3 Corliss Road Corliss Crossmaglen Co. Armagh BT35 9AY

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached asymmetrical single-storey four-bay lobby-entry vernacular building with attached outhouse to right hand side and having flat roof entrance porch to south. Evidence of settlement predating Ist Edition OS maps (1832-1846) and with outbuildings to South and Southwest present by time of the OS 3rd Edition map (1900-1907). Access from Corliss Road to the north via rock hewn laneway.

Central portion of roof has corrugated tin sheeting, concealing remnants of thatch beneath with flush verge defining abutment with adjoining natural slate roofs and flanked with lime rendered brick chimneys. Pitched natural slate roofs, either side with terracotta ridge tiles and flush concrete verges to end gables. Flat concrete finish to porch roof. No evidence of any rainwater goods. Roughcast render over rubblestone walling. Square-headed window openings with stone heads and granite sills with remnants of timber window frames, laterally supplanted with timber/metal sheet boarding. Square-headed door opening to front of entrance porch with timber door frame and vertical sheeting to door. End RHS bay, assumed to be an outhouse with single door opening.

Rear, north elevation is partially retaining with 1no square-headed window opening, stone sill with single opening timber-framed window to right hand side of central corrugated roof section. East elevation (of outhouse) has exposed rubble stone wall with flush verge and remains of single window opening, near apex of gable, with stone head and boarded with timber planks. West elevation blank with exposed rubble wall and flush verge.

Single storey detached outbuilding to southwest (Outbuilding 1) with pitched natural slate roof, flush verge with no rainwater goods. Front elevation faces north with exposed rubble stone walling, centrally positioned double door size opening, clad with horizontal corrugated sheeting. Both side elevations (East and West) have timber framed, single door openings with remains of vertical timber sheeted doors. Attached to rear (South) remains of corrugated sheeted mono pitched roof enclosure with rubble stone walls intermittent with concrete block and vertical corrugated tin infill. Ruinous rubble stone walls located to the east and linked to Outbuilding 2 (to Southeast) via double gated rubble stone piers with original gates insitu.

Single storey three bay asymmetrical detached outbuilding to southeast (Outbuilding 2) with pitched corrugated tin roof, flush verge with no rainwater goods. Front elevation faces north with exposed rubble stone walling, off centre timber framed door with high level metal framed, four paned window to right. Attached to left, lower pitched corrugated tin roof with fully exposed opening to north. Rubble stone walling with flush verges to elevation facing east with single stone headed square window aperture in centre of gable. Attached to right and to LHS gate pillar, nondescript mono pitched, corrugated tin roof with exposed rubblestone walls.

Setting:
The complex is located to the south of Corliss Road set within descending, uneven ground with rock outcrops.
ncreasingly rare surviving example of hearth-lobby vernacular dwelling with attendant surviving outbuildings which though no longer in domestic use, retains its historic farmyard
setting. Outbuildings are arranged around the forecourt of the south facing dwelling. Eastern enclosure of forecourt defined with more recent, mono pitched concrete structure. The principal dwelling retains a strong vernacular quality with protruding windbreak, irregularly placed openings with pitched corrugated tin and slated roofs which likely replaced thatch. The surviving outbuildings complement the dwelling and altogether form a pleasing complex further enriched by outbuildings and rubble stone walling delineating the complex. The survival of interior fittings and furniture further enrich the complex and provide an insight into the way of life of farmers with small holdings in earlier times and of the rich variety of vernacular house styles and types in rural Armagh. The principal dwelling house pre-dates 1835. This is a good example of a relatively untouched vernacular complex in this rural setting.

Roofing: Natural slate, corrugated tin
Walling: Random rubblestone, render
Windows: Timber frame/metal frame
RWG: none

Historical information

The current lobby-entry vernacular dwelling with attached outbuilding pre-dates the first edition OS map of 1835, two detached outbuildings being added c1890.

A dwelling of vernacular proportions is shown on the first edition OS map of 1835 and the 2nd edition of 1862. The dwelling house is listed in Griffith’s Valuation of 1864 as the residence of Peter Roddy (also spelled Ruddy in later records), who leases the house and outbuildings at a valuation of 15s from local landlord Thomas P Ball. Two detached outbuildings were added to the site between 1862 and 1907 and this may have led to a change that occurred in 1890, when the valuation of house and outbuildings was raised to £1.10s. The house also appears to have extended lengthwise somewhat between 1862 and 1907, perhaps due to the addition of the attached outbuilding to the right of the dwelling.

The house can be identified in the censuses of 1901 and 1911. In 1901, farmer Peter Ruddy lived in the house with his wife Anne and seven children ranging in age from 4 to 14. Anne remained at the house in 1911, now a widow, with five of their children. The house is recorded as thatched in both censuses, with three windows to the front elevation and three rooms. There were 5 to 6 outbuildings at this time (sections of a single structure were counted as individual outbuildings).

At the time of the First General Revaluation in 1933, the house continued to be occupied by the Ruddy family. Dimensions are given for the building, which consisted of a kitchen and two bedrooms. The central two bays of the house (measuring 26x17x10 feet) were thatched at this time, while the left-hand bay (16x17x9) was slated (the right-hand bay is the attached outbuilding).

The detached outbuilding to the west of the site was extended after 1956. Although no longer inhabited, the interior of the dwelling remains relatively intact, with what appear to be original roof timbers as well as original hearth with rotary bellows and fire crane, and jamb wall with 'logie hole'.

References:

Primary Sources:

1. PRONI OS/6/2/30/1 First Edition Six Inch OS map (1835)
2. PRONI OS/6/2/30/2 Second Edition Six Inch OS map (1862)
3. Griffith’s Valuation townland of Corlis (www.askaboutireland.ie) (1864)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/12/4A-D (1859-1929) Annual Revision Lists, ED Moybane
5. PRONI OS/6/2/30/3 Third Edition Six Inch OS map (1907)
6. PRONI VAL/3/C/2/13 (1935-1957) First General Revaluation, Rural District of Newry, Vol 2
7. PRONI VAL/3/D/2/6/K/2 (1933-57) Valuers RV Binder, ED Moybane
8. PRONI OS/6/2/30/4 Fourth Edition Six Inch OS map (1956-7)
9. Census of Ireland, 1901 and 1911

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
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

Increasingly rare surviving example of hearth-lobby vernacular dwelling with attendant surviving outbuildings which though no longer in domestic use, retains its historic farmyard setting. The principal dwelling retains a strong vernacular quality with protruding windbreak, irregularly placed openings with pitched corrugated tin and slated roofs which likely replaced thatch. The surviving outbuildings complement the dwelling and altogether form a pleasing complex further enriched by outbuildings and rubble stone walling delineating the complex. The survival of interior fittings and furniture further enrich the complex and provide an insight into the way of life of farmers with small holdings in earlier times and of the rich variety of vernacular house styles and types in rural Armagh. The principal dwelling house pre-dates 1835. This is a good example of a relatively untouched vernacular complex in this rural setting.