6 Kearney Village, Kearney Road, Kearney, Portaferry, Co Down, BT22 1QP

A vernacular house of pre-1834 construction, retaining sufficient character despite alterations and possessing group value with other buildings in Kearney village.

This is the right-hand house in a single-storey block containing two vernacular dwellings, both possibly dating from before 1834. Number 6 is considerably smaller than its neighbour, Number 5, and is attached to the northern gable of that house, with its roof set at a lower level. The block is positioned on the north-east edge of Kearney village, approximately three miles south-east of Portaferry, set close to and facing the shoreline.

The front (east) façade is asymmetrical. To the left of centre is a partly glazed door with a single window on either side, both fitted with modern frames. The northern gable is blank. The façade is finished in rough cast and painted. The gabled roof is covered with Bangor blue slates, with a stone parapet and rendered chimney stack to the northern gable.

To the rear is a lean-to extension featuring a timber-sheeted door to the north face and a window with a modern frame to the west. A further window, matching those of the front façade, is positioned to the left of the lean-to. This extension has a felt roof.

The main block was re-roofed in the 1960s. A block matching the site and shape of the original portions of this house and Number 5 appears on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map and all subsequent maps, suggesting both dwellings may date from pre-1834. The house was once home to Mary Ann Donnan, a well-known local character.

Kearney Village Context

In early medieval times, the townland of Kearney was held by the McKearneys, a family possibly distantly related to the O'Neills of Tyrone. During the later medieval period, the land passed to the Gaelicised Norman family of the Savages, who leased much of it to the Smiths, a dependent family of similar origin. A 1643 lease from Patrick Savage to Patrick Smith mentions "the mill, mill ponds and watercourses", sources of considerable income. By the later 17th century, the Savages had leased much of Kearney to the Ross family of Rosstrevor, who retained possession throughout the 18th century.

A lease of March 1729 provides the first indication of a substantial settlement at the site of the present village. This settlement grew throughout the remainder of the century, with residents employed on local farms and at two nearby flax and corn mills, while supplementing their incomes through salvaging shipwrecks and possibly smuggling and wrecking. The village probably reached its greatest population and activity in the 1830s, when it contained 33 families, two schools (one Church of Ireland and Catholic, the other Presbyterian), and a ceilidh house. Most buildings visible today appear to have been present at this time. The 1836 valuation mentions only three single-storey houses, occupied by Hugh and John McNabb and Widow Hasty, who owned a nearby windmill.

A slow decline began in the latter half of the 19th century. By 1900, the population had halved as residents moved to towns or emigrated. By 1938, most Kearney farms and cottages had passed to Hugh Orr, who established a model farm nearby. Decline continued; by 1945, only three houses were occupied by seven residents. When the National Trust acquired the village twenty years later through funds collected during the Enterprise Neptune campaign, it was nearly a ghost town.

Since 1965, the Trust has restored and reconstructed Kearney based on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map layout. Most houses now serve as full-time homes or holiday residences, leased from the Trust. Currently only one original dwelling remains vacant, awaiting restoration.