Survey Data
Reg No
15400616
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
House
In Use As
House
Date
1700 - 1800
Coordinates
232573, 266593
Date Recorded
20/11/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay single-storey thatched house, built c.1750, having a projecting single-bay gable-fronted entrance porch to the southeast elevation. Hipped thatched roof with decorative ropework to ridge and three low rendered chimneystacks, irregularly spaced. Thatched Thick battered walls, probably mud-walled or partially mud-walled, having a number of rubble stone buttresses to rear elevation (northwest). Square-headed window openings, irregularly spaced, with replacement fittings. Square-headed doorcase to later porch having timber door. Set at right angle to road in own grounds with gardens to front and rear. Located adjacent to main Mullingar to Longford road to the southwest of Rathowen.
Appraisal
A picturesque and charming small-scale thatched house that represents a very good example of its type. Although this house is not without modern alteration, particularly to the openings, it retains its early form, character and a great deal of its historic appeal. The base batter and the irregular surface to the walls suggest that this building may be partially mud-walled/clay built. The small window openings, the thickness of the walls, the rubble stone buttresses to the rear façade (northwest) and the form of the roof hints that this building may be of considerable antiquity, perhaps even pre-1700AD in date. The spacing of the window openings and the chimneystacks indicates that this building has extended along its length, probably to the northeast side, at some stage(s) in its history. This building is aligned at a right angle to the road, which is a typical feature of Irish vernacular architecture. Buildings of this type and form were once very numerous in rural Ireland but have become rare in recent years due to modern alterations, demolition and dereliction, making this an increasingly important survival. This appealing building is a landmark structure along the main Mullingar to Longford Town road is a worthy addition of the vernacular heritage of Westmeath.