76 Layde Road, Cushendall, Co. Antrim

76 Layde Road, Cushendall

A detached two-bay single-storey farmhouse built between 1832 and 1857 in the townland of Layd, this whitewashed rubblestone dwelling represents an increasingly rare example of vernacular architecture in the region. The building is rectangular on plan, facing northeast with a byre to the northwest gable.

The farmhouse is constructed of whitewashed rubble stone with square-headed window openings fitted with timber lintels. The original fenestration comprises 6/6 sliding timber sash windows with convex horns and exposed sash boxes. The front elevation contains a single square-headed door opening to the centre, now without a door. The gabled side elevation facing the road is blind, as is the rear elevation with the exception of a single diminutive window opening without glazing. The northwest gable is partially obscured by embanked earth.

The roof is pitched and follows the angle of the sloping site, currently clad in corrugated asbestos with asbestos ridge tiles. Parged cement verges and rendered chimneystack rise from either gable end. Replacement painted steel guttering is mounted on iron drive-through brackets. The roof structure is of particular vernacular interest, though it has been altered from the original thatch recorded in the 1911 Census of Ireland.

The site is set perpendicular to Layde Road on sloping ground enclosed by hedgerows. A single rubblestone outbuilding with corrugated iron roof stands to the north of the dwelling. The building is currently in use to house livestock.

Historically, the farmhouse was first depicted on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857. Griffith's Valuation of 1859 valued the property at £1 and recorded it as leased to Alexander McIlheran, a farmer, by the Earl of Antrim. Alexander McIlheran occupied the site until around 1887 when his son Daniel took possession. The outbuilding to the north was constructed between 1857 and 1903–04. The 1911 Census of Ireland classified it as a third-class dwelling with two rooms, alongside a stable, cow house, piggery and barn among its outoffices. The rateable value was decreased to ten shillings in the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936–57), when John McIlheran purchased the site outright from the Earl of Antrim. He remained the recorded owner and occupant through the Second General Revaluation (1956–72).

Despite the replacement of its original thatched roof with corrugated iron, the walls, windows, rainwater goods and simple interior remain largely intact. The building is valued as an authentic and increasingly rare example of its vernacular building type, situated in its original setting with special architectural and historic interest.