11 Bog Road, Fofannybane, near Kilcoo, Hilltown, Co Down, BT34 5JN

This is a two-storey, gabled house located on the north-west side of Bog Road, approximately 5 miles west of Newcastle and 1 mile south-east of the village of Kilcoo. The house presents a thoroughly modern appearance, though it was built around a vernacular dwelling believed to have originated in the 1860s, and now bears no resemblance to its original form.

The front, north-east facing façade features a modern timber and glazed porch, flanked by large modern windows on both the ground and first floors. The north-west and south-east gables have an uneven pitch and are blank. A large, two-storey lean-to projection with modern windows and a door extends from the rear. The entire façade is finished in plain cement render, with an artificial slate roof and PVC rainwater goods. Two rendered chimney pots are also present. Although largely modern in appearance, the thickness of a section of the front ground floor walls hints at the building’s earlier origins.

The original dwelling was a low, two-storey vernacular house with a harled façade, a small lean-to porch, small window openings, and an even-pitched gabled roof. The current building is considerably taller, with completely modern window and door openings and a large rear projection. Remnants of the original building seem to be incorporated into some of the materials within the front ground floor walls, which are notably thicker than the walls above or at the rear.

The site appears blank on the 1859 Ordnance Survey map, suggesting that the original dwelling was built after that date. While the original vernacular appearance indicates construction in the 19th century, potentially around the 1860s, the current modern appearance is largely the result of a comprehensive renovation undertaken in the 1980s, amounting to an almost total rebuild. The dwelling is currently used as a private house and was constructed between 1980 and 1999.