House at

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Clachan-like grouping of single-storey vernacular houses and outbuildings, of largely pre-1832 constuction. The group is set in an isolated rural location, at the end of a lane, roughly 2km south-east of The Loop, 3km south-west of Ballyronan.

The buildings are loosely arranged around a square. The square is orientated SSW / NNE, but to facilitate ease of description the SSW face will be described as south and all other directions will be similarly adjusted. Ballybeg Lane traverses diagonally through the square entering on the NE corner and exiting on the SW corner.

To the north side of the square is a pre-1832 single-storey vernacular house with attached outbuildings arranged in linear fashion to both sides. That to the west may be pre-1832 but has been altered in the 20th century, whilst that to the east –which is much longer- dates from the latter half of the 19th century. To the eastern end the outbuildings abut a further two-cell vernacular outbuilding of probable pre-1832 construction, creating a roughly ‘T’-shaped footprint. (See Building 1 comprising 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D below).

Another single-storey house is set on the eastern half of the south side of the square. This may be pre-1832, however it was ‘formalised’ in the mid 1900s and now has, amongst other things, large picture windows (see below). A single-storey detached garage is set of the east of this house, whilst to the rear there are two further vernacular buildings set at right angles to each other. Both of these appear to be post-1853. To the front is a small walled garden. (See Buildings 2 and 3 below)

To the western side of the yard there was, until recently, a further pre-1832 vernacular outbuilding, as well as a mid-20th century corrugated-iron hay shed. These have been cleared away and the western boundary is now marked with a hedge.

Building 1
This is a vernacular House with attached outbuildings. To the left of centre of the structure is the house (Building 1A). Abutting the eastern side is a single cell byre with a barrel-vaulted corrugated iron roof (Building 1D), while the right side abuts a three-cell outbuilding (Building 1B). A further two-cell outbuilding, set at right angles to the group (Building 1C), abuts gable on the far right side thus creating a ‘T’-shaped footprint.

Building 1A- House
A lean-to porch is set to the centre of the south-facing front façade. To the right of this there are two window openings while to the left there is one window and one door opening. The front door is set in the east cheek of the porch, and a small window is set on the west cheek. Gables are mainly obscured by the abutting outbuildings. The rear (north) façade has four roughly constructed and irregularly spaced and sized window openings.

Building 1D- Byre
This is a single cell byre with barrel-vaulted corrugated roof (now partially collapsed). On the right side of the south façade there is a door opening, whilst to the left side of the west façade there is a window opening. The north façade is blind.

Building 1B- Three-cell outbuilding
The building comprises three separate rooms each accessed externally by separate doors on the south façade. The room to the left (eastern) side has a small window opening that now has a small timber sheeted door. The middle room has a small window opening to the right side of the door. Door and window openings are all irregularly sized and spaced. The rear north façade is blind.

Building 1C Two-cell Building at east end
To the right of centre on the east front façade is a door opening. On either side there are two irregularly spaced and sized window openings. The south gable is blind while high in the apex of the north gable there is a small window opening. On the far right side of the west façade there is a door opening.

‘Modernised’ dwelling
This is a simple linear gable-ended single-storey house, with large picture windows, flat-roofed porch extension, pebble dash render, rebuilt (brick) chimneystacks and an artificial ‘slate’ roof. The building was not surveyed, however map evidence and its wall thickness, suggests that it may be pre-1832. A single-storey garage is set to the West side; this was not surveyed. A laneway runs to the rear of the house and the south side of the lane is bounded by a four-cell grouping (Building 2). To the east of this is a further outbuilding (Building 3), and to the east of this is a small orchard within which is set a small-detached ‘sentry-box’ dry closet.

Buildings 2A & 2B- Four-cell grouping
This comprises two abutting outbuildings; that to the right side is three-cell Building (2B) while that to the left is single-cell (2A). The north façade of the former has two double-width door openings to the left side and a single width opening to the right; a small window opening is set to the left of the single-width door. The west gable has two window openings, one set high in the apex the other much smaller and set directly below. A screen wall with a door opening links this gable with the garage creating a small suntrap.

The single cell portion of the grouping (2A) is slightly lower and is entered on the east gable. The south façade of the grouping has one window to the left of centre. The north façade has two widows.

Building 3 Two-cell Outbuilding
This is a two-cell structure. To the west façade there are two door openings with a window to the far right side. The gables are blind; the east façade has a small window to the left side.

General
Apart from the ‘modernised dwelling’ the walls throughout the grouping are lime washed fieldstone rubble. Many of the walls have been patched and some gables have been patched / raised; various materials have been employed, including brick and block.

The roofs are all covered with corrugated-iron, and, with the exception of the byre to the left side of the vernacular house, all are pitched. There are two squat chimneystacks rising from the ridge of the house. Verges vary and include parapets and closed eaves. The rainwater goods are mainly in uPVC, small areas of galvanised metal remain but much of this is missing- or was not installed in the first place.

The doors throughout are timber sheeted and include a number of half-doors. Much of the ironmongery is vernacular in manufacture. The window frames vary and include timber sash of various configuration and a number of Crittall-style steel frames. There are a number of timber lintels exposed internally and externally. A number of the window openings have been patched.

Historical information

The house to the north (Building 1A), and the outbuilding set at a right-angle to the east (1C) are shown on the 1832 six-inch OS map, however, it is difficult to be certain whether the small byre to the west end was present at this point. To the south, a structure which appears to match the present 'modernised' house is depicted on the map; however, once again it is difficult to be certain if this is the same building which exists at present. Various other structures are set to the south and east, all of which have been cleared away.

The valuation of the same year lists the various components of the grouping as consisting of house measuring 56ft x 21½ x 8½, with 'offices' of 18 x 21½ x 9, 56½ x 20 x 5¾ and 19½ x 20 x 5. All of these were thatched, and in the valuer's opinion, relatively old-most likely 18th century. The occupant is listed William McIlwain.

The revised OS map of 1853 shows a similar arrangement, although several structures to the south have been cleared away. In the valuation of 1857 the grouping recorded as being split between a number of occupants, with Building 1 and ever thing to the west and south in the hands of William and James Clendinning, with a Thomas Tracey holding those to the south-east. Traceys' holding are recorded as including a house, which indicates that the present 'modernised' dwelling was present in some form at that date. However, unfortunately no dimensions are supplied with this valuation, .

By 1900 a Thomas Clendinning and John Clendinning were holding the two sections of the grouping with John Clendinning recorded as in possession of the freehold of entire collection in 1922. By this stage Building 1 had assumed its present extent (section 1B having been added some time between 1856 and 1906), whilst Building 2, to the south, had also been constructed. Unfortunately the valuations do not mention the addition of any of these, the value of the property as a whole too low to merit much attention.

In 1970 William Clenndinning is listed as occupant. After his death the property passed to his sister, Mrs Maggie Shaw. In 1989 Mrs Shaw passed it to her son, who in 1994 gave part of the property to his brother. Since then several buildings to the western side of the site have been demolished.

The present owner claims that his ancestors have occupied this site since 1759. Given the evidence presented in the 1832 valuation it seems possible that some of the buildings we see today were standing at that date.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS6/5/47/1 (1832)
2 PRONI VAL1B/523 (1832-33)
3 PRONI OS6/5/47/2 (1853)
4 PRONI VAL2B/5/26B (1857)
5 PRONI VAL12B/34/16A-E (1862-1929)
6 PRONI OS6/5/47/3 (1905-06)
7 PRONI VAL12F/6/7/12 (1930-35)
8 PRONI VAL3B/6/10 (1935)
9 PRONI VAL4B/5/29 (1956-72)

Secondary sources
1 'Ballinderry, faces and places- A photographic history', (Armagh, 2009), pp.213, 220-21
2 Information supplied by present owner (December 2011)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

S. Authenticity
R. Age
T. Historic Importance
Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This clachan-like grouping appears to be of largely pre-1830s construction, with evidence suggesting a possible mid-18th century date for some of the structures. Individually, most of the component buildings have retained their vernacular appearance and detailing. The clachan is of architectural and historical interest as a good and increasingly rare example of a vernacular settlement. Despite some alterations during the twentieth century, the group value is strong.

General comments

Additional listing criteria apply - R - Age, S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance