Drumskee House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Attached multi-bay two-storey rendered former farmhouse, built c.1820. Rectangular on plan facing east and located at the end of a long shared lane to the north of Blackskull Road. Partially demolished single-storey former dwelling attached to the south gable and three two-storey outbuildings lining a rear cobbled yard to the west.

Pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles, four ruled-and-lined cement rendered chimneystacks and replacement metal guttering. Lime washed lime render over rubblestone walling. Square-headed window openings with timber lintels and flush sills. Generally early timber sash windows with exposed sash boxes, some casement replacements to rear.

Assymetrical multi-bay two-storey front east elevation with some eight-over-eight early timber sash windows, two-over-two timber sash windows and later two-over-two horizontally glazed timber sash windows. Square-headed door opening with original flat-panelled timber door with bolection mouldings, iron door furniture and rectangular overlight with coloured glass, opening into an enclosed front garden.

South gable abutted by remains of single-storey former dwelling (now roofless), exposing redbrick wall.

Multi-bay two-storey rendered west rear elevation having some original six-over-six timber sash windows, the remainder being timber casement windows. Central square-headed door opening with early sheeted timber door opening into cobbled rear yard. The north end of the rear elevation is abutted by a two-storey outbuilding with a further bay of the rear elevation extending to the north.

North gable abutted by rendered entrance porch with pitched slate roof.

Setting:
Located at the end of a long bitmac lane to the north of Blackskull Road. Rear yard enclosed to the north by three-bay two-storey stone and redbrick outbuilding, abutting the rear elevation, having gauged brick round-headed openings, corrugated iron roof, flight of external stone steps to the upper level and timber sheeted doors. Redbrick screen wall with elliptical-headed brick carriage arch abuts the west end of the outbuilding at the northwest corner of the yard adjoining a further two-storey stone and redbrick outbuilding lining the west side of the rear yard. The south side of the yard is enclosed by a three-bay single-storey redbrick outbuilding having a hipped natural slate roof and square-headed door openings with timber sheeted doors and tripartite overlights.

Roof Natural slate
Walling render/stone
Windows timber
RWG Replacement

Historical information

The current dwelling house is shown on the first edition OS map of 1834 as a rectangular structure with return. An outbuilding is shown to the rear and a further house or outbuilding to the west. The Townland Valuation of 1828-40 lists these structures as two dwellings, occupied by Sarah, then Robert Hynes and Edward Parkinson, then Joe McMullan. The houses are valued at £3.17s and £4.2s respectively and dimensions are given for a thatched house, 13½ feet in height with four thatched outbuildings, and a slated house 15 feet in height with two thatched outbuildings.

By the second edition OS map of 1858, further outbuildings have been added to the site, forming three sides of a stable courtyard to the rear of the house. The large brick and rubble outbuilding with attached arched gateway is not present on this map but is listed in Griffith’s Valuation of 1863 giving it a construction date of c1860. A ‘Brick Field’ is captioned nearby on the 1860 OS map which is likely to have provided the construction materials. Griffith’s Valuation (1863) gives the occupier of the main house as Joseph McMullan and values the buildings at £18. A subsidiary dwelling on the site, now gone, is occupied by Robert Hynds.

In 1887 the farmhouse passes to John Clenaghan, then Thomas Newell in 1889. In 1894 the house is described as ‘very old and out of repair’ and the valuation is dropped to £15. The 1901 census finds Thomas Newell, farmer, and his wife Sarah, resident with their nephew and his wife and their eight children. A servant is employed at the house, 55-year-old ‘Mairy’ Cairns. The ten-room house is designated first class and has eleven outbuildings including a stable, coach house, cow and calf houses, piggery, fowl house, boiling house, barn, turf house and potato house. In 1916 Thomas Newell became the owner in fee of the house under the Land Purchase Acts. The farm then passed to Samuel Carson, one of Newell’s young nephews and was revalued in the First General Revaluation of 1933/4 at £10 and £7.15s for agricultural outbuildings. The accommodation comprised four bedrooms, three rooms, a kitchen, pantry and scullery. A plan and dimensions are given showing the house and outbuildings. In recent years a new farmhouse has been built to the north of the site and the older house has fallen into disuse.

The current owner advised that the outbuildings were used as a laundry in the mid 20th century.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/20/1 First Edition OS Map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/20/2 Second Edition OS map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/3/20/3 Third Edition OS Map 1903
4. PRONI OS/6/3/20/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1903-16
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/38D Griffith’s Valuation (1863)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/21A-E Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
7. PRONI VAL/3/C/4/3 First General Revaluation (1933-57)
8. PRONI VAL/3/D/4/3/R/2 First General Revaluation (1933-57)
9. 1901 census online
10. 1911 census online

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

An asymmetrical multi-bay two-storey rendered former farmhouse with attached outbuildings, built c.1820. Rectangular on plan facing east and located at the end of a long shared lane to the north of Blackskull Road. A substantial early nineteenth-century farmstead that includes a collection of brick outbuildings worthy of record. The early appearance of this vernacular dwelling is due to the survival of much early fabric including sash windows and lime render. It is representative of a disappearing vernacular building type but although significant in the locale, insufficient fabric survives to merit listing and there are other, better, examples listed.