97 Drin Road, Banbridge, Co Down, BT25 2LF

A one-and-a-half-storey two-bay vernacular hearth-lobby farmhouse pre-dating 1834, located on the south side of Drin Road approximately two miles southeast of Dromara in rural County Down. The building retains key features representative of the type and presents an early aspect, though insufficient fabric survives to merit listing following loss of thatch and roof structure.

The house stands as a rectangular plan with a projecting windbreaker porch and an integral byre to the west. The principal elevation faces north and is asymmetrically arranged, with the porch located left of centre and a window to the right. A doorway in the left bay was converted from a former window opening, with a further door serving the byre at the far right. The structure is constructed of rubble masonry with pinning stones, now with vestiges of lime-render over much of the surface. A projecting line at eaves level marks where the original thatch once reached. The roof is pitched corrugated-iron with corrugated ridging, concrete skews and a roughcast render chimney without pots, and has no rainwater goods. Windows are painted timber-framed two-over-two sliding sash windows with horizontal glazing bars and horns, fitted with pre-cast concrete cills. An opening cast-iron light pierces the roof slope left of centre. The left gable contains a single unglazed attic window left of centre with a slate cill. Concrete-block pens abut the left bay.

The rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged with enlarged metal-framed casement windows at centre, a fixed pane window to the right and an unglazed aperture to the left, with no cills. Three cast-iron opening lights pierce the roof slope. The right gable holds a single attic window right of centre with vertical glazing bars, exposed box and horns, a masonry cill, timber lintel and some brick infill to the right jamb.

The hearth-lobby plan form survives internally, along with the hearth surround, jamb wall and enclosed stairs, features of particular interest in understanding early vernacular domestic arrangement.

The site comprises a prominent traditional complex in rural setting, located directly off the road. A linear two-storey outbuilding stands perpendicular to the dwelling at the east, set with abutments to the south gable and rear. This structure has a pitched natural slate roof with clay roof tiles, partially collapsed to the rear, lime-rendered walls with roughcast finish to the rear, and a variety of sash and fixed windows and timber-sheeted doors. Internally it contains a stone-lined drain, with the upper floor carried on post and beam structure supporting sawn timber rafters on hewn purlins. A single-storey lime-rendered outbuilding with natural slate roofing stands to the rear of the site, with a simple lean-to abutment to the north and an extended east section clad in concrete block with a mono-pitched garage. A twentieth-century corrugated-iron shed stands to the south-east. A replacement bungalow, built circa 1950, occupies the east of the site.

The site is partially bounded to the north by a rendered wall sweeping back from the road to large square piers with pyramidal caps. Bedded into one pier is a rough-hewn projecting stone pierced to accommodate a wrought-iron gate and acting as a hinge. An inclining driveway, bounded to the left by the continuing wall terminated with a pier, provides access.

The buildings shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834 correspond to the dwelling house and part of the two-storey outbuilding present today. By the second edition of 1859, the two-storey outbuilding had been extended and a further outbuilding added. The house does not appear in the Townland Valuation of 1828-40, falling below the threshold for inclusion. Griffith's Valuation of 1856-64 records the tenant farmer as Patrick McKenny, holding 21 acres from Lord A.E. Hill Trevor, with farm buildings valued at £4. In 1871 the farm passed to Catherine and Eliza McKenny, and by 1873 the valuation had risen to £5 10 shillings, suggesting improvements or additions were made at this time. The farm continued to pass through the McKenny family, though the common surname makes census identification impossible. John O'Hare took over the farm in 1917, followed by Catherine in 1929 and Hugh O'Hare at an unrecorded date.

At the time of the First General Revaluation in the 1930s, the house remained thatched and comprised a sitting room, kitchen and bedroom. A new bungalow was constructed in 1955, after which the former dwelling was converted to agricultural use, with new outoffices erected around the same period. The house has therefore served agricultural purposes for more than half a century. The outbuildings and surviving setting features illustrate the development of a small holding that, whilst once common to the rural landscape, is becoming increasingly rare.