Farmhouse, Glasswater Road, Killinchy in the Woods, Crossgar, Co Down

This is a long, two-story vernacular farmhouse likely built before 1834, although it may have been raised to its present height in the mid to later 1800s. It is located at the end of a lane off Glasswater Road, approximately 1.5 miles north of Crossgar. The front facade, facing south, is asymmetrical. A timber-sheeted door is positioned to the right of centre, with boarded-up sidelights. Behind the timber sheeting is a panelled door, visible from inside. To the left of the doorway are six windows on the ground floor, with two further windows to the right; all but one are boarded, retaining remnants of sash frames with Georgian panes. Both gables are blank. The rear of the house features two timber-sheeted doors, a small window to the far left, and a larger window to the right of the second door. There are two windows on the first floor at the rear, most of which are boarded up. The facade is finished in unpainted rough cast, and the gabled roof is covered in natural slate with four rendered chimney stacks. The property is currently abandoned and in poor repair.

A building is shown on Ordnance Survey maps from 1834 and 1859-60, likely corresponding to the present house. Like many vernacular dwellings of pre-1834 origin, it may originally have been single or one-and-a-half stories, with the roof raised in the mid to late 19th century. The house was owned by the Martin family from the late 19th century through much of the 20th century. Sir James Martin, inventor of the ejector seat and featured on the Northern Bank £100 note, was born there in 1893. The dimensions and arrangement of the front facade openings are similar to those of another farmhouse, ‘Rosebank’, on the opposite side of Glasswater Road, suggesting that the same builders may have been involved in raising the roof of both houses.