11 Geaglum Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single storey, three bay, direct entry hipped roof thatched house with whitened timber framed wall construction.

The house faces north-east occupying the south-west corner of a wooded site bordering a narrow roadway that travels in a south-easterly direction from a secondary road that emerges from the Teemore to the Lisnaskea/Derrylin road to finish its progress at a jetty opposite Crehan Island in Upper Lough Erne.

The chimney set off centre on the ridgeline of the hipped thatched roof is flaunched below an in situ capping. The flue pipe from the stove in the kitchen projects a little distance. There are two layers of scollops at the ridge and one at the eaves.

The original wall construction was composed of timber framing with 8” wide vertical boarding edged fixed and lath covered. This has been superseded by plywood sheeting also lathed and set above a projecting rendered concrete block base that rises to the top of window sill level.

The timber sheeted entrance door with glazed panel in the upper part is flanked to the left (south-east) and to the right by two vertically sliding windows with sashes divided into two vertically set in decorative surrounds with splayed tops. Sash stops are curved. There are no openings at the sides or at the rear but a timber lean-to scullery at the rear with corrugated Perspex roof has been added. The walls are whitened to match the house, the windows are modern, the entrance door is timber sheeted and the rainwater goods are of plastic. A store with monopitched corrugated asbestos roof is positioned 1 meter away from the south-east gable of the house. The entrance at the front of this building is flanked on either side by a nine pane, 3x 3 window.

Historical information

This site is shown as undeveloped bog land on the 1834 and 1857 OS maps, and recorded as such in the first and second valuations of c.1835 and 1862. The present owner states that the house was built around c.1900 and that the intention behind the timber construction was to reduce the weight on the foundations. When the base of this lightweight construction failed, it became necessary to form the concrete supporting base.

A re-thatching scheme carried out in 1993 was started by Murty Cornyn and completed by another thatcher. Further re-thatching took place in 2000.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/1A/4/39 OS map, County Fermanagh sheet 39, with valuation
references (1834 / 35-c.38)
2 PRONI VAL/1B/413 First valuation, Kinawley (c.1835)
3 PRONI VAL/2A/4/39A Revised OS map, County Fermanagh sheet 39, with valuation references (1857-c.62)
4 PRONI VAL/2B/4/8D Second valuation, Kinawley (1862)

Secondary sources
1 Gailey, Alan, ‘Rural Houses of the North of Ireland’ (Edinburgh, 1984) [General discussion regarding hip-roofed buildings.]
2 Information supplied by the owner (August 2000)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
G. Innovatory Qualities
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A single storey, three bay, direct entry hipped roof thatched house with timber framed wall construction.

The formation of the concrete base was made necessary by the condition of the site that is prone to flooding. On the exterior the intervals between the laths have increased but is acceptable as it perpetuates the early timber construction that is rare and of considerable interest. The appearance of the rear extension detracts from the character of the house and could be improved.