Drumnahunshin Farm

Originally from Drumnahunshin townland, Whitecross, County Armagh.
This fine building is now in the Ulster Folk Museum.

The Patterson family lived at Drumnahunshin from the 1830s when this house was built, until the 1960s, when the last occupant, Miss Maggie Patterson, died.
Miss Maggie's niece, Mrs Gay Patterson Komich of Hillsborough, California, inherited the property and presented it to the Museum.
Originally the Pattersons were tenant farmers of the Earls of Gosford. In 1818 the farm comprised 30 acres (12.2 hectares) but with later sub-divisions it was reduced to 10 acres (4 hectares). Ownership passed to the family when the Land Reform Act (Wyndham's Land Act) of 1903 enabled tenants to buy the ownership of their farms.
Although the farm was of only 10 acres, it included a flax-scutching mill that provided the family with a considerable income. At different times the dwelling was substantially altered and improved.
The original single-storey house was raised to two stories, the kitchen was subdivided to create a separate dining room and the original ground floor bedroom became a parlour. Several features suggest a degree of affluence, the cast iron stove in the kitchen which replaced the original open hearth, the mock panelling in the parlour, the decorative fire surrounds and some fine furniture and china.
if you are interested in Irish town lands or the Irish Land Act. Just ask!