elevation.

Rear elevation set at a lower level than the sloping terrain with an off-centre lean-to extension. A single door opening to the left is set within a projection entrance porch having slate roof and replacement vertically-sheeted timber door.

Gabled west side elevation has a single window opening at attic level having a four-pane timber casement window.

Roof Natural slate
RWG Cast-iron
Walling Painted cement render
Windows Replacement timber sliding sash

Setting:
Located on a sloping elevated site and set well back on the south side of Garron Road accessed via long concrete driveway. Pair of rendered circular piers to the northwest of the front gardens supporting pair of steel gates. To the west is a two-storey rubblestone outbuilding with pitched natural slate roof, rubblestone walls with lime pointing, replacement timber casement windows and replacement sheeted timber doors having timber lintels.

Historical information

No. 176 Garron Road, a single-storey four-bay vernacular cottage located in the townland of Carrivemurphy (sometimes recorded as Falmacbreed), was constructed prior to 1832. The building was first recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of that year, which depicted the farmhouse as a simple rectangular-shaped structure that possessed no outbuildings. No. 176 Garron was not recorded in the contemporary Townland Valuations (c. 1834) as it was not worth the minimum £3 value required for inclusion in the valuation source. Little change had been made to the layout of the vernacular cottage by the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857, however the map did record that the current outbuilding (located to the south-west of the farmhouse) had been erected by that time. The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (c. 1859) set the total rateable value of the site at £1 and 10 shillings and recorded that the farmhouse was leased by Mark McDonnell (the 5th Earl of Antrim) to Michael Black, a local farmer.

Michael Black resided at the farm in Carrivemurphy until the 1920s. The 1901 Census of Ireland noted that Black occupied No. 176 Garron Road with his wife Catherine and son Bernard. The census building return described the farmhouse as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of two inhabited rooms and possessed a stable, cowhouse, piggery and barn amongst its outbuildings. The contemporary third edition Ordnance Survey map (1903) records that no discernible change had been made to the layout of the site since the mid-19th century. Michael Black continued to reside at No. 176 Garron Road until his death in 1924 at which time the site passed to his relative, Bernard Black (PRONI Wills). The farm subsequently passed from the Black family and was purchased outright by a Mr. James Laverty by the 1930s. Laverty was recorded as both occupant and owner of No. 176 Garron Road under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which raised the value of the site to £2 and 10 shillings. The farmhouse was occupied by a Ms. Mary Collins from the 1950s, however in 1967 a Mr. John J. O’Mullan was recorded as occupant. O’Mullan remained at the site until at least the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the total rateable value of No. 176 Garron Road and its outbuildings stood at £3 and 10 shillings.

Field inspection of the site, carried out as part of the Second Survey, has found that No. 176 Garron Road continues to be occupied as a private dwelling or holiday home.

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/20/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/20/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1921)
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/20 – Townland Valuation Map (c. 1832)
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/147A-B – Townland Valuations (c. 1834)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/38 – Griffith’s Valuation (c. 1859)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/7/1A-E – Annual Revisions (1863-1929)
9. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/21 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
10. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/35 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
11. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918)
12. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
13. PRONI Wills Catalogue (4 Jan 1924)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Detached four-bay single-storey with attic rendered house, built prior to 1832 and located on an elevated site overlooking the Coast Road at Glenahilt with rendered piers and metal gate. While the external historic fabric has been altered with the addition of textured render, the historic character and proportions remain, as does the interior plan form and hearth. The dwelling is of local interest, being one of very few vernacular structures to survive in the area. The largely unspoilt setting is enhanced by the presence of this rare building type.