House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single-storey, direct entry, cruck roofed 'thatch under tin' vernacular house of pre-1830 construction. The building is set in a rural location at the end of a long lane to the south of Corrameen Road, roughly 14.5km south of Enniskillen.

The front façade faces north north-west, but for ease of description this is referred to as north. The orientations of all other facades are similarly ‘corrected’.

The house posseses the classic Vernacular layout, being linear and one room deepo the east of the central kitchen is the ‘parlour’ while to the west is the bedroom. Directly over the bedroom is a sleeping loft; the dwelling is therefore, part single-storey part one and a half-storey. Attached to the east gable is a later single-storey shed.

Wall heads to the front and rear walls were crudely raised in concrete block to compensate for the removal of thatch material from the eaves.

To the right of centre of the front south façade is the front door; this is flat-headed and has a timber sheeted timber door. To the left side there is a small window opening while to the right side there are two similar openings; all are flat-headed. Replacement frames are crudely constructed in timber and are fixed single lights. One visible linel is formed of crudely dressed timber. Two windows have concrete cills.

To the right of centre of the north façade there is a further door opening; opening and door are as before. There are no other openings to this face.

Attached to the east gable is a small flat roofed block built shed. The corrugated metal roof is laid at a very shallow angle. There is a door opening to the south façade; the door is missing.

To the centre of the west gable, at first floor level there is a small window opening; the timber sash frame is 1/1.

Corners are formed with squared stone but the main wall surfaces are constructed of random rubble fieldstone; much of the latter stone is rounded suggesting that it was subject to some erosion, perhaps in a stream or river. Walls are finished with lime render, much of this is now missing.

The roof is pitched and covered with corrugated iron. To the right of centre, set on the ridge line, there is a single rendered chimneystack. A timber fascia has been added to the eaves; rainwater goods are mainly missing, surviving portions are galvanized metal.

There are various small sheds and an open-sided corrugated-iron clad hay shed.

Historical information

A building is shown on the OS map of 1834 which appears to match the shape and orientation of the present house. Unfortunately, however the property was of insufficient rateable value to be recorded in the contemporary valuation, so we have none of the usual details of dimensions, occupant, condition and age. On the revised OS map of 1857 both the house and the outbuilding are shown, the latter having replaced an earlier structure, which is shown in a slightly more southeasterly location (in line with the house itself), on the previous map. In the second valuation of 1861 the occupant is noted as one Patrick Gilroy, with Thomas Singleton (of Fortsingleton, Emyvale, Co. Monaghan) the immediate lessor and the rateable value a lowly £1-5-0. Andrew J. Crawford became lessor after the death of Singleton in or around the previous year. Ellen Gilroy is listed as tenant in 1895, with Whitney Upton Moutray the lessor by 1899. John Gilroy succeeded Ellen in 1913, followed by James Gilroy in 1922 and Bernard Gilroy in c.1935 (who also acquired the freehold). In 1957 the property drops out of the valuation, indicating that it was not occupied after this date; however the concrete block work to the wall heads and gables all look post 1950s, suggesting, that the building did remain in use. Moreover, a friend of the former owner -whom he names as Bernard Maguire- states that it was occupied up until 2007.

Trying to ascertain the age of this house is difficult. As noted above, the documents suggest it is pre-1834, however, this is only part of the story, as its cruck roof construction indicates that it is considerably older, probably at least mid to later 18th century, and quite possibly 17th century. Lack of documentary evidence means that it none of this be proven, and it may only through analysis of the timbers (if feasible) that will give us some idea of the date of construction

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL1A/4/38 OS map, County Fermanagh sheet 38, with valuation
references, 1834[-c.1838]
2 PRONI VAL2A/4/38A OS map, County Fermanagh sheet 38, with valuation references, 1857
3 PRONI VAL2B/4/4B Second valuation, Kinawley parish, 1861
4 PRONI VAL12B/26/28A Annual valuation revision book, Kinawley ED, 1864-78
5 PRONI VAL12B/26/28B Annual valuation revision book, Kinawley ED, 1879-81
6 PRONI VAL12B/26/28C Annual valuation revision book, Kinawley ED, 1882-89
7 PRONI VAL12B/26/28D Annual valuation revision book, Kinawley ED, 1890-1909
8 PRONI VAL12B/26/28E Annual valuation revision book, Kinawley ED, 1910-21
9 PRONI VAL12B/26/28F Annual valuation revision book, Kinawley ED, 1922-29
10 PRONI VAL12F/2/6 Annual valuation revision book, Kinawley ED, 1930-35
11 PRONI VAL3B/5/3 First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Kinawley ED, 1936-57
12 PRONI VAL4B/4/6 Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Kinawley ED, 1957-72

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

This house is one of an extremely small number of vernacular dwellings within Northern Ireland that have retained their cruck roof construction, and as such it is a building of considerable age (possibly early 18th or even 17th century) and of considerable importance and rarity value.
Despite some alterations to the exterior including building up the eaves to allow the addition of a protective tin roof this house remains significant and has a complete interior including a rare wattle smoke hood.