8 Gortoral Road, Glassdrumman, Kinawley, Co Fermanagh, BT92 4DS

A three-bay direct entry type vernacular house, dating to around 1820–1839. It stands on a slight rise overlooking Gortoral Road and farmland near Kinawley, County Fermanagh.

The building is a single-storey structure with a hipped roof, harled and whitewashed, with a slated single-storey return to the rear. It faces south west. The front elevation contains four equally spaced openings: two one-over-one pane sashes with thin stone cills to the south east, a sheeted entrance door, and a matching one-over-one sash. A single chimney stands on the ridge, aligned with the second window from the south east. The south east elevation is blank. To the rear, a return projects, recently constructed around 2002, forming an L-shape with the main building and containing a small four-pane casement. The north west elevation is also blank.

The roof is thatched in wheat straw, fixed by the scallop method and cut back parallel with the ground at the eaves. A single hazel ligger rod runs along the top of the eaves, with all other fixings hidden.

Setting: A whitewashed stone barn with a corrugated roof stands perpendicular to the north east. A single-storey modern house is located to the south east, parallel to and in front of the listed building.

The building is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834, where the perpendicular barns (still existing) are also indicated. Apart from the recent extension, it has remained largely unaltered since that period. The building was listed in 1991 and rethatched in the same year in rye straw. Further rethatching became necessary in 1996, also carried out in rye straw.

Between 2002 and completion, the house underwent renovation and received an extension. At that time the building was in poor condition, with leaks, a hole in the roof, and a crack on the rear wall. During the work, the south west wall was discovered to be constructed of mud but required rebuilding following partial collapse. The internal cross walls were also rebuilt in concrete block. Although strong attempts were made to preserve the historic roof structure, structural concerns resulted in its replacement.

The internal plan and character of the building remains. This is a regional example of a type of building once common but now rare.