54 Trassey Road, Clonachullion, (south-west of Bryansford), Newcastle, Co Down, BT33 0QB

This is a two-storey vernacular farmhouse built between 1838 and 1839, situated on the south side of Trassey Road, approximately 5.5 miles west of Newcastle and 3.5 miles southwest of Bryansford. The front facade faces roughly north. A small gabled porch with a partly glazed modern door is located to the left of the center. To the left of the porch is a small sash window with vertical glazing bars (two panes over two) and trellis arranged as shutters. Two similar windows sit to the right of the doorway. Four smaller, similar windows are positioned on the first floor, aligning with the ground floor openings. The east gable is blank, with a small boiler house and flue attached. A long, single-storey gabled section extends from the west gable; this was initially an outbuilding but has been partially converted into living quarters incorporated into the main house. This section features a door leading into the house and a large modern garage door. Two small windows with modern single-pane frames are situated at the rear of this section. A relatively small, modern flat-roofed extension is located on the rear of the main house, toward the centre right. To the left of the extension is a window with a modern frame, echoed by two similar windows on the first floor. The rear openings may not be original. The front façade is harled and whitewashed, while the rear is rendered and whitewashed. The main section of the house has a pan tile roof, whereas the single-storey section has natural slate. There are two rendered chimney stacks, one on each gable. The property is finished with PVC rainwater goods.

The house is believed to have been constructed between 1838 and 1839, with the construction briefly halted in January 1839 due to severe storm damage that blew the completed roof off. It was built by the McSpedden family, Samuel McSpedden being listed as the owner in the 1863 valuation records, when the property had a rateable value of £1-10-0. The McSpeddens also built the house immediately to the east around 1839. Ownership remained with the family until approximately the 1980s, when it was sold to the current owners, who now use it as a holiday home. It is believed the farm to which this dwelling belonged was once a model farm. Supporting documentation includes deeds and related documents held by the current owners, Ordnance Survey maps from 1859, and Griffith’s valuation records from 1863.