Farm complex near 9 Cavan Rd, Rathfriland, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5EG

Farm complex near 9 Cavan Road, Rathfriland, Newry, County Down

A small two-storey, two-bay vernacular farmhouse set within a complex of outbuildings at the end of a lane on the south side of Cavan Road. The house is abutted on its right gable by a large farm outbuilding, the end of which incorporates a third bay to the house.

The main house has a pitched natural slate roof, now mostly stripped of slates. The left gable is cement rendered with rendered skews and a cement rendered chimney. The right gable has been built upon to form the higher gable of the adjacent outbuilding and contains a second similar chimney. Semicircular cast iron rainwater goods sit on advanced brick eaves.

The north-facing front elevation is constructed in granite field stone, laid randomly with lime render now mostly worn away. The stonework shows a distinct break between the left and right bays, suggesting the left bay is a later addition. A similar wall break where the outbuilding joins indicates that building is also later in date.

The front entrance is set within a gabled porch abutting the left end of the right bay. The porch has a pitched natural slate roof and lime rendered brickwork walls. The doorway is on the porch's front gable and was originally a sheeted timber door with an additional external half door, now gone except for hinges and some timbers. The left cheek of the porch is blank. The right cheek has a small three-paned fixed timber window, horizontally divided. To the right of the porch at ground floor are a pair of steel casements with a concrete cill set within an enlarged original opening. The wall around this opening has been cement rendered up to the cill level of the first-floor windows. At ground floor on the left bay is a similar steel casement window. Both ground-floor windows are now sheeted over with corrugated iron. At first floor, each bay has a small single window in line with the original openings below. Both are 6/3 exposed box sliding sashes with horns and cement rendered cills, set at floor level with their heads formed by the advanced brick eaves course.

The left gable of the main block is blank, though marks in the render suggest it was abutted by a corrugated roofed lean-to. The rear elevation of the main block is abutted to its left by a lean-to return. The remaining wall is lime rendered with a small 1/1 sliding sash window at ground floor right, without a cill. The rear return has a lean-to corrugated metal roof meeting the main block just below eaves level. The rear wall of the return is also corrugated metal and blank. Both cheeks are of cement rendered concrete blockwork; the left cheek is blank and the right has a doorway (door now gone).

The two-storey outbuilding is three times the length of the house and slightly higher but of the same depth. It has a pitched natural slate roof and a chimney on its left gable serving the house. Semicircular cast iron rainwater goods sit on advanced brick eaves. The walls are unrendered, roughly-dressed granite random rubble brought to courses, with some brick dressings to openings.

At ground floor, there are three openings: to the left a 6/6 sliding sash window (boarded over) serving the third bay of the house; at centre a sheeted timber door; and to the right a steel I-beam has been inserted to create a wide modern opening with a top-hung corrugated metal rolling door. At first floor left is a three-quarter height sheeted timber loading door and at centre is a small sash window with horns and no cill (boarded over). To the right end is a similar larger sash window. The right gable of the outbuilding is blank at ground floor and has a sheeted loading door at first floor.

The rear elevation of the outbuilding has four square ventilation holes at ground floor from centre to right, and at the extreme right is a small 1/1 sash window serving the third bay of the house. At first floor centre is a three-quarter height loading door with window openings at the left and right ends.

To the north of the house, a yard area is enclosed by two ranges of single-storey outbuildings with stone walls very similar in detail to the two-storey outbuilding and corrugated metal roofs. To the south of the house is a similar ruinous outbuilding. To the west is a Dutch barn with an enamel plaque reading "Supplied by W. G. Hagan Lisburn".