John Madden

Detached four-bay single-storey direct entry thatched farmhouse, extant 1838. "Improved", pre-1911, producing present composition. Extensively renovated, 2009, to accommodate occasional use. Replacement pitched thatch roof with chicken wire- or mesh-covered exposed hazel or sally lattice stretchers to ridge having exposed scallops, cement rendered dwarf chimney stack having stepped capping supporting terracotta pots, and concrete coping to gables. Replacement cement rendered battered walls. Square-headed window openings with concrete sills, and concealed dressings framing replacement one-over-one timber sash windows having part exposed sash boxes. Square-headed opposing door openings with concealed dressings framing replacement timber boarded or tongue-and-groove timber panelled half-doors. Interior including kitchen retaining hearth. Road fronted.

A farmhouse identified as an integral component of the vernacular heritage of the rural environs of Ballycarra by such attributes as the compact rectilinear direct entry plan form; the construction in unrefined local fieldstone displaying a feint battered silhouette; the disproportionate bias of solid to void in the massing; and the high pitched roof showing a thatch finish: meanwhile, later appendages, in particular a shopfront of some artistic interest, clearly illustrate the continued development of the farmhouse in the early twentieth century. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original or replicated fabric, thus upholding the character or integrity of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1894) continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a neat self-contained ensemble making a pleasing visual statement in a rural street scene.