Historic Curraglass coach house and stable being restored
The preservation of an old stone building in Curraglass, formerly used as stables and a coach house, is now underway in the hope of retaining the building for the use of future generations.
In the past, the building housed numerous generations of horses and the farm drawing trap, both of which historically were an essential mode of transport.
The ground floor of the stables was used primarily for the horses, while the upper floor was used for storage of hay and feeding, while the coach and tack were all stored in the coach house.
Many of these traditional farm buildings of this particular era have unfortunately either gone into poor repair or have been demolished.
Buildings associated with agriculture were built using traditional methods and materials of that time, such as stone, brick, lime mortar, timber and slate. Such buildings are now very much recognised as being part of our agricultural heritage and with the support and encouragement of the Heritage Council and the Department of Food and the Marine, are being preserved for future generations to see and appreciate, as well as for farm-related purposes.
Maps dating back as far as 1745 show evidence that there was a castle located very close to the site of the stables and coach house in Curraglass, however, this castle is not on the maps dated 1749, so it is assumed that this was likely demolished sometime between 1745 and 1749.
Material from the castle may have played a large part in the building of the stables and the coachhouse, as the stones would have been made available from the remains of the castle site.
It’s also possible that these stones were used in the construction of numerous other buildings in the local area and large corner stones, called quoin stones, are visible in the stables and coach house walls.
The earliest evidence of these buildings' existence is from ordinance survey maps from 1840, however, it is possible that they may have been built as early as 1750.
In addition to the castle, a limestone quarry in the local area made it possible to acquire stone for these buildings, which would have been carried by horse and cart to the building site.
From the limestone quarry, limestone was transported to the local lime kilns, where the stones were burnt and turned into hydrated lime. A number of lime kilns were situated on the roadside which were used by locals for this purpose
The hydrated lime was mixed with sand, resulting in the lime mortar which was used for these buildings. Hydrated lime was also used on the land as fertilizer as well as for whitewashing buildings.
The stable doorway and windows of the local building currently being preserved have a masonry art technique of cut stone, with the centre stone being known as the keystone, which holds the other stones together.
Stones are wedged and pasted together with lime mortar, which is the main material used throughout the building structure. Lime mortar also effectively allows the stones to breathe.
The coach house has a round arch doorway which is made of red bricks, which were made locally and have stood the test of time well.
Currently, the building is being restored to its original state by using lime mortar, which is easily purchased these days, in the same way as when it was initially built. Some of the original timber is still in good condition and is being reused. Most of the slate lats have to be replaced due to deterioration over time and rust on the nails.
However, the majority of the original slates are being reused as they are still in very good condition, with only a small number of newer slates of similar style having to be sourced.