33 Clontigora Hill

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A symmetrical two storey, two bay vernacular house aligned E-W. It is set below road level directly on a bend on Clontigora Hill with rear elevation to road. The left bay is wider and contains the entrance porch.

Pitched natural slate roof with tiled verges and a brick chimney to each gable. A timber eaves board supports half-round metal rainwater goods.

Façade is whitewashed lime-rendered with contrasting base course. All other elevations are lined and rendered. Rear elevation has stepped quoins - for full height of left side, top half only on right side.

Principal elevation faces N. To centre is a projecting porch with a flat tarred roof and modern glazed timber door. Right and left cheeks are blank. To either side of porch is a window. Aligned above, to first floor, are three equally spaced windows. All are 2/2 sliding sashes with horns, except that to ground floor left, which is a top-hung timber casement. All have painted granite cills.

Left and right gables are blank.

Rear elevation has a small 2/2 window to each floor of each bay, spaced to the gable sides of each bay.

Outbuildings:

House has three outbuildings, one to E and W side of front yard, and one to rear separated from house by road. All are lime-rendered rubble stone.

1. That to W has pitched corrugated metal roof. Yard-facing elevation has a large opening at centre, and a t+g sheeted door at right. Gables and rear elevations are blank.

2. That to E has a pitched natural slate roof. Yard-facing elevation has a plain timber door to left of centre and a t+g sheeted door at right. Left gable has two small ventilation openings. Rear elevation has two infilled windows. Right gable is blank.

3. That to rear has a pitched natural slate roof and a door to centre of each elevation. The left gable is blank. Right gable is abutted by a lower, similarly detailed lean-to with a door to E elevation.

Setting:

The site is enclosed from the road by a lime-rendered rubble stone wall and is accessed by a metal gate supported on cylindrical lime-rendered gate piers with tarred conical caps. To front of house is a path leading to a wooded garden, which is enclosed by a rubble stone wall with a small loop-headed wrought-iron gate to centre. A larger wrought-iron gate leads to rear of outbuilding at W.

Historical information

A building is shown here on the 1835 OS map, but it has no valuation. This suggests a one-storey house. The style of the present house suggests a mid 19th century date.

Primary sources:
1. OS 6” map, Co Armagh, sheet 29, 1835 (PRONI – OS 6/2/29/1).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A vernacular house with outbuildings pleasantly situated on a tight bend on Clontigora Hill. It retains its original plan and many interior features and is a good example of an this type of country dwelling.