917 Glenshane Road, Dungiven, Co Londonderry, BT47 4SB

917 Glenshane Road, Dungiven

An early 19th century vernacular dwelling group sited on the south side of Glenshane Road, forming part of a larger clachan that extended across both sides of the road.

The principal building is a derelict direct entry two-room vernacular house with a two-storey two-room extension built in line, probably in the late 19th century. The entrance features projecting walls forming a shallow porch, with the door opening directly into the kitchen. To either side of the door are four-pane sliding sash windows, with another similar four-pane fixed window on the lower side. The walls are built of stone and whitewashed. The two-storey section has two four-pane sliding sash windows at ground level and the same at first floor. Its walls are smooth rendered and unpainted. The single-storey part has a corrugated iron roof with a separate lean-to of corrugated iron over the projecting porch. The two-storey part has a slated roof and is gabled; each gable carries a chimney stack, with an additional stack at the lower end of the single-storey section. The exposed gable of the two-storey part has no windows and is smooth rendered and unpainted. The rear of the two-storey section has a single two-pane sliding sash window at ground level and another off-centre at first floor, with cement-rendered unpainted walls. The rear of the single-storey part has a bed outshot with no windows; the wall is finished in stone and the corrugated iron roof sweeps down over it. There is no guttering.

Below and in line is a second derelict two-room cottage without projecting porch or outshot. The entrance door is direct entry with window openings on either side. The walls are similar to the first house. It has a corrugated iron roof with a slightly different pitch. There is a chimney on each gable, the upper one being shared with the adjacent building. At the rear are two window openings to the upper space but none to the lower, with stone finish to the wall.

Below the second dwelling are the remains of outhouses in ruinous condition, with the lower gable still standing along with parts of the long walls and some corrugated roofing.

The group is sited approximately 30 to 40 metres south of Glenshane Road, positioned at right angles to it. The road has been realigned and widened; the present access gate is not original. The topography falls quickly to the river valley below.

On the other side of Glenshane Road are the remains of other vernacular buildings and replacement dwellings. Early Ordnance Survey maps show further outbuildings that no longer exist. Together, the structures on both sides formed a clachan settlement.

The building is shown on the 1832 Ordnance Survey map. Both dwellings were occupied by unrelated families named O'Kane, later by a McCloskey (relations of the O'Kane). The house has been derelict for approximately two decades. A former occupier now lives on Corick Road.