house

Detached three-bay single-storey vernacular house, built c. 1820, having single-storey extension to the rear (north). Pitched reed thatched roof with raised rendered verges and raised rendered chimneystacks to the to gable ends (east and west). Smooth cement rendered walls with rendered plinth course to base. Enlarged square-headed window openings to front elevation (south) with replacement timber casement windows. Square-headed door opening to front elevation (south), offset slightly to the east side of centre, having replacement glazed timber door. Set slightly back from road with small enclosed garden to the south. Rubble stone boundary wall and hedge to road frontage to the south; modern metal entrance gates to site. Located in the rural countryside to the north of Belleek. Single-storey outbuilding across road to the south.

Despite some modern alterations, this well-maintained thatched vernacular house retains its early form and character, and is an appealing feature in the scenic if desolate rural landscape to the north of Belleek. Modest in scale, it exhibits the simple and functional form of vernacular building in Ireland. The loss of the early fittings to the openings fails to detract substantially from its appeal and suitable replacements could easily be re-installed. Of particular interest in the survival of the thatch roof, recent renewed, which is now sadly becoming increasingly rare in Donegal. The irregular spacing of the window openings to the front elevation creates an appealing vernacular appearance. The form of this building, having chimneystacks to the gable ends and a central doorway to the original building, suggests that this building is of the ‘direct entry’ type that is characteristic of the vernacular tradition in north-west Ireland. This building is a rare example of an early vernacular house that has not been extended along its length at some stage as is usually the case. This simple house represents a good 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.