Mill House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached four-bay two-storey vernacular farmhouse built c.1840, renovated c. 1976 and located to the west of Ballylagan Road, Straid. Rectangular-on-plan with a series of single and two-storey extensions to rear; facing onto a traditional enclosed farmyard.

Roof is pitched natural slate, blue/black clay ridge tiles plainly detailed timber painted bargeboards supported on exposed rafter ends; three smooth rendered chimneystacks with clay pots (those on gables with moulded corbel course). uPVC rainwater goods throughout; walls are ruled-and-lined rendered (painted roughcast render to rear); windows are 1/1 timber sliding sashes with painted masonry cills.

Principal elevation faces east and contains off-centre entrance to right with single window to right; three windows to left; five windows at first floor. Entrance contains replacement timber sheeted door with sidelights and transom light over; accessed by terracotta tiled path.

Left gable has single window at first floor.

Rear elevation is abutted by a central two-storey return and single-storey pitched-roof outbuilding to right. Remainder of rear elevation at ground floor is abutted by single-storey flat roof extension. Exposed section has single window to left of return; single window to right.

Right gable is abutted by single-storey extension with pitched roof (detailed as main block.) Exposed section has single window at first floor.

Two storey return on west gable has single casement window at each floor. Left cheek is abutted by flat-roof extension; exposed section has two windows, right diminished. Right cheek is abutted by flat-roof extension; exposed section is blank.

Single-storey gable extension has window to each face; detailed as main block. Abutted at east by modern glasshouse.

Setting

Located in a rural farm
setting with farmyard and outbuildings to west and south; farm shop to north of house; all accessed by lane from Ballylagan Road. The house is currently vacant; the owner occupies a renovated outbuilding located to the south-west of the site.

A mill-race is in existence to the east face of the house.

Windows: timber sliding sashes
Doors: Painted timber sheeted doors
Walling: Ruled-and-lined render
Roof: Pitched natural slate with blue/black clay ridge tiles.
Rainwater goods: cast-iron.

Historical information

The building is first shown on the second edition OS map of 1857, captioned ‘Strand Corn Mill'. It is composed of a large ‘L’ shaped building, with a smaller rectangular building situated inside the courtyard space. The 1902 map shows some additions to the latter building.

Griffith’s Valuation of 1859 records a ‘house, office, corn-mill, kiln and land’ occupied by John Wilson and leased from the Marquis of Downshire. The building valuation is £26.

An entry in the Valuation Revision book B (c.1870) records the property as a ‘house, offices and lands’ valued at £26 together with a flax-mill valued at £4.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/47/1 - First Edition OS Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/47/2 - Second Edition OS Map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/47/3 - Third Edition OS Map (1902)
4. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/12 - Griffith’s Valuation (1859)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/7/3A-E Valuation Revisions (1862-1829)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Detached four-bay two-storey vernacular farmhouse built c.1840, renovated c.1976 and located to the west of Ballylagan Road, Straid. Constructed on a longhouse plan the house contains many original features relating to the original plan. The external characteristics of the house also remain largely intact but it has been compromised by inappropriate extensions to the rear. While of local interest, it is not among the best examples of the type.