24 Ballintate Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey, three-bay symmetrical former dwelling with attached single-storey scullery/outbuilding of 1933-34, located down lane to SE rear side of No.22 Ballintate Road, in a rural
setting with adjacent agricultural buildings, approximately seven miles NW of Camlough, Co Armagh. The latter is a small village located approximately four miles W of Newry, Co. Down.

The NW gable elevation faces towards the rear of No.22, with the front façade facing towards the NE.
The house is set back from and raised above the laneway, with the front garden bounded by a cement-rendered retaining wall with two rows of exposed concrete blockwork on top on NE and SE sides. Pair of square-plan, cement-rendered piers with pyramidal copings form a pedestrian entrance with steps leading to front door. Post and wire fence boundary on NW side.

Rectangular on plan, gable walls of the house are constructed of red brick, with sand/cement render (large area of red brick exposed on NW gable), and painted corrugated iron sheet to both front and rear facades affixed to a timber frame with screws and washers. Cement-rendered plinth with decorative metal ventilation grilles.
Fibre-cement tiled pitched roof (each tile has chamfered corners) with red clay ridge tiles, and two red brick chimneys with yellow clay pots, one at each gable-end.

The attached single-storey scullery/outbuilding on SE is clad in painted corrugated iron sheet, with a barrel-vaulted roof of same, supported on timber purlins with curved sarking boards.

All windows are 1/1, timber sliding sash with timber cills, some with scrolled horns (unless otherwise stated), not all retain glazing.

Front Elevation (NE)
Two storey, three-bay front façade with single-storey attached outbuilding to left side.
Central door opening with decorative timber door, likely contemporary with the house, with oval top light (opaque patterned glazed pane mostly missing) and T&G timber panelling beneath. Oblong overlight with opaque patterned glazing, all within timber frame.
Single window openings flank the front door on ground floor level, with three windows aligned above on first floor level.
The outbuilding on left side has a door opening towards its right side containing a timber sheeted door with metal letterbox, and a rectangular perspex overlight.

Gable Elevation (NW) – approach
Ruled & lined sand/cement render, red brick section exposed where render has fallen away (built in a variation of English garden wall bond with four rows of stretchers between a row of headers). No openings.

Gable Elevation (SE)
Abutted by single-storey outbuilding. Exposed gabled wall above outbuilding is ruled & lined render, no openings. End (SE) elevation of outbuilding has a central single opening (no door) and a rectangular window aligned above with a three-pane metal-framed window.

Rear Elevation (SW)
The house has two window openings to both ground and first floor levels aligned vertically, and a half-landing window opening to centre. The first floor windows have double-paned top-lights.
Single-storey outbuilding has two window openings, one on left side and one on right.

Materials:
Windows – mostly 1/1 timber sliding sash with horns, single glazing (where extant). Metal window frame to outbuilding.
Walls – cement ruled & lined render on red brick to gables, painted corrugated iron sheet to front and rear elevations and outbuilding
Roof – fibre-cement tiled with red clay ridge tiles to house, curved corrugated iron sheet to outbuilding
RWGs – metal, on metal clip supports

Historical information

This two-storey brick and corrugated metal house with attached single storey scullery/outbuilding was constructed in 1933-4.

The house is first shown on the fourth edition OS map of 1955. Valuation records show that the house was built by local farmer Owen Cunningham and was valued at £1, a relatively low valuation which may be due to the corrugated metal construction. The valuer’s notebook of February 1934 records that Owen Cunningham was living in the house at that time, although it was ‘not yet finished’. The house was intended, once completed, to contain a reception, kitchen and scullery on the ground floor with two bedrooms upstairs.

Dimensions are given for the two-storey house of 30 feet by 14½ feet. The attached single-storey structure was of equal width and was recorded in February 1934 as also being 14½ feet in length, giving a square room. This measurement evidently applied solely to the room used as the scullery mentioned in valuation records (G04). A further bay to the single-storey structure (G05), measuring c10½ feet in length, as depicted on the 4th edition OS map of 1955, appears to have been used as an outbuilding and is not included in the valuation record measurement.

The walls and roof are both recorded in 1934 as corrugated iron. The house passed to Charles Cunningham in 1945, and he appears to have carried out internal redecoration in subsequent years, which is evident from the mid-century wallpaper.

References:

Primary Sources:

1. OS/6/2/21/4 Fourth edition Six Inch OS map (1955)
2. PRONI VAL/3/C/2/12 (1936-57) First General Revaluation, Rural District of Newry, Vol 1
3. PRONI VAL/3/D/2/6/B/1 (1933-57) Valuers RV Binder, ED Ballymyre

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
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

Two-storey, three-bay, former dwelling with attached single-storey scullery/outbuilding, clad in corrugated iron, located in a rural setting approximately seven miles NW of Camlough, Co Armagh.
Constructed in 1933-34, the house has an unusual structural system with corrugated iron sheeting supported on a timber or metal frame to front and rear facades, with rendered brick gable walls. Internally the house retains its plan-form and historic fabric and detailing, such as original joinery. Despite the replacement of the original tin roof with fibre cement tiles, much of the original fabric remains.
Corrugated-iron houses are now an exceptionally rare type in N. Ireland with fewer than approximately 12 structures remaining, and fewer than approximately 95 in all of Ireland. In addition, as a two-storey example it is exceptionally rare as it appears to be one of only two standing on the island of Ireland (the other is Cashelard Post Office, Cavangarden, Co Donegal). No.24 Ballintate Road adds interest to its rural setting and is of local interest.