24 Cladymore Road, Cladymore, Mowhan, Armagh, BT60 2EW

24 Cladymore Road is a mid to late 19th-century farmhouse that survives as a record of rural building practice, though its deteriorated condition prevents listing. This account documents its form before further loss occurs.

A vernacular yet practically symmetrical two-storey farmhouse built in 1874, situated at the head of a narrow driveway approximately 150 metres south of Cladymore Road and 4 kilometres south of Markethill. The building is accompanied by a two-storey outbuilding attached to one gable-end, a corrugated-iron clad hay shed to the north, and a collection of small outbuildings to the east.

The front east façade is almost symmetrical, dominated by a centrally positioned single-storey porch projection. The door opening is flat-headed with a smooth render surround; the front door is missing. On either side are flat-headed window openings with smooth, shouldered and heeled render surrounds and cut stone sills. The frames are painted timber sash windows with 1/1 glazing pattern. The first floor repeats this arrangement with two further windows positioned directly above the ground floor openings. The rear west façade contains two windows at ground and first floor levels, irregularly arranged and of identical design. The north gable has a single first-floor window of the same type. All window frames are painted timber sash 1/1.

The walls are finished with dry dash render with smooth render edges at the corners. The pitched slate roof carries three matching brick chimneystacks positioned on the ridge; these have corbelled caps but no pots. A corbelled eaves course runs around the building. Rainwater goods are uPVC. The north side has rendered skews only. The roof is pitched and slated throughout.

The attached two-storey outbuilding has a gabled slated roof. Its front façade contains a ground-floor doorway to the left and a window to the right with the remains of a steel frame. Above is a doorway with remains of a timber-sheeted door. A further upper-level doorway opens to the rear. The ground floor was used as a byre with no access to the upper floor. The first-floor structure is now supported on a modern roller steel joist (RSJ).

Historical records show that although various buildings occupied this site from at least 1835, none matched the present two-storey house in size and orientation. All earlier structures recorded in valuations of 1836 were single-storey, except for a ruined bleach mill noted as approximately 13 feet high, possibly with a loft. The site was initially held by Thomas McMurdy, passing by 1863 to Alexander McCullagh. McCullagh built the present house in 1874, as evidenced by the rateable valuation rising from £1-15-0 to £3-15-0 in that year. The house remained in McCullagh family ownership until at least 1972, when Joseph McCullagh was recorded as owner.

The building retains considerable original vernacular detailing in both exterior and interior, but its current state of dilapidation means it does not retain sufficient integrity to justify listing. This record preserves its architectural character for historical reference.