54 Trassey Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey gabled vernacular farm house of 1838-39, set to the S side of the Trassey Road, 5.5 miles W of Newcastle, 3.5 SW of Bryansford.

The front façade faces roughly N. To the left of centre is a small gabled porch with partly glazed modern door. To the left of this is a small sash window (vertical glazing bars- 2 panes over 2) with trellis to each side arranged like shutters. To the right of the doorway are two similar windows. To the first floor are four similar, but smaller windows, which are positioned in line with the ground floor openings.

The E gable is blank but has a small boiler house built against it (with accompanying flue). To the W gable is a long single storey gabled section, which was probably originally an outbuilding, but part of which has been converted to living quarters and now forms part of the house. This section has a door (as main house) to the N, with a timber sheeted door and large modern garage door to the right of this. To the rear of this single stand two small windows with modern single pane frames.

The rear of the main house has a relatively small, modern flat roofed extension to centre right. To the left of this (to main rear façade) is a window with a modern frame, with two similar windows to the first floor. The rear openings may not be original.

The façade is harled and whitewashed to front and rendered and whitewashed to the rear. The main section of the house has pan tiles to the roof, whilst the roof of the single storey section has natural slate. The main section has two rendered chimneys stacks (to gables). PVC rw goods.

Historical information

This house is believed to have been built between 1838 and 1839, with construction held up in January of the latter year when the notorious Great Wind blew the newly completed roof off. It was built by the McSpedden family, with a Samuel McSpedden listed as owner in the second valuation of 1863 (when the property possessed the relatively low rateable value of £1-10-0). The family also built the house to the immediate east of this around c.1839 also.

The property remained with the McSpeddens until c.1980s, when it was sold to the present owners. It is currently used as a holiday home.

The owner stated that she believed the farm to which this dwelling belonged was once a model farm.

References- Primary sources
1 Deeds and other related documents in possession of the present owners
2 PRONI OS/6/3/49/3 OS maps 1st rev.1859, Co Down sheet 49
3 PRONI Second (Griffith’s) valuation records, Kilcoo (1863) [in print]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey vernacular farm house of 1838-39, now with pan tiles to the roof and a small extension and modern window frames to the rear.