34 Derryboy Road, Killinchy, Co. Down

34 Derryboy Road is a single storey vernacular cottage of probable early 19th century origin, likely dating from before 1834. The building is situated well back on the south side of Derryboy Road, 3½ miles north of Killyleagh, in a picturesque wooded rural setting that appears largely unchanged since the cottage was built. It is gabled on approach and represents a rare survival of what was once a commonplace building type.

The property comprises three main sections arranged linearly. The western section was originally a barn and has been converted to a dining room and living room. The central section is the original two-room vernacular cottage, which remains substantially intact with its original roof timbers still in place and the building is still thatched. The eastern section was originally a byre and has been converted for use as a bedroom. The building has been extended further to the rear with a large modern flat-roofed extension.

The main entrance is positioned at the south centre of the central section, accessed through a small bolt-on porch supported on timber brackets. The doorway features a stable door arrangement with a half door outer and full-height door inner. A small glazed window with a decorative pane inscribed "Sutton Cottage" is set into the door. To either side of the door are small window openings fitted with sash windows featuring horizontal astragals. The main roof is thatched with parapets to each gable, and a squat chimney stack sits at the peak of each gable. The former byre section to the east has a single window and is roofed in corrugated iron. A small store with a nearly flat corrugated Perspex roof adjoins the eastern gable.

The western section formerly a barn has a modern glazed door and window, with a small lean-to greenhouse on its south side. A relatively large PVC chamfered conservatory obscures the western gable. High on the gable above the conservatory is a small square window. To the north façade is the long modern flat-roofed extension with four modern windows, a modern window and door to the west, and a blank east face. The north face of the former byre section has one sash window. To the south are small outbuildings with cobbled floors. To the north is a substantially intact and partly enclosed well, and directly behind the former barn are the remains of a horse walk.

Buildings are shown on both the 1834 and 1859 Ordnance Survey maps, and their footprints match the present house configuration apart from the flat-roofed extension and conservatory, confirming the house dates from at least the early 19th century. The 1861 Second Valuation records that the buildings, land and offices were valued at £5.10.00, £18.10.00 and £1.10.00 respectively, with tenant Ellen Lowther renting 31 acres from Lord Clandeboy. An indenture from around the same period, seen by the present owner, stipulates that the tenant was required to maintain walls, hedges and a half-acre orchard. The property was purchased by the present owner circa 1986, the previous owner being Michael Brachi.