60 Beragh Hill Road, Ballyarnett, Londonderry, BT48 8LY

60 Beragh Hill Road, Ballyarnett

A mid-Victorian house built between 1840 and 1859, designed in neo-Georgian style and set on an elevated site at the end of a short avenue from Beragh Hill Road. The house enjoys pleasant views over rolling countryside and retains good interior space with well-preserved joinery and plaster detail.

The main house is five bays wide, two and a half storeys high, with a slated hipped roof. The entrance facade faces north-east and is composed around a central glazed panel wooden door with half-glazed side screens, shallow pilasters, light cornice, and a plain elliptical fanlight. On either side of the door at ground floor are two timber sliding sash windows, each with 12 panes. At first floor there are five similar 12-pane sash windows, centred over the openings below. An important decorative feature is the panelled frieze at eaves level, punctuated with single modillions at close centres, which continues round all four elevations. The walls are finished with roughcast rendering and have uncoloured and clasping smooth rendered quoins. On the other elevations, windows are more haphazardly placed, reflecting internal arrangement rather than external symmetry.

The roof structure is unusual: although appearing hipped, it is constructed as a triple roof with a narrower centre roof over the staircase hall, similar to nearby Ballyarnett House. Dark-coloured ridge and hip tiles are used, and the attic floor is lit by a series of Velux-type roof lights. Chimneys occur at the top of outside walls, with one positioned on the ridge. Gutters are PVC with metal downpipes.

The property includes two outbuildings. Behind the house is a two-storey barn, symmetrically composed with a large three-centred arched doorway at its centre, small shuttered windows to either side, and a loft door over the arch. The owner claims this was formerly a mill, probably a threshing mill. Its walls are constructed of random rubble and the roof is slated. A second outbuilding of similar size stands to the side of the house but lacks symmetrical composition.

The approach is marked by simple gate piers and double wrought iron gates. The grounds surrounding the house are not well organised or laid out.

Historical evidence from the 1830 Ordnance Survey map shows a house at this location, though with a different plan form. Griffiths Valuation of 1858 records the property with a valuation of £20, occupied by George Thompson (possibly a medical professional) and leased from the Marquis of Donegal. The present owners claim the house dates from 1740, citing thicker walls to the front as evidence and suggesting later rear extensions. However, the architectural style and detailing indicate a mid-19th century date, consistent with the 1840-1859 construction period.