84 Melvin Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single storey, four bay, direct entry thatched house with whitened stone wall construction.
The house faces north-east behind a hedge and lawn set back from the road that travels north-west from Garrison just over two miles from the village.
The roof is thatched between concrete parapet gables. There are three rows of scollops exposed at the ridge and one at the eaves. A corbelled chimneystack rises from each gable and there is a further stack over the position of the kitchen hearth. There are no pots.
The entrance with a timber framed and sheeted door is provided with small door blocks. To the left (south-east) of the entrance there are three vertically sliding windows with horizontal division of sashes, curved sash stops and sills of traditional depths. There is one window to the right.
The fenestration at the rear is made up of four windows similar to those at the front. Except that the light in the rear wall of the kitchen has vertical division of the sashes.
A pair of stores with a pitched concrete roof abuts the north-west gable. They are entered by sheeted doors on the front and rear sides.

Historical information

The house was re-thatched in 1985 by Gerry Agnew using straw.
Repair of the thatch was carried out in 1987 by Gerry Agnew using straw.
Flax was used by Gerry Agnew in 1991 to re-thatch the rear slope and repair the front of the roof
Patching of the thatch was carried out in 1996 by Master Thatchers.
The house was re-thatched in 1997 by Frank Gilligan using straw.
Repair of the thatch was completed in 2003 by Frank Gilligan.

References – Primary Sources

1. OS map, 1st edition 1834, Co. Fermanagh sheet 8. The house appears on this map as existing.
2. OS map, 1st revision 1855, Co. Fermanagh sheet 8

Secondary Sources

1. Survey of Thatched Buildings 1992, report by Colin Hatrick to EHS.
2. Monitoring of Thatched buildings, report by Michele McFaul, May 1994.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A single storey, four bay direct entry thatched house with whitened stone wall construction.
The building remains in original form retaining all of the appropriate features including windows, doors, fireplace and sheeted ceiling in the kitchen. The insertion of the bathroom is acceptable as a means of introducing this amenity within the existing shell. The cut woodwork that forms the roof structure is acceptable as it supports traditional construction above including a bed of scraws.