102 Drummanmore Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A one and a half storey, three bay, lobby entry thatched house with a roughcast external finish above a plain rendered recessed base.

The house is accessed by means of a pair of flat iron gates and a short driveway and faces south-east overlooking Drummanmore Road. This road extends northwards from the Armagh / Portadown Road a little over a mile from the city. The house lies about three-quarters of a mile along Drummanmore Road, which leads eventually to Loughgall.

The roof covering is terminated on the right-hand (north-east) gable by narrow copings which are exposed at the sides. They are otherwise covered by the thatch. At the other extremity the thatch abuts against the rendered gable of the barn. Three rows of scollops are exposed at the ridge and there is none at the eaves. Cast concrete sections along the top of the front and the back walls act as corbel coursing.

A corbelled roughcast chimneystack rises on the right-hand (north-east) gable and a similar feature serves the living room fireplace. Each stack is provided with a pair of tall pots all with spark arresters.

The entrance placed to left of centre contains a pair of doors, each of two chamfered vertical panels, surmounted by a plain fanlight and with full height sidelights containing vertically sliding glazing with sashes divided into two horizontally. The sash stops are moulded, the exposed framing terminates in cover mouldings and sills are of traditional depths. A stone inset in the wall surface above the entrance is inscribed “RMC 1785”

There are three vertically sliding windows to the right (north-east) of the entrance and two to the left. Sash stops are moulded, exposed framing terminates in cover mouldings and sills are of traditional depths.

There are three similar windows in the right-hand gable one at low level and two lighting the upper accommodation.

Starting from the left-hand (north-west) corner the fenestration at the rear is made up of the following; -
Three vertically sliding windows similar to those described already; firstly one lighting a bathroom formed at the rear of the sitting room and then two in the wall of the living room. Above the latter two a small horizontal window below the eaves provides light to the first floor bathroom.

Following this the kitchen projection with external finish to match the main house has a thatched roof terminated by a deep timber bargeboard and with timber fascias at the sides. There are three rows of exposed scollops at the ridge and none at the eaves. The fenestration and doorway are modern and the sills are narrow. A small square roughcast chimneystack with plain capping is set in the angle that the extension makes with the outbuilding. It has one pot similar to those on the main house and it is provided with a spark arrester.

The two-storey outbuilding that is contiguous with the house on the south-west side is of random rubble stone construction with red brick dressings and the pitched roof is of natural slate.

Starting from the south-west corner on the front elevation there is a large semi-elliptical arched wagon opening with three courses of red brick, two timber sheeted doors with segmental heads, a window opening in a cement surround and finally a door similar to those already described.

There is a small hatch made up of wide timber boards above the archway and a full height two stage loading bay door above the central doorway. The upper leaf is made up of narrower boards than those used on the lower part.

A doorway at upper level in the gable is of wide boards and a window opening at low level has been blocked with corrugated iron sheeting.

The walling at the rear of the barn exhibits two periods of construction with the last built south-west section about half the width of its neighbour. There is a door opening at the extreme left of the elevation, a further timber sheeted door at upper level and three small openings.

The interior of the outbuilding is divided into two compartments and is provided with timber framed stalls.

Historical information

A house is shown on this site on the OS map of 1835, but not included in the near contemporary valuation. It is recorded in the second valuation however, in which Sir Capel Molyneaux is leasing the property to a Joseph Stoops with the rateable value calculated at £4. The property also included an orchard at that stage.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/1A/2/16 1st. Edition.OS map, County Armagh sheet 16, with valuation
references (1835)
2 PRONI VAL/2A/2/16B 2nd. Edition OS map, County Armagh sheet 16, with valuation references (1860 [-c.62])
3 PRONI VAL/2B/2/10A Second valuation, Grange (1862)

A stone inset above the entrance is inscribed with a date of 1785.
The house appears on the 1835 OS map as a simple rectangle. There is a small outbuilding opposite the left-hand (south-west) corner and another of similar size a short distance to the right (north-east)

EHS file. - Miscellanous items of information since time of listing.

Secondary Sources
Survey of Thatched Buildings 1992, report by Colin Hatrick to EHS
Monitoring of Thatched Buildings, report by Colin Hatrick to EHS 16 June 1994

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A one and a half storey,three bay, lobby entry thatched house with a roughcast external finish above a plain rendered recessed base. The house which faces south-east is accessed by means of a pair of flat iron gates and a short driveway.A scheme of restoration carried out has attempted to follow traditional forms of detailing. In general this has been successful and the vernacular character survives.. The house is of at least early 19th.C date but could be much earlier.