house

Attached three-bay single-storey vernacular house, built c. 1830, having single-bay single-storey lean-to extension to north-west and three-bay single-storey open outbuilding to south-east. Pitched corrugated metal roof with rendered brick chimneystacks to the gable ends. Roughcast rendered rubble stone walls. Square-headed window openings with replacement timber casement windows, and one surviving cut stone sill. Square-headed doorway to centre of main elevation having battened timber door. Set back from road and approached by laneway from north-east. Single-storey outbuilding to the south-east having pitched corrugated-metal roof, rubble stone walls, and square-headed openings. Modern single-bay addition to the north-west gable end. Located in the rural countryside to the north-west of Raphoe.

This appealing and relatively intact example of a vernacular house retains much its early form and character, despite some alterations, and is an appealing feature in the scenic rural landscape to the north-west of Raphoe. Modest in scale, it exhibits the simple and functional form of vernacular building in Ireland. The rubble stone walls and the irregularly-spaced openings creates an attractive composition with a rustic vernacular quality. The steeply pitched corrugated-metal roof to the dwelling indicates that this building was formerly thatched, and its reinstatement would add significantly to its appeal. The loss of the salient fabric to the window openings detracts somewhat from its appeal. 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. The attached rubble stone outbuilding to the south-east adds to the context and setting. This 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.