Brockagh

Detached three-bay two-storey farmhouse, built 1805, on a rectangular plan. Sold, 1908. Hipped slate roof with lichen-covered clay ridge tiles centred on paired rendered chimney stacks having concrete capping supporting yellow terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered rendered, ruled and lined walls with rusticated rendered piers to corners. Segmental-headed central door opening with timber mullions on step threshold supporting timber transom, and concealed dressings framing timber panelled door having sidelights below fanlight. Square-headed window openings with cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-six timber sash windows having part exposed sash boxes. Set in landscaped grounds with rendered piers to perimeter having shallow pyramidal capping supporting spear head-detailed looped wrought iron gate.

A farmhouse representing an integral component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition suggested by such attributes as the compact rectilinear plan form centred on a Classically-detailed doorcase showing a simple radial fanlight; the slight diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a feint graduated visual impression; and the high pitched roof. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where contemporary joinery; chimneypieces; and sleek plasterwork refinements, all highlight the modest artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, nearby outbuildings (----) continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble making a pleasing visual statement in a sylvan street scene.