’The Long Thatch’, 33 Ballymorran Road, Ballymorran, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6UE

The Long Thatch is a modern-looking single storey house on the west side of Ballymorran Road, less than half a mile south-east of Killinchy village, set on a slight rise. The building is based around a simple linear dwelling of probable pre-1834 origin, though extensive extensions and modernisation have obscured much of its historical character. Only the haphazard arrangement of the front facade and the stepped formation of the roof reveal something of the building's considerable age.

The front north facade is arranged in three stepped sections. The central section contains the entrance, which consists of a timber-sheeted stable door, flanked by a square window with a modern four-pane frame to the right and a larger similar window further right. The section to the right (west) is set at a slightly higher level and features a similar timber-sheeted door with windows on either side. The lowest section to the left (east) has a timber-sheeted door with a window to the right and a squat modern window set at high level to the left. The east gable of this original section now has a very large modern fixed light window, while the original west gable is blank. The entire facade is finished in plain render and painted.

The rear of the building has been altered beyond recognition in recent times. Gabled returns to the east and west flank an almost entirely glazed flat-roofed corridor that extends the original rear facade. The eastern gabled return also has a large flat-roofed section attached. The windows throughout these extensions are modern and extremely large. The roof of the original section has concrete tiles with an overhang but no chimneys. A tall chimney stack serves the flat-roofed section at the rear. PVC rainwater goods are in use throughout.

Historical records confirm that a building stood on this site in 1834 and 1859-60, corresponding to the original section of the present house. It did not appear in the first valuation returns of circa 1835, presumably because it was below rateable value. By 1861, it was leased by Andrew Morrow of nearby Summerhill House from John Cleland of Stormont. The owner stated that the building contained two dwellings at some point, a suggestion supported by the arrangement of the front facade. Locally the house is still referred to as "The Long Thatch", though this title is now somewhat ironic given the modern concrete roof tiles.