Survey Data
Reg No
31311807
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Historical, Social
Previous Name
Killoshine Cottage
Original Use
Farm house
Date
1841 - 1881
Coordinates
119676, 263267
Date Recorded
07/03/2012
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay[?] single-storey thatched farmhouse, extant 1881, on an L-shaped plan with single-bay (north-west) or two-bay (south-east) single-storey side elevations. Vacated, 2002[?]. Now disused. Tarpaulin-covered hipped reed or rye straw thatched roof on an L-shaped plan with cement rendered chimney stacks centred on cement rendered chimney stack having concrete capping supporting terracotta pots. Part ivy-covered roughcast battered walls; limewashed lime rendered surface finish to rear (north-east) elevation. Openings not visible. Set back from line of road in unkempt grounds with overgrown hedge boundary to perimeter.
Appraisal
A dilapidated farmhouse reconstructed by John C. Hearne (1814-99), Clerk of Petty Sessions and one-time Land Agent for Captain Harvey de Montmorency (Ballinrobe Chronicle 5th March 1881; NUIG), representing an important component of the domestic built heritage of the outskirts of Ballinrobe with the underlying vernacular basis of the composition confirmed by such attributes as the construction in unrefined local fieldstone demonstrating a feint battered silhouette; and the high pitched roof showing a degraded reed or rye straw thatch finish. A prolonged period of neglect notwithstanding, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, thus upholding much of the character or integrity of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1894) continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble having historic connections with the Hearne family including Robert Ernest Hearne (1863-1942), 'Clerk of Petty Sessions; Commissioner for Oaths; Land Agent [and] Farmer' (NA 1901); and Dorothy Hearne (1912-2002).