Thatched House, 392 Seacoast Road, Magilligan, Limavady, Co Londonderry, BT49 0LA

This is a good example of a small house, typical of the Magilligan area, dating from approximately 1820 to 1839. The house is constructed of basalt and has a thatched roof, forming a distinctive regional architectural style. It is accompanied by an attached barn with a felt roof.

The house is three bays wide and has a direct entry. It is situated perpendicular to Seacoast Road, with the barn closest to the road. The main facade, facing northwest, looks into a sheltered garden that is lower than the road level. The facade originally had three twelve-pane Georgian sash windows, now boarded up. There is one window to the room closest to the road, one beside a sheeted door in the central bay, and two windows to the final room. The gables are blank. The south-east gable of the barn, which abuts the road, has been partially rebuilt in concrete block. The rear of the cottage is finished with harling, and features three windows matching those on the front. There are three chimneys, two situated on the gable walls. The roof timberwork is original. Evidence suggests the presence of demolished outbuildings nearby. The building is unfortunately located adjacent to a modern pink concrete dance hall which houses the “Oasis Night Club”.

A building resembling the current structure is depicted on an Ordnance Survey map from 1830 to 1831, although it was not recorded in contemporary valuations. Records from 1857 identify Alexander Smith as the occupant, with Sir Frederick Heygate as the lessor, and the rateable value as a modest £1. The house was acquired by the present owner in the mid-1990s and subsequently renovated by Fleming McKernan Architects. It was formerly in the possession of the Poule family until recently.