17 Cavan Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached multi-bay single-storey over basement with attic-storey rendered house, built c.1730. Rectangular on plan, facing east, set within its own grounds on the northeast side of Cavan Road, set perpendicular to the road with an attached outbuilding to the rear (incorporating kitchen) and an L-plan range of rubble outbuildings forming a rear yard.

Pitched artificial slate roof, black clay ridge tiles, three replacement grey brick chimneystacks and replacement metal guttering supported on wrought-iron and steel brackets to rendered brick eaves course, some cast-iron downpipes. Pitched natural slate roof to attached outbuilding (south), with terracotta ridge tiles and no rainwater goods. Painted pebbledash rendered walling, smooth rendered plinth course and smooth rendered rusticated quoins. Square-headed window openings with smooth rendered surrounds, concrete sills and replacement timber casement windows.

Front southeast elevation is six windows wide with a central square-headed door opening accessed by four large stone steps. Replacement timber doorcase, inserted c.1930, comprises raised-and-fielded four panelled timber door with Art Nouveau brass door furniture and rectangular overlight with margin lights. Doorcase set within painted carved stone surround with bull-nosed reveals. Three square-headed openings to the basement level, two having redbrick sills at ground level and now boarded up with a larger opening to the north end having an angled head and three rough-hewen stone steps descending to a replacement vertically-sheeted timber door.

Gabled south side elevation has a pair of windows to ground floor level, a further pair of windows to attic-storey level and a single opening to basement with timber door. A single-storey rubblestone outbuilding is abbuted to the rear, flush to the south gable, with the pebbledash render finish to the right bay only, having a landscape window opening with timber casement window and concrete sill.

The rear elevation has an irregular placement of window openings to the ground floor and at eaves level, with timber casement windows and concrete sills. The north elevation to the attached outbuilding contains a further landscape window opening and a lean-to porch with window opening and door opening having hardwood glazed door.

North side gable has a pair of small window openings at attic level (now boarded up). Remnants of a rubblestone lean-to structure has left the rubblestone walling exposed at ground floor level, with pebbledash render above.

Gravel drive encircles the front and side elevations opening onto a short front avenue to the south opening onto the road via a pair of large pebbledash rendered piers with wrought-iron gates. Mature trees to the southern part of the site are enclosed by a dry-stone wall to the road with a concrete paved drive leading past the attached outbuilding into a gravel rear yard. An L-plan range of lofted single-storey rubblestone outbuildings with replacement sheeted stell roofs and timber plank doors.

Roof Fibre cement slate
Walling Painted pebbledash render
Rainwater goods Replacement steel / cast-iron
Windows Replacement timber casement

Historical information

The house would appear to date from the early eighteenth century. A genealogy of the Edwards family records that Robert Edwards (c.1676-c.1747) ‘had Kilcroagh by lease from Hugh Edwards [his grandfather] for his life and for the lives of his sons Edward and Matthew’. Robert Edwards appears to have been the builder of the house and Edward Edwards ‘sold his interest in Kilcroagh to his brother Matthew on 18 November 1747’, after the death of their father.

A house on the site is present on the first edition OS map of 1833. On the second and subsequent editions, this is captioned ‘Kilcroagh House’. A small outbuilding is shown to the north east of the house on the second edition of 1855. By the third edition of 1905 this has been extended to form the fourth side of a courtyard to the rear of the house.

The Townland Valuation (1828-40) lists a dwelling house, two offices and a ‘cellar as office or store’ valued at £4.14s. The occupier is Nehemiah Edwards, son of Matthew (see above) whose family grave is in Derg Parish churchyard and bears the following inscription, “Here sleep in the Lord Jesus the mortal remains of Nehemiah H. Edwards late of Kilcroagh who departed this life April 5th 1846 aged 85 years also of Elizabeth his wife who died November 24th 1859 aged 84 years also the remains of their son The Rev. Edward Edwards, B.A., J.P for 50 years Clergyman of this Parish who died 1st July 1881 aged 79 years also of their eldest son John Edwards who died 31st March 1887 aged 89 years.”

Griffith’s Valuation of 1859 lists a house, offices and land, the building valuation being £7.10s. The occupier is John Edwards and he leases the property from the Reverend John Bagot. William King Edwards becomes the lessor in 1886 and the occupier changes to William Owens in 1895 when the house is also declared to be ‘in bad repair’ and the valuation reduced to £5.

In 1915 the occupier is Mick McHale and in 1918, Patrick McHale has purchased the property under land purchase legislation of the early twentieth century and is the owner in fee. The house and offices are valued at £10 in 1922, perhaps indicating a rebuilding or remodelling of the property.

In 1933 Patrick ‘McGale’ is still the owner and the house comprises a kitchen, five rooms, two attic bedrooms and two lumber rooms. It is valued at £6.10s and £3.10s for outbuildings. The valuer comments, ‘House is damp, bright rooms. Clean water quarter mile away’. The house is single storey and is of rubble masonry and slated. Some outbuildings are roofed with corrugated iron.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI D3000/114 – “A table of some descendants of Hugh Edwards who died AD 1672”
2. PRONI OS/6/6/16/1 – First Edition OS Map (1833)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/16/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1855)
4. PRONI OS/6/6/16/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1905)
5. PRONI OS/6/6/16/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1939)
6. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/16 – Townland Valuation Map
7. PRONI VAL/1/B/633 – Townland Valuation (1828-40)
8. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/16 – Griffiths’ Valuation Map
9. PRONI Printed Griffith’s Valuation, Union of Castlederg (1859)
10.PRONI VAL/12/B/35/6A-F – Annual Revision Records (1860-1929)
11. PRONI VAL/3/D/7/1N/1 – Valuers’ RV Binder (1933-57)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This early-eighteenth-century house, although having replacement windows and fibre cement slate roof, conceals an interior which stillcontains some original fabric including timber panelled doors and deep panelled door linings of varying dates and styles. In addition the room layout indicates an early date with the rooms laid out on different levels and divided by thick stone walls. While the attic was not accessed the basement appears to have been left unfinished at the time of construction, revealing the early rubble wall construction and early timber floor of the ground floor. Together with its elevated mature setting and enhanced by a range of re-roofed outbuildings, this house represents one of the earliest structures in the area with associations to the Edwards family and the history of Castlederg. Despite the early construction date this house has been substantially altered and the alterations have diminished its architectural interest.