Survey Data
Reg No
40908905
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural
Previous Name
Rathlin O’Birne Lighthouse
Original Use
Outbuilding
In Use As
Outbuilding
Date
1820 - 1880
Coordinates
146340, 379782
Date Recorded
31/10/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Pair of semi-detached three-bay single-storey former lighthouse keepers’ houses with attic level associated with Rathlin O’Birne Lighthouse, built c. 1856, having lean-to single-bay blocks attached to the gable ends (north-west and south-east). Now in use as stores and occasional dwellings. Pitched natural slate roofs having raised cut stone verges to the north-west and south-east gable ends. Three coursed stone chimneystacks, one to either gable end and one to the centre, having cut stone stringcourses. Cut stone eaves course and cast-iron rainwater goods. Coursed squared rubble stone walls. Square-headed window openings having stone sills, red brick block-and-start surrounds and with two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows to building to the south-east and replacement windows to building to the north-west. Central square-headed doorways to each building having timber doors. Coursed rubble stone boundary walls to the front (south-west) having cut stone coping over. Pedestrian gateways serving each doorway having ashlar gate piers (on square-plan) having cut stone coping over. High coursed stone walls to the rear (north-east) having cut stone coping over. Single-storey outbuilding adjacent to the south-east having pitched natural slate roof, rubble stone walls and square-headed openings. Associated lighthouses adjacent to the north-west (see 40908904). . Located on the western edge of Rathlin O’Birne Island c. 2 miles off Malin Beg.
Appraisal
These well-built former lighthouses keeper’s houses and ancillary structures associated with Rathlin O’Birne Lighthouse retain their early form and character. There integrity is enhanced by the retention of much of their early fabric including a number of timber sash windows and natural slate roofs. They are robustly-built to provide shelter from the ravages of the Atlantic storms etc., and occupy a dramatic isolated location on beautiful but desolate Rathlin O’Birne Island. Their form is typical of mid-nineteenth century lighthouse keepers’ dwellings, while the simple cut stone detailing to the raised verges and the chimneystacks adds a modicum of aesthetic interest to these otherwise plain buildings. These buildings were originally constructed to provide accommodation for keepers employed at the adjacent lighthouse, and they now act as historical reminders of the dedication and harsh existence endured by the men who worked here from 1856 until the lighthouse was automated in the 1970s. They form part of a group of related structures along with the lighthouse (see 40908904) and the terrace of four two-storey houses in Gleann Cholm Cille/Glencolumbkille (see 40841010 to 40841013), which were built c. 1910 as a shore base for lighthouses keepers and their families, and are an integral element of the extensive maritime heritage of County Donegal.