Farm Buildings

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached pair of lofted outbuildings, built during the late nineteenth-century. Set at right angles to each other the rubblestone outbuilding (south range) faces southeast while the rendered outbuilding (west range) faces northeast, arranged around an agricultural yard and accessed via a shared bitmac lane to the east of Hillsborough Road.

Pitched natural slate roofs with black clay ridge tiles, iron skylights and replacement cast-iron rainwater goods. Random coursed rubblestone walling to the northwest range, rough-cast rendered walling to the southwest range. Square-headed window openings with masonry sills.

The south range has decorative cast-iron fixed-pane windows and an oculus to the west gable. Cast-iron wall plates to both elevations and replacement vertically-sheeted timber half-doors to the inner elevation. Granite steps abutt the front elevation with quarter-pace landing and turning onto the east gable with replacement iron handrail.

The west range has a redbrick eaves course, boarded shutters to the window openings, a central loading bay with timber pulley and a segmental-headed carriage arch opening to each elevation, formed in redbrick with vertically-sheeted timber doors. To the north gable is a flight of granite steps to a sheeted timber door.

Setting:
Arranged around an informal agricultural yard with no associated dwelling evident and located at the end of a bitmac lane, shared with two modern dwellings on the east side of Hillsborough Road.

Roof Natural slate
RWG Cast-iron
Walling Rubblestone / rough-cast render
Windows Multi-pane cast-iron

Historical information

These farm buildings do not appear on the earlier editions of the Ordnance Survey maps for the Townland of Backnamullagh (1833-1920). Both structures first appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1971 which depicts two farmbuildings situated between Grove Hill farm and a farmhouse to the southwest; however it is clear from a site inspection that these farmbuildings (in particular the west outbuilding) were constructed earlier than this date. Field research suggests that the west range may date from as early as c. 1840 although both outbuildings were constructed using salvaged materials making them particularly difficult to date.

These farmbuildings were built on a plot of land which was owned by a farm to the southwest in Griffith’s Valuation of 1861; at that time this farm was occupied by a Mr. William Gibson who possessed a farmhouse and a number of outbuildings; however these two farmbuildings could also have been constructed by the owner of Grove Hill to the northeast.

The current owner of these farmbuildings is unknown making it difficult to assess the building's recent history; however the west block and stable block have been well preserved and are in a good state of repair.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/21/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/21/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1859
3. PRONI OS/6/21/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1903
4. PRONI OS/6/21/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1919-1920
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/38E – Griffith’s Valuation 1861
6. Ordnance Survey map – 183-16 (1971)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Detached pair of lofted outbuildings, built during the late nineteenth-century. Set at right angles to each other the rubblestone outbuilding (south range) faces southeast while the rendered outbuilding (west range) faces northeast, arranged around an agricultural yard and accessed via a shared bitmac lane to the east of Hillsborough Road. This pair of outbuildings are partly or wholly reconstructed using salvaged materials and do not meet the criteria for listing.

General comments

This record was completed without access to original source material held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.