Survey Data
Reg No
40847001
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
House
Date
1780 - 1820
Coordinates
187059, 377619
Date Recorded
01/11/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached two-bay single-storey house, built c. 1820, with bed outshoot to rear (north). Restored in 1992. Shallow pitched/rounded roped straw thatched roof with timber eaves restraint, metal pegs to eaves, and having whitewashed rubble stone chimneystack and raised rendered coping to the west gable end. Limewashed irregularly coursed rubble stone walls. Modern plaque to front (south). Square-headed window opening with stone sill and replacement timber multi-pane fixed light. Square-headed door opening to the east end of the main elevation (south) having replacement timber battened door accessed by shallow flight of stone steps. Remains of foundations to east elevation (probably byre). Set slightly back from road with open site to front (south). Located along small country road a short distance to the west of Mountcharles.
Appraisal
Although now restored, this simple vernacular house is an interesting addition to the built heritage of the Mountcharles area. Of particular significance is the thatched roof, which is now rare in the Mountcharles. The rounded roof is a typical feature of thatched houses located close to the sea in exposed areas in the north-west of Ireland, while the pegs to the eaves were used to tie ropes (and sometimes nets) over the roof to secure it against the prevailing westerly winds. The bed outshot to the rear, which was used to provide a place to sleep/rest beside the fireplace, is another characteristic feature of the vernacular tradition in County Donegal. The single cell composition and evidence of the remains of a byre to the east also increase its importance as a representative example of its type. Buildings of this type were until recently a characteristic feature of the rural Irish countryside but are now becoming increasingly rare. A plaque to the front of this building records its ‘restoration’ in 1992 and states that this building is the’ last surviving inhabited dwelling from Teamhnach an tSalainn’ (‘Field of Salt’), the original village that existed prior to the establishment of the town of Mountcharles by the Conyngham family during the eighteenth century. This house is a valuable addition to the vernacular heritage of Donegal, and adds interest to the rural countryside to the west of Mountcharles.