Cabra House, 10 Cabra Road, Rathfriland, Co Down, BT34 5EW

Cabra House is a two-storey country residence with a semi-basement, dating to the mid-19th century, built in the neo-classical style. It sits on the west side of Cabra Road near Rathfriland, approached through gates and a screen along an avenue through mature grounds. The house comprises three bays arranged symmetrically, with associated house yard, farmyard to the west, and walled garden to the south.

The building has a hipped natural slate roof with black clay ridges and a large rectangular central valley containing a rectangular lantern with hipped natural slate roof and fixed multi-glazed cheeks. The valley is accessed from the rear through a doorway within a natural slated dormer. Five chimneys in ashlar granite rise from the main roof—three from the front ridge and two from the rear. All have octagonal stacks with moulded bases; the front central chimney has two stacks while the others have three.

The walls are lined rendered with a projecting granite platband between basement and ground floor, topped by an overhanging Roman Doric style eaves cornice. Metal box section gutters rest on the wall head and drain to the right elevation.

The front (south) elevation is three bays wide, with the central bay half the width of the outer bays. Six broad shallow rendered pilasters rise from the platband, each with moulded capitals, creating five equal panels across the façade and supporting a plain advanced eaves frieze beneath the cornice. The main entrance occupies the centre ground floor within an open Tuscan porch. Three dressed ashlar granite steps rise to its granite paved floor. Two pairs of stout Tuscan columns in line with the top step support an entablature comprising a plain frieze with astragal, overhanging cornice and blocking course. The porch has been covered with a modern timber and felt roof now in a state of collapse.

The front door consists of two leaves, each with two moulded panels and a decorative brass knob. Its timber jambs have capital heads supporting a timber frieze, above which is a 4x2 paned transom with vertical margins between frames. To either side of the door, square ashlar granite pilasters frame sidelights with ashlar apron panels containing square recesses and projecting cills, glazed to match the transom. The pilaster to the right has a brass bell inset. All remaining ground floor bays and first floor bays contain single sliding sash windows with granite cills—those to ground floor are 6/6 and those to first floor are 6/3. A projecting plain platband links the pilasters between ground and first floors. To the right of the porch, two sets of plastic soil pipes drain from the central bay over the porch to basement level. A basement passage to this elevation is vaulted over with concrete paving slabs and lit by overhead grilles to each side of the porch. There are no front basement openings.

The left (west) elevation follows the façade design but spans only three windows wide, with the basement exposed. The left and right basement bays each contain a 3/3 sliding sash window with granite cill and security bars. A similar opening in the central bay has been enlarged and fitted with a pair of modern plywood doors. A modern timber framed glass house with corrugated Perspex roof, containing a swimming pool, abuts this elevation.

The rear (north) elevation faces a large house yard. It is three bays wide with the central bay slightly recessed, rising from an exposed basement. A two-storey outbuilding partially abuts the left corner. The basement wall is lime dashed with a platband between it and ground floor. Upper floors are lined rendered with a second platband between ground and first floors. The eaves course matches the front elevation. Cast iron downpipes run down the reveals of the recessed central bay. All openings have granite cills. Basement openings comprise: a 1/1 modern timber window centred on the left bay within an original opening; an original four panelled painted timber door with four fixed top lights to the left of the central bay; a 3/3 sliding sash with security bars to the centre; and a sheeted timber door with original vent inset to the right of the central bay. The right bay has a wide sheeted timber door inserted into an enlarged opening with cill removed. Four windows occupy each upper floor—one to the left and right bays, and two to the central bay. Ground floor windows are 6/6 sliding sashes; first floor windows are 6/3 sashes.

The right (east) elevation mirrors the left elevation in design. The basement walls are smooth rendered with three window openings: the left and middle are 3/6 sashes with granite cills and brick flat arched heads, both with security grilles; the right has a similar head and cill with a modern fixed window and top hung transom. Each wall panel to ground and first floor contains a window matching the façade design. The first floor right window has had its sash replaced with a six paned sash from elsewhere in the building.

The gardens to the south and east are planted with mature beech trees; ground falls to the south where an ornamental pond is located. The drive runs southeast from the house to a gate screen and lodge on the east boundary with Cabra Road (in separate ownership).

The entrance gates and screen are set within a concave screen on a bend of the main road. The screen comprises a chamfered ashlar granite dwarf wall supporting decorative wrought iron railings with cast details. The railings feature a top rail of diagonal crosses between each vertical, with spear headed finials, attached to the dwarf wall by occasional cast cushion balls. Ashlar granite piers with chamfered plinths, plain shafts and overhanging moulded pyramidal copings terminate both ends of the concave screens.

The gates proper consist of a pair of carriage gates and two matching pedestrian gates. These match the railings in design with an additional dog rail at the bottom comprising diagonal crosses set between the verticals. They are supported by large ashlar granite piers (taller than those of the screen) with chamfered plinths, panelled shafts and moulded two-stage pyramidal copings. Each pier has a wheel stone with rounded head, and a cattle grid sits inside the carriage gates. The pedestrian gates hang between the carriage gate piers and the inner screen piers.