25 Slopes Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Long single storey vernacular house of probable pre 1830 construction, with a half thatched, half corrugated iron covered gabled roof. The property is set on sloping ground at the end of a country lane to the SW of Slopes Road roughly 5km SW of Portadown.

The asymmetric front elevation faces roughly NE. Roughly to the centre is the front entrance which consists of a relatively recent partly glazed door set within an equally recent-looking shallow flat roofed, (presumably concrete constructed), open porch. To the left of the doorway are three roughly evenly spaced and roughly similar sized, square windows. The window to far left (which is marginally larger than the other two) has a recent top hung timber frame, the other two have Georgian-like six pane timber frames. To the right of the doorway are two square windows with similar recent top hung timber frames. Due to the sloping ground the left hand side of the elevation is considerably lower than the right hand side. The front elevation is finished in white washed roughcast.

The SE gable is blank and has a central projecting chimney breast. This gable is finished in unpainted cement render. Originally this gable was not exposed as the building was once considerably longer.

The NW gable is blank and finished in white washed roughcast. To the right hand side of the gable part of the roughcast has fallen away revealed mud construction.

To the far left on the rear elevation there is a square-ish window with top hung timber frame. To right of this is a broader window with timber frame with top hung upper openers. To the right again is a square window with top hung timber frame. To immediate right of this is a small extension with a shallow pitched corrugated iron lean-to roof. To the NW face of the extension is a square window with recent two light frame. To the SW face is a larger window with recent three light frame. To the SE face is a plain timber sheeted door. The rear elevation is finished as front.

The NW half of the gabled roof is scallop thatched with coped parapets and a small rendered chimneystack to SE. The SE half of the roof is set at a lower level and covered with corrugated iron with a rendered parapet to SE gable with small rendered chimneystack. Metal guttering to SW half.

The SE half of the house has considerably narrower walls to its SE, suggesting brick construction to this portion. All of the windows have painted (concrete?) cills.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834, but it was noticeably longer than the building in 2002. As with many single storey dwellings the property was not recorded in the contemporary valuation, but was recorded in that of 1860, when the building contained two dwellings, that to north-west in the hands of a Bernard O’Neill, with a John Dines in possession of that to SE. It is likely that the 1860 structure is that shown on the 1834 map.

In c.1880 the whole building was acquired by the McCosker (or McCusker) family, who remained there until the 1920s at least. Some time after this (possibly the 1930s-40s) the dwelling to the south-east was demolished. It was likely that the sitting room section to the end of the dwelling as recorded in 2002 (a section that appeared to be brick built) was added shortly after the demolition.

On the 20th of July 2003 sparks from a rubbish fire ignited the thatch which began to burn in the wind. Fire Brigage attended and pulled out sections of roof to allow burn to finish. Roof timbers and chimney collapsed. Building Control insisted upon demolition of remaining building due to safety concerns over access past building. Building gone before EHS or Planning Service consulted.

References- Primary sources

1 PRONI VAL/1B/350 First valuation book, Tullylish parish, c.1835
2 PRONI VAL/1A/3/19 First valuation map of Tullylish parish etc., (based on OS 6in map of 1834, Co Down, sh 19), c.1835
3 PRONI VAL/2B/3/48b Second valuation notebook, Tullylish parish, c.1860
4 PRONI VAL/1A/3/19 Second valuation map of Tullylish parish etc., (based on revised OS 6in map of 1858, Co Down, sh 19), c.1860
5 PRONI VAL/12B/21/8a-f Annual valuation revision notebooks, Tullylish parish (Clare ED), 1866-1923

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed
Not listed

Evaluation

Site of a long single storey vernacular house parts of which are of probable pre 1830 construction, with a half thatched, half corrugated iron covered gabled roof. Building lost following a fire in 2003