17 Drumnadonaghy Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey gable-ended vernacular house with single storey extension. It faces south-east and backs into the slope of a hill, which rises behind the dwelling in a north-west direction. It is approached down a short lane from the road.

The main part of the house is a two-storey four-bay gabled-ended dwelling with a three-bay single-storey extension abutting its south-west gable end. The rubble-stone walls have no surviving render and are white-washed, while the roof of the main block is slated (Bangor Blues) with three (cement-rendered) chimney-stacks; the single storey extension to the south-west, together with an adjacent shed to the south-west of this, have corrugated iron roofing, currently painted a light green.

Windows of the front elevation are all sliding-sash (two over two), as are those of the rere elevation, while the windows on the first floor, both front and rere, have wooden lintels lying just below the wall plate. All windows have a brick lining, those on the ground floor having brick lintels. There are three doors on the front elevation; the original centrally placed entrance to the dwelling has a panelled door; the two other doors are batten sheeted, with that on the north side being halved. There are two door in the rere elevation; one is a glass paneleld modern door and the other (to the old kitchen) is batten sheeted and halved. There are no openings on the north-east gable wall, while at the south-west end of the extension there is a low gabled-ended shed, also built of rubble-stone and whitewashed; this shed (probably a former pig house) is entered through a centrally placed batten sheeted door on its south-east front and has a corrugated iron roof (also painted light green), supported with new roof timbers.

Setting

Site bounded by hedgerows; hose sits on a level area with remainder of site above a bank to the rear of the house. A tall corrugated iron hay barn with semi-circular roof lies to the south-west at the top of the site. The access lane runs past the front of the house towards other fields.

Historical information

First depicted on the Ordnance Survey map of 1835 where it is shown occupying roughly the same area as the building today. This implies that the single storey extension was already present by this date. The house appears to have been increased from one storey to two stories by the late 19th century, after which it was extended by a single bay to the north.

The building was in a semi-ruinous condition in the late 1990s (with a demolition order upon it) when it was acquired by the present owners and restored with the help of Hearth, who acted as architects for the work in 2000. [Contractor Robert Elliot & Sons, Ballymena].

References

Primary Sources

1. OS Maps (Various editions) 1st Edition - 1830s, 2nd Edition - 1860s and 3rd Edition - 1900s

Secondary Sources

1. Hearth booklet (2004);

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Two-storey gable-ended vernacular house with single storey extension. Restored example of a two-storey lobby-entry vernacular house of probable 18th century date, enlarged and modified in the late 19th or early 20th century. A good example of the type in its original setting.

General comments

Good restoration undertaken by Hearth around 2004