outbuilding

Detached five-bay two-storey outbuilding associated with altered two-storey house, built c. 1820, having external flight of cut stone steps giving access to doorway at first floor entrance to west gable end. Pitched natural slate roof with cast-iron rainwater goods. Uncoursed limewashed rubble stone walls, smooth cement rendered walls to the west gable end. Square-headed window openings at ground floor level to both main elevations (north and south) having cast-iron fixed-framed diamond and squared paned windows. Square-headed door openings having battened timber and replacement doors, square-headed loading bay to centre of north elevation at first floor level. Set in yard to rear (west) of three-bay two-storey house (altered) to the west of Ballybofey. Modern outbuildings to site.

This modest but appealing agricultural outbuilding, of probable early nineteenth-century date, retains much of its original character and its early form. Built into the sloping ground, this is a good example of a banked barn with dairy/parlour on ground floor and hayloft over. The external flight of cut stone steps giving access to a doorway at first floor level is a feature of many outbuildings in Donegal. Though once a common sight in the rural landscape of County Donegal, this well-maintained structure is an excellent example of an increasingly rare building type. Its cultural heritage significance is enhanced by the high level of authentic fabric that survives including cast-iron diamond and square-pane windows, while the retention of the natural slate roof adds a satisfying patina. It is associated with an altered three-bay two-storey house to the east that it probably predates suggesting that it was originally built to serve a previous dwelling to site, now demolished. This modest outbuilding is an interesting feature on the rural landscape to the west of Ballybofey, and is an addition to the built heritage of the local area.