Turmoyra Farm

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single-storey three-bay hearth-lobby-entry mud-walled vernacular dwelling, built c.1850, located east of Boconnell Lane, in close proximity to Oxford Island. Rectangular plan with breakfront porch, rear outshot, two-storey addition to SW, and attached lean-to outbuildings to NE.

Steeply pitched corrugated-metal roof to main block, with lead ridge-capping and two red brick chimneystacks located to NE gable and to left of centre; pitched slate roof to addition with single chimneystack to SW gable. Extruded aluminium rainwater goods supported on timber eaves board. Smoke-blackened original sawn rafters and purlins with scraws visible in part, no evidence of thatch remaining. Pitched natural slate roof to two-storey addition with angled-clay ridge tiles and red brick chimneystack to SW gable-end; brick eaves. Mud-walled construction to original block, with brick and rubble stone, beneath layers of limewash; two-storey section is roughcast rendered, apart from the gable, which is an amalgam of brick and rubblestone. Windows are infilled with breeze-block throughout, timber lintels and no cills.

Principal elevation faces SE, asymmetrical with breakfront porch left of centre, two single windows to either side. Extended to SW by the two-storey addition, which has two windows to each floor, aligned to right. The door has been replaced with a hardwood security door.

SW gable completely abutted; addition gable has a blocked up window opening to first floor right.

Rear (NW) elevation has three blocked-up window openings to main section, and to addition; the outshot is located to extreme left. The wall is built up, defining area of former thatch.

NE gable is abutted by lower lean-to outbuildings, in limewashed rubble stone and concrete block with monopitched corrugated metal roof, also with infilled openings. Exposed section is roughcast rendered and blank.

Setting:
Occupying a large open site in a rural
setting with farmland to all sides. Accessed via a long lane off Boconnel Lane, south of the M1 and Oxford Island. To rear is a mature apple orchard with panoramic views from north, east and south.

Roof: Corrugated metal and slate
Walling: Mud, stone and brick
Windows: Infilled; metal framed remains internally
RWG: Replacement

Historical information

The farm first appears on Alex Richmond's maps of the Brownlow estates c.1832, as a smaller building than the current footprint. The first edition OS map (1834) shows that a further two buildings had been constructed on either side of the lane to the north, while the second edition (1859) shows that the building has been extended slightly. The third edition (1906) shows that the farm was developing into a complex of buildings, with a similarly sized block located to the north west.

Located on the outskirts of Lurgan, Turmoyra (spelt Turmoyre in the 1901 census) formed part of the lands granted to the Brownlow family during the plantation of Ulster undertaken by James I, under whose stewardship Lurgan developed significantly.

Two lease agreements signed by William Brownlow, Charles Brownlow' father, dated 1 January 1804 indicate that the land was let to Patrick and Owen Kaine, with Patrick paying a rent of £6, 5 shillings and 10 pence and Owen paying a rent of £13, 8 shillings and six pence. The Griffith’s Valuation of 1864 lists three occupiers, Thomas, Owen and Bernard Kane. Thomas appears to have been the owner of the house, valued at £1, along with the majority of the land.

By 1866 Thomas Kane’s occupancy had passed to Owen, and by 1877 Bernard Kane was sole occupier. At this time the buildings were valued at £2 and the land at £15. By 1901 the occupier was Anne Kane who lived here with her two daughters, son, daughter-in-law and eight grandchildren. The valuation revisions indicate that Anne Kane, with assistance from the government, had purchased the farm under the Land Purchase Act c.1901. By 1911 the land was owned by Anne’s son, Michael Kane, who lived on the property with his wife of 21years, seven children, two sisters, a niece and a nephew.

The farm buildings surrounding the house, including the substantial block located to the north west, have been demolished in recent years.

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/62/6/1 First Edition Ordnance Survey map, 1834
2. PRONI OS/62/6/2 Second Edition Ordnance Survey map, 1859
3. PRONI OS/62/6/3 Third Edition Ordnance Survey map, 1905-06
4. PRONI OS/62/6/4 Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map, 1905-38
5. PRONI D1928/P/1A Brownlow estate maps, 1751
6. PRONI D1928/P/4A Brownlow estate maps, 1832
7. PRONI D1928/L/72/14 Lease from William Brownlow, Brownlowsderry, to Owen Kaine, Turmoyra.
8. PRONI D1928/L/72/15 Lease from William Brownlow, Brownlowsderry, to Roger Kaine, Turmoyra.
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/14/3A General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1864-1875
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/14/3B General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1875-1885
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/14/3D General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1901-1908
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/14/3E General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1908-1920
13. PRONI VAL/12/B/14/3F General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1920-1929

Online Sources

1. The National Archives of Ireland, 1901 census
(http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Armagh/Brownlows_Derry/Turmoyre/)
2. The National Archives of Ireland, 1911 census
(http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Armagh/Brownlows_Derry/Turmoyra/)
3. Griffiths Valuation, Turmoura, Parish of Seagoe (http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Turmoyra Farm is a single-storey hearth-lobby entry vernacular house, likely to date from at least the early 19th century, with a later two-storey extension, added mid C19th. Originally a group of three buildings on a site which was developed into the early 20th century, this building is the only structure remaining. Although vacant and somewhat degraded, it displays traditional construction techniques and materials, and conforms to the regional typology of a homogenous group of mud-walled buildings in the lower Lough Neagh area, sharing plan form, materials (mud and brick), and linear extension. Smoke-blackened original timbers and scraws also survive, although the thatch has been removed. The extension appears to be constructed of handmade brick, presumably locally manufactured. The survival of the loft over the hearth and the logie window in the screen wall are significant as remants of the simple lifestyle associated with dwellings of this type. Interest is enhanced due to rarity value, and despite the proximity of the motorway, the rural setting remains largely intact.