Brockley Cottage

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single storey 3 bay cottage, natural slated roof, gabled, 3 chimneys, pebble dashed walls. The cottage forms part of a clachan group of probably 5 former dwellings, 3 of which are ruinous and another vacant.

The entrance is on the south side. It has a plain braced and sheeted softwood door, recently made, without fanlight. To the east side of it a sliding sash 4 pane window with low cill and to the west side of door 2 sliding sash 4 pane windows also with low cills. The wall is pebble dashed, probably about 40 or 50 years ago, with a smooth rendered cement plinth approx 300mm high. There are smooth rendered reveals to door opening and not returned on face and painted red now faded. Windows have smooth rendered and painted reveals returned on wall face 50mm and painted like the door reveals. Window cills are also painted.

At gutter line (gutter no longer exists) where a course of brick on edge projected 30mm there is a smooth rendered cement plaster band. A few gutter brackets remain. Formerly the gutter returned along the east gable to a downpipe at rear of house.

The east gable has no windows, and the wall surface similar to south wall with the plinth returned along it. There is a smooth rendered cement plaster barge on both slopes but at the chimney becomes horizontal. The west gable is similar without plinth.

The north side (NNE) has a single small sliding sash 9 pane window with weight box exposed and lights the rear of the kitchen. The wall surface is as other but without plinth at ground level.

The roof is slated with large heavy Bangor Blues (760 mm approx by 370 mm) on slating laths on modern joists. The ridge tile of the roll variety with hole to insert oak plug on rod to better secure them. These ridge tiles are blue/black in colour (similar to engineering brick colour). There are several holes in the roof particulary in the south side and a large hole over the east room with many slates missing. The 3 chimneys are smooth rendered in cement plaster unpainted with projecting band one course from the top. The middle chimney does not have such a band. It may not have had one. The chimneys are made of brick. The walls are of stone (basalt). The external dimensions of the cottage are 15 metres by 5.5 approx.

The cottage group nestles under the shoulder of a rocky hillock which rises steeply to the north west and the landscape in the north side is mostly moorland while to the south there are cultivated small fields. The group is approached by a long winding rough laneway which turns sharp left to run in a straight line between the group of buildings. On the NW side of the lane ruins or otherwise of 5 cottages laid out with their gables to it. On the SE side the modern bungalow of the owner and a large stone barn with its gable to the land and the ruinous of walls of some other buildings. The cottage inspected was the 4th in line from the NE. To the N of it a 1.5 storey cottage of equal length and with 2 back returns. The others are either converted into sheds or are ruinous. The distance between the long walls of the cottages vary from 7 metres to 8.5 metres. The cottage with the back returns considerably reduces the gap between it and the next.

Historical information

The clachan is shown on the 1832 O.S. map very similar as it is today i.e. with 5 no. cottages with their gables to the lane and a series of smaller units, probably outbuildings on the other side. The 1856 revision of the O.S. map shows the clachan with little change, Across the lane from HB05/16/008A is a long barn which contained stable, byre, straw storage and threshing machine. This barn is not shown on either the 1832 or 1856 maps.

The owner stated that the previous owner was a J McCartney and in C1960 a Hugh Duncan and C1950's Frank Craig. The Craigs occupied the cottage for several generations. The Griffith V.B of 1858 gives the resident as Neill Criag. The other residents in 1858 were from South, Archibald McCurdy, William Black, Archibald Morrison and William Black. The latters valuation was £1-5-0 while others varied between 10/2 and 5/2. The lessor was Reverend Robert Gage. The Gagers leased the island from Earl of Antrim in 1746. None of the cottages are occupied, indeed 3 are ruinous though part converted to storage.

The layout of the clachan is not like the haphazard arrangements to be found e.g. in Innishowen. One suspects that the layout was dictated by the landlord as the early OS maps show several of like arrangement.

References.

Primary Sources
1. UAFP O.S Maps 1832 Antrim No. 1-6"
2. UAFP O.S. Maps 1856 Rev. Antrim No. 1-6
3. O.S Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Antrim IX, North Antrim Coast and Rathlin 1830-2, 1835, 1838-9. P. 132 - Habits of People.
4. Wife of Owner.

Secondary Sources
1. UAHS In the Island of Rathlin P3, 5, 8
2. Lewis Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Vol II P. 501.
3.A Gai? Rural House of the North of Ireland, P90 - Purlin Roots P.100 fig 101

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

D. Plan Form
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A 3 room cottage dating back to at least early 19th century and forming part of a former 5 cottage clachan laid out in a geometric arrangement with the gable end of each cottage fronting onto the access laneway. While the cottage retains its original form it has lost much of its detail character in that the external walls are dry pebble dashed. The south facing windows have been greatly enlarged through still vertical sliding sash type. The single small window on the north side is probably typical of the original windows. The large roofing slates have fallen off in many places leaving two very large holes.

Internally the cottage is in poor condition with widespread wet rot and much dampness.

The cottage and group are worth recording for clachan layout typical of Rathlin. The group nestles under a hilly outcrop of rock rising precipitously behind it to the north west.