Rockhall, 44 Tullygarvan Road, Tullygarvan, Ballygowan, Co. Down, BT23 6NB

Rockhall is a two-storey double gabled farmhouse located on Tullygarvan Road, just over a mile north-west of Ballygowan, County Down. The building probably assumed its present form around 1840-50, though its rear portion dates from before 1834. The house is oddly oriented with its northern gables facing towards the south side of the road.

The front (east) façade appears symmetrical at first glance but is actually asymmetrical. Slightly left of centre is a doorway with a fairly recent panelled and glazed door featuring stained glass and a spoked elliptical fanlight. The doorway is encased with panelled pilasters and an archivolt. To the left of the doorway is a modern four-pane window designed to resemble a sash window, and to the right is a similar window. The first floor has three further windows, all similar in design to the ground floor examples but smaller in size.

The north façade has three windows to the centre and left on both ground and first floors, all with frames matching those on the front. The far right of this façade features a broad chamfer, with the wall of the right gable being extremely thick. The south façade has a panelled and glazed doorway positioned centre-left on the ground floor with two windows to its right. On the first floor, roughly to the centre, is a very small window. The rear façade has a window to the far left and far right on the ground floor, with three more windows on the first floor of various sizes. The ground floor window on the right has a curious canted frame that gives the window a small oriel-like appearance.

The entire façade is covered in roughcast with Bangor blue slates to the roof and PVC rainwater goods. There are four sandstone chimney stacks, one to each gable.

The oldest section of the house appears to be that encompassed by the rear gable, which corresponds with a building shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map. On the revised map of 1858-60, the plan matches that of today and is marked as 'Rockhall'. This suggests that the present dwelling was built in two stages, a theory supported by the differing wall thicknesses between front and rear. It is possible that the original rear portion may have begun life as a single-storey structure.

The valuation returns of 1835 note that the house was then in the possession of a Widow Orr. By around 1863, it had passed to William Orr Lowry (possibly a relative) and was valued at £10. The window frames and doors are now modern, and the interior layout has been radically altered.