60 Cahard Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single story three bay direct entry thatched house with plastered and whitened stone walls.

The house that faces south-east occupies a site on the left-hand (west) side of the road that travels south from Saintfield to the Ballynahinch/Crossgar Road. The distance from Saintfield is about three miles

The thatched roof covering extends to cover the gables, the eaves that are square cut rises slightly over the entrance at the front. The scollops form a decorative pattern at the ridge and there is no exposure of scollops at the eaves. There are three plain chimneystacks, one on either gable and the third over the position of the kitchen hearth each with one pot.

The entrance with a timber sheeted door is flanked to the left (south-west) by two and to the right by one vertically sliding window with single vertical division, sash stops and sills of traditional depths. The former byre, now incorporated within the dwelling is lighted by a similar window and is set back at the right hand (north-east) end of the façade. The roof of this unit is of natural slate and the rainwater goods are of cast iron. The gable of this room has a similar window. The opposite gable on the south-east side of the house is blank.

At the rear an extension with pitched natural slate roof, vertically sliding windows similar to the main house, timber sheeted door and cast iron rainwater goods is flanked to the left (north-east) by one and two the right by two windows similar to those on the front elevation. The extension roof is finished with a concrete coping, similar to that used on the former byre at the front, and there is a plain chimneystack with a single pot.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834, but it is not recorded in the (near) contemporary valuation. In the second valuation of 1861 the occupier is noted as William Donnan, with William A. Shaw listed as the immediate lessor, with the rateable value £1-10-0.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/1A/3/23 OS map, County Down sheet 23, with valuation
references, (1834-c.38)
2 PRONI VAL/2A/3/23A Revised OS map, County Down sheet 23, with valuation references, (1858-c.61)
3 PRONI VAL/2B/3/28A Second valuation, Kilmore (1861)

The property was leased from the Crawford Estate in 1883.
The house was occupied by a blacksmith from 1913 until 1940.
It was agreed in 1994 to list the building if the inappropriate items could be restored.
After completion of the recommendations the property was listed in 1998.

Secondary Sources

Various letters and documents in EHS file.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

This house faces SE and occupies a site on the west side of the road which travels south from Saintfield to the Ballynahinch / Crossgar Road. It is about 3 miles from Saintfield. A single storey, three bay direct entry thatched house with rendered and plastered stone walls. This house that belonged to the TUT (Thatch under tin) variety has been restored using new materials in traditional form to the requirements of Environment and Heritage Service. The inappropriate elements that were restored were the external wall finish, the windows and the kitchen fireplace. The early roof structure was retained during the work and is of high interest.