house

Detached four-bay single-storey thatched house, built c.1820, having single-storey extensions to either end (southwest and northeast). Pitched thatched roof with two rendered chimneystacks. Pitched corrugated roofs to extensions. Roughcast rendered walls over rubble field stone construction. Square-headed window openings with cut stone sills and replacement windows to main elevation (southeast). Two-over-two pane timber sliding sashes to rear (northwest) and six-over-three pane timber sliding sashes to northeast gable extension. Square-headed door opening with modern glazed timber door. Set perpendicular to road with rendered boundary wall to road frontage having wrought-iron gates. Detached single-storey rubble limestone outbuilding to the south having pitched corrugated-iron roof. Located to the north of Glassan.

An appealing small-scale vernacular house of picturesque appearance, which retains its early character and form. This structure retains much of its early fabric, however, the replacement windows to the main elevation detract somewhat from its visual appeal. Buildings of this nature were once extremely abundant in rural Ireland but it is now very rare to come across an example in such good original condition. This building used readily available materials in its construction, such as local field stone and roofing material probably (originally) sourced from the shores of nearby Lough Ree (west). This building is located at a right angle to the road, which is also a common feature of the vernacular architecture of the midlands. The position of the chimneystacks suggests that this building was extended along its length to the southwest at some stage. This building remains an important component of the vernacular architectural heritage of Westmeath and adds a rustic charm to the rural landscape to the north of Glassan.