Survey Data
Reg No
40910751
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
House
In Use As
House
Date
1780 - 1820
Coordinates
187036, 362542
Date Recorded
07/11/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached four-bay single-storey vernacular house, built c. 1800, having bed outshot to the rear (west) and with single-bay single-storey extension to the south. Extended to the north by a bay, c. 1860. Pitched thatched roof with chicken-wire over, rendered eaves course, raised rendered coping to the gable ends (north and south) and with three rendered chimneystacks (one to either gable end and one offset to the north side of centre); artificial slate roof to extension to the south with rendered chimneystack to the south gable end. Roughcast rendered walls. Square-headed window openings with plain rendered surrounds, painted sills and replacement window fittings. Square-headed door opening, offset to the south side of centre, having rendered plain surround with moulded brackets\corbels to either side of doorway, and with replacement timber door. Set slightly back from road with small enclosed yards to the front (east). Bounded on road-frontage to the east by low rendered boundary walls having painted coping over. Rubble stone boundary wall to the south of house, and blockwork wall to the south-west boundary of site to rear. Detached single-storey outbuilding to the rear (west) having rendered and rubble stone walls, pitched corrugated-metal roof and square-headed openings with timber fittings. Located to the north-west of Ballyshannon adjacent to road junction. Single-storey thatched house adjacent to the north (see 40910750).
Appraisal
Despite some alterations, this thatched vernacular house retains its early form and character and is an appealing feature in the rural landscape to the north-west of Ballyshannon. Modest in scale, it exhibits the simple and functional form of vernacular building in Ireland. The loss of the original fittings to the windows fails to detract substantially from its visual appeal. Of particular interest in the survival of the thatched roof, which is now sadly becoming increasingly rare in Donegal. The simple brackets to the door surround adds an element of ornament to this otherwise plain and unassuming structure. The form of this building having chimneystacks to the gable ends and doorway to the centre of the original structure suggests that this building is of the ‘direct entry’ type that is characteristic of the vernacular tradition in north-west Ireland. The location of the chimneystacks and the main doorway also suggests that this building was extended to the north by a bay at some stage. The largely blank rear elevation is a typical feature of many small-scale vernacular dwellings in rural Ireland, while the bed outshot to the rear is a feature that is found on many vernacular buildings in Donegal and was used to house a bed adjacent to the hearth for warmth. This house represents a fine surviving example of a once ubiquitous building type in the rural Irish countryside, and is a valuable addition to the vernacular heritage of County Donegal. It forms a pair of thatched dwellings along with the house adjacent to the north (see 40910750). The simple outbuilding to the rear (west) adds to the setting and completes the context.