Farm complex near 9 Cavan Rd

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small two storey / two bay vernacular farmhouse, set within a complex of outbuildings, at end of a lane on S side of Cavan Road. Abutting right gable of house is a large farm outbuilding, the end of which incorporates a third bay to the house.

Pitched natural slate roof (slates nearly all stripped). Left gable has cement rendered skews and a cement rendered chimney. Right gable has been built upon to form the higher gable of the outbuilding, and contains a second similar chimney. Semicircular cast iron rainwater goods on advanced brick eaves.

North facing front elevation is built in granite field stone, laid randomly with a lime render (now mostly worn away). The stonework shows a distinct break between the left and right bays, suggesting the left bay is a later addition. A similar wall break in the join with the outbuilding to right shows the latter to be later also.

Front entrance is within a gabled porch which abuts the left end of the right bay. Porch has a pitched natural slate roof and walls are lime rendered brickwork. Doorway is on its front gable; door was sheeted timber with an additional external half door, both gone but for hinges and some timbers. Left cheek of porch is blank. Right cheek has a small three paned (horizontally divided) fixed timber window.

To right of porch, at ground floor, is a pair of steel casements, with concrete cill set within an enlarged original opening. The wall around this opening has been cement rendered up to the cill level of the first floor windows. At ground floor on left bay is a similar steel casement window. Both windows now sheeted over with corrugated iron.

There is a small single window to each bay on first floor, in line with original openings below. Both are 6/3 exposed box sliding sashes with horns and cement rendered cills. Their cills are at floor level and their heads are formed by the advanced brick eaves course.

Left gable of main block is blank, but marks in the render suggest it was abutted by a corrugated roofed lean-to.

Rear elevation of main block is abutted to left by a lean-to return. The remaining wall is lime rendered and has a small 1/1 sliding sash window with no cill at ground floor right.

Rear return has a lean-to corrugated metal roof, which meets main block just below eaves level. Rear wall of return is of corrugated metal as well, and blank. Both cheeks are of cement rendered concrete blockwork; left cheek is blank and right one has a doorway (door gone).

Right gable of house has been built upon and now forms party wall with outbuilding which incorporates third bay of the house.

Outbuilding

Two-storey outbuilding is three times the length of house and slightly higher but of the same depth. It has a pitched natural slate roof and has a chimney (serving the house) on its left gable. Semicircular cast iron rainwater goods on advanced brick eaves.

Walls are unrendered roughly-dressed granite random rubble brought to courses, with some brick dressings to openings. This building is later in date than the house. There are three ground floor openings. To left is a 6/6 sliding sash window (boarded over) serving third bay of house. To ground floor centre is a sheeted timber door and to right a steel I beam has been inserted to create a wide modern opening from which is a top hung corrugated metal rolling door. To first floor left is a ¾ height sheeted timber loading door and to centre is a small sash window with horns and no cill (boarded over). To right end is a similar larger sash window.

Right gable of outbuilding is blank at ground floor and has a sheeted loading door to first floor.

Rear elevation of outbuilding has four square ventilation holes at ground floor from centre to right and at extreme right is a small 1/1 sash window serving third bay of house. At first floor centre is a ¾ height loading door and to left and right ends are windows openings.

Setting

To north (front) of house a yard area is enclosed by two ranges of single storey outbuildings with stone walls very similar in detail to the two-storey outbuilding and corrugated metal roofs. To south of house is a similar ruinous outbuilding, and to west is a Dutch barn with an enamel plaque reading, ‘Supplied by W. G. Hagan Lisburn’.

Historical information

A building is shown here on the 1833 OS 6” map, but is not cited in the 1838 first valuation. This indicates that it had a valuation of less than £5 – it may well comprise some or all of the existing building.

Wall breaks indicate that the kitchen formed an original single bay house. It is likely to have been extended with the addition of the parlour. The outbuilding is built on the right gable of the house and of much different (late 19th c) construction. During 20th century the rear scullery was added and the ground floor windows enlarged.

Primary Sources:
1. 1st edition OS map Down Sheet 42 (1834).
2. First valuation book (PRONI: VAL 1B/ 354).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Although this vernacular building is in very poor condition, it illustrates the evolution of such buildings and is thus of some historical interest. However, it is not special enough to merit statutory protection.