The Chestnuts

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single storey gabled house with attic, situated at the end of a short lane off the Crossnamuckley Road, c.2 miles NW of Carrowdore.

Front W facade has an almost central modern partly glazed door with plain fanlight with simple surround with ‘shoulder’. Sash window to both left and right with similar surround.

N gable has two sash attic windows with ‘Georgian’ panes and surrounds as front.

The S gable has a sash window, with horizontal glazing bars, to the left on the ground floor with a modern glazed door to the right. To the left at attic level is a modern window. All openings have surrounds as front. To the left at the rear is a single storey lean to extension with two mullioned and transomed timber windows to it E facade. To the S facade (which is flush with the S gable) is a similar window, with another similar window and sheeted door on the N facade. To the right of the extension (on the rear of the main house) is a large modern metal window.

The facade is finished in rough cast render with a smooth base and edges to walls.

The roof is pitched with Bangor blue slates (some of which have been tarred) and two rendered gable chimney stacks. Many of the slates have come away from the roof at the rear. Small cast iron skylights to rear. Remnants of cast iron rw goods.

Low rendered wall to front. Stone covered well to E of house. Extensive collection of outbuildings to N.

Historical information

A slightly longer building is shown on this site on the OS maps of 1833/4 and 1858-60, forcing one to assume that this house is either post 1858 or that there was once some kind of outbuilding attached to the south gable which has since disappeared. As the openings on this gable appear to be later alterations [?perhaps c.1900], the latter case seems the more likely, with an outbuilding to the south demolished at some point. The interior of this house appears to have been renovated in fairly recent times, but the building now appears to have been abandoned.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL 1B/34 Valuation records for the townland of Drumawhy (Parish of Newtownards) 1830s.
2 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps 1st Edition 1833/4, Co. Down 6.
3 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps 1st Revision 1858-60, Co. Down 6.
4 PRONI ‘Griffith’s’ valuation for the townland of Drumawhy (Parish of Newtownards) 1863.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Single storey house of probable early nineteenth century origin (at least), slightly altered in more recent times and now derelict.