217 Victoria Road, Bready, Strabane, Co Tyrone BT82 0EB

A detached three-bay two-storey house built in 1905 on the site of an earlier dwelling, located on the east side of Victoria Road at Bready, Strabane. The house is set directly on the roadside with a small front garden bounded by a timber fence and accessed through a pedestrian wrought-iron gate supported by square rendered piers.

The main house is rectangular on plan with a two-storey return built around 1930 to the east, abutted at the south by a further single-storey lean-to porch, and a single-storey extension built around 1950 to the north. The roof is pitched natural slate with blue and black clay ridge tiles and concrete verges. Yellow brick corbelled chimneys serve the main house, with pitched asbestos tiles to the return and extension. The walls are roughcast over rubble construction with red brick dressings, with smooth rendered quoins and plinth.

The principal elevation faces west and contains an opening to each bay at each floor. These are centred around a square-headed four-panelled timber entrance door flanked by fixed glazed sidelights and surmounted by a segmental-arched-headed fanlight. The door has a smooth rendered architrave with ear and keyblock detail. Windows on the principal elevation are segmental-arched-headed timber-framed 6/6 sliding sash in smooth rendered architraves with ear and keyblock detail. All other windows are square-headed, with square-headed casement windows to the return and extension. All windows have painted masonry sills.

The north gable is abutted by the extension and is otherwise blank. The west elevation of the extension contains three windows and is abutted at its centre by a flat-roofed porch containing a vertically-sheeted timber door to the north and a window to the west and south elevations. The east elevation contains a vertically-sheeted timber entrance door. The exposed sections of the east elevation contain a 2/2 window and a first-floor window at one point, and single windows at each floor at another. The gable-end of the return contains a window at ground floor and two windows at first floor. The south elevation of the return contains a single window at first floor, abutted at ground floor by the lean-to porch which contains a window to the south and a vertically-sheeted timber door to the east. The north elevation contains a replacement timber-panelled entrance door. The south gable is blank.

Cast-iron half-round gutters and round downpipes form the rainwater goods. A one-and-a-half-storey rendered shed building with a barrelled corrugated roof stands to the rear.

The building retains original features including plaster detailing, windows and doors, though it has been subject to alterations including an inappropriate rear extension.

Historical records show an earlier house, offices and land on the site occupied by James Keys from at least 1860, valued at £1 10s. The earlier house was thatched. Richard McIvor became occupier in 1898, and by 1902 valuation had risen to £4 following the addition of a new outbuilding. In 1905, the new house was built and valued at £9 10s, with an estimated construction cost of £419. All buildings on the plot were then slated. John Throne occupied the property from 1911 and was owner in fee by 1933, when valuation was revised to £11 10s for the house and £3 5s for outbuildings. The house comprised seven rooms, a kitchen, scullery and pantry.