28A Strabane Road, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, BT81 7HZ

28A Strabane Road, Castlederg

This was a single storey, two structural bay, direct entry thatched house with gables, dating from the early 19th century (circa 1820–1839). The house stood on the south-facing side of the main road from Castlederg to Strabane, approximately three quarters of a mile from the centre of the former town.

The building was constructed of stone with a harled and whitened finish. The thatched roof was laid between cement skews, and each gable rose to a chimneystack with a projecting flaunched top. The left-hand (west) stack was fitted with a projecting flue liner. The entrance was formed by a timber sheeted door with a glazed upper part, protected by a square jambed windbreak porch with a projecting black base and a lean-to concrete slab roof with a gutter on the front face. The porch was flanked on either side by a vertically sliding window with sashes divided into two vertical panes. The window frames were exposed, with curved sash stops and sills of intermediate depths at the leading faces. The extremities of the house terminated in shallow pilasters.

The building retained its original interior layout, including a proper staircase, a hearth, and purlin roof construction, which were of particular historic interest. Two modern windows at the rear had been sealed.

Three lean-to annexes were attached to the house: one at the right-hand (west) end of the rear elevation, constructed of concrete with a corrugated iron roof; a second of similar construction abutting the right-hand (east) gable; and a third annex placed to the rear of the second unit, with a corrugated iron roof falling in the opposite direction to its neighbour.

The house appeared on the Ordnance Survey map of 1833–34 but was not recorded in the contemporary valuation, presumably as it was below rateable value. It was noted in the second valuation of 1858, with Charles McMullan recorded as occupant, Sir Robert Ferguson as lessor, and a modest rateable value of £1.

The roof was in fair condition when surveyed in 1992 and when visited in 1994, though patching was required by then. The roof completely collapsed in 2005, destroying much of the historic fabric and supporting walls. The site was cleared in mid-summer 2006. Planning permission for an extension and alterations had been granted on 20 July 1990, but the owner stated in a letter of 18 March 1992 that she was not proceeding with the scheme.