15 Ardcame Road, Strabane, Co Tyrone BT82 0LT

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached three-bay two-storey house, built c.1930, located to the south side of Ardcame Road. L-shaped-on-plan with two-storey projecting bay to west further abutted at ground floor by canted bay; single-storey veranda porch to re-entrant angle to west.

Roof is hipped natural slate with terracotta ridge tiles over deep overhanging eaves supported by corbelled brackets; yellow brick corbelled chimneys with ornate concrete coping and clay pots. Walls are roughcast with smooth rendered quoins over smooth rendered plinth. Windows are square-headed timber-framed 2/4 sliding sash in smooth moulded architraves; painted masonry sills.

Principal elevation faces west; left bay contains pair of windows at each floor; central bay contains timber entrance door at ground floor surmounted by pair of windows at first floor; bays abutted at ground floor by ornate openwork timber veranda with asbestos tiled roof. Projecting right bay contains canted bay at ground floor with windows to each cheek; pair of windows at first floor.

North elevation contains, to left and right, pair of windows at each floor; single window to each floor at centre; timber entrance door to extreme left surmounted by transom light in smooth moulded architrave.

East elevation contains timber entrance door and window at ground floor; two windows at first floor.

South elevation not surveyed.

Set within mature gardens; bounded from road at north by roughcast walling surmounted by concrete coping; access through pair of wrought-iron gates supported by square roughcast piers with rendered coping to north-west and pedestrian access through wrought-iron gate supported by pair of square roughcast piers with plain concrete coping to north-east.

Roof Natural slate
Walling Roughcast
Windows Timber framed 2/4 sliding sashes
Rainwater goods Cast-iron gutters and round downpipes

Historical information

The house can be dated stylistically to the early twentieth century and first appears on the fourth edition Ordnance Survey map of 1936.

It is first listed in valuation records in 1933, the owner and occupier being W J Gibson. The valuation is subsequently revised from £7.5s to £26 and the outbuildings from £3.15s to £4.5s (changes undated). This may indicate that the house was valued while in the course of construction and a further valuation was carried out once it was complete.

At this time, the house comprises eight rooms, a kitchen, bathroom and W.C and has hot and cold water. A plan and dimensions are given for the main house and outbuildings to the east, including an old dwelling house (HB10/10/020A). The buildings are used for hens, pigs, potatoes and turnips. There is also a motor house, two byres and a barn. The outbuildings are largely composed of rubble masonry and slate, some outbuildings have walls and/or roofs of corrugated iron.

References:

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/6/2/1 – First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/2/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1854)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/2/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1905)
4. PRONI OS/6/6/2/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1936)
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/2 – Townland Valuation Map
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/639A – Townland Valuation (1828-40)
7. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/2 – Griffiths’ Valuation Map
8. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/42C – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/42/18A-F – Annual Revision Records (1860-1924)
10. PRONI VAL/3/D/7/10G/1 – Valuers’ RV Binder (1933-57)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Detached three-bay two-storey house, built c.1930, located to the south side of Ardcame Road. L-shaped-on-plan with two-storey projecting bay to west further abutted at ground floor by canted bay; single-storey veranda porch to re-entrant angle to west. Quirky verandah to entrance elevation and good fenestration throughout. A substantial and characterful building, very much of its time, and of significant local interest, it does not however meet the criteria for listing.