Corbally

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Substantial, two storey, hipped roof, strong farmer’s house of c.1825. The property is set on a rise to the W of Downpatrick Road, roughly a mile SW of Killyleagh.

The front façade faces roughly S and is symmetrical. To the centre of the ground floor is a panelled timber door with six pane sidelights and ‘radial’ elliptical arched fanlight. To the left of the doorway is a window, now with modern multi-pane (Georgian-like) timber frame (all windows have similar frames). To the right of the doorway is a similar window, with three more to the first floor.

The W façade has a window, as front, to the left of centre on the first floor. The very left hand edge of this façade is abutted by an original single storey gabled outbuilding. A modern aluminium frames green house has been erected to the S gable of the outbuilding.

The E façade has a window to the left on ground and first floors, as front. To the right of these is a small, single storey, flat roofed shed extension with large water tank to its roof. Small single pane window to S on extension, with timber sheeted door to N.

To the rear there is a central single storey lean-to projection, which is original. To the E face of this lean-to is a timber sheeted door, with a small window to the N face. Either side of the lean-to (on main house façade) there is a small window, with two more (widely spaced), to the first floor.

The entire façade is finished in unpainted rough cast, with smooth render surrounds to openings. The hipped roof is slated and has two, centrally located, rendered chimney stacks.

The abutting outbuilding to the W of the house has a timber sheeted pedestrian door, and timber sheeted carriage arch, to its E façade. There is a large modern corrugated iron barn abutting the W side of the outbuilding.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834, which the contemporary valuation records tell us was a relatively newly built house of exactly the same dimensions as the present dwelling (minus the small extension to the east side). It seems, therefore that the house we see today was built relatively shortly before the mid 1830s, possibly c.1825.

The resident in c.1835 is recorded as one James Clelland, that a James Lawther listed as resident in 1863. The present owner’s family acquired the property in 1947, prior to which it had been in the ownership of a Mr Brown.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/31/1 OS map, 1834, Down 31
2 PRONI VAL/1A/3/31 1st valuation map, c.1835, Down 31
3 PRONI VAL/1B/336 1st valuation, Killyleagh, c.1835-38
4 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
5 PRONI OS/6/3/31/2 OS map, 1859-60, Down 31
6 PRONI 2nd valuation (in print), Killyleagh, 1863
7 PRONI OS/6/3/31/3 OS map, 1901, Down 31
8 PRONI OS/6/3/31/4 OS map, 1920, Down 31

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Substantial, two storey, hipped roof, strong farmer’s house of c.1825 which, apart from modern window frames is still largely intact.