56 Lindesayville Road,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a roughcast end-of-terrace one-and-a-half storey former foreman’s cottage, built c.1840. It is rectangular in plan, with a two-storey pitched return to the rear North-east. The building forms part of eight matching terraced cottages, laid out in two blocks, on the North side of Lindesayville Road to the South of Desertcreat, Co. Tyrone. This house is in the southern block.

External walls are painted roughcast render. The roof is pitched with natural slate and overhanging eaves. The projecting central front porch is set within the overhang. There are full dormers to the roof. Dormers have small square-headed 1/1 timber sash windows. There are decorative curved timber fascias to all gable ends. There is a rooflight to the rear elevation. There is a rendered chimney to the Southeast with rounded brick chimney spouts. Rainwater goods are replacement aluminum.

The front Southwest elevation faces onto Lindesayville Road. The projecting entrance porch has a square-headed timber door. There are single square-headed windows to each side of the projecting porch. Windows have 2/2 timber sliding sash frames set on painted cut-stone sills.

The gable Northwest elevation has square-headed 1/1 timber sash windows at the upper level.

The rear Northeast elevation has 1/1 timber sash windows to the ground floor. The rendered two-storey pitched roof return has replacement timber windows set on painted concrete sills. There is a timber door to the South-eastern elevation. There is artificial slate to the roof, and replacement uPVC rainwater goods.

Setting:
The terrace is set back from the road behind a long white-washed stone wall. There are single gate openings to each individual house. There is a yard to the rear with paving surrounded by a timber boundary fence. The terrace is set on the North side of Lindesayville Road to the South of Desertcreat, Co. Tyrone.

Historical information

These two rows of cottages were built sometime between c.1835 and c.1857. Alistair Rowan states they were constructed by Captain Daniell [or Daniel] of nearby Rock Lodge, and ‘look about 1840’. Judging from appearances this dating may be correct; however, the attribution may not, for the houses are built on land which was part of the Loughry estate, and their name ‘Lindesayville’ (which appears on the 1857 OS map) suggests that one of the Lindesay family of Loughry was responsible for them. This may have been Frederick Lindesay, who in fact lived at Rock Lodge from sometime from 1837-1846 until 1848.

Whatever the case, the two rows are recorded in the valuation of 1858 as ‘eight labourers houses, gardens and plantations’ and the whole rated for valuation purposes at £13-15-0. The terrace to the north-west was designed for labourers, and although externally there appears to have been originally four dwellings, each was actually divided internally between two families, with both halves of each building containing its own entrance within the porch, and its own stair. The south-western terrace, on the other hand was as it appears, containing four houses for four foremen and their families.

Despite this arrangement, when the occupants were first noted by the valuers in 1864, there were thirteen in total, and it is clear that one of the ‘foremens’ dwellings was being shared also. The names of the 1864 residents are given as, Robert Cowan and Edward Quinn, Isabella Montague and Nancy Miller, Jonathan Browne and James McNeigh, Samuel Ferguson and Rose Cowan, William Allen and Samuel Hannay (each pair occupying a house), with Peggy Browne, John McKane, and William McIntire residing in individual dwellings.

In 1896, the Loughry estate, including Lindesayville, was acquired by Cookstown businessman, James Wilson Fleming. In 1908, Wilson sold the houses to a Thomas A. Ekin, a Belfast Bank official of Rathcrogan (house) in Molesworth Road, Cookstown. After this, twelve, rather than fourteen occupants are recorded, indicating that the foremen’s cottages were all single tenancies. In 1913 the residents are listed as, Robert McKane, Samuel McKane, Robert Browne, Robert Mullan, Samuel McMenemy, William J. Campbell, James Hogshead, Thomas Williamson, Jonathan Taylor, Robert Wylie, Henry Douglas, and Samuel Stranaghan.

By 1935 the amalgamation of the ‘labourers’ cottages had begun, with both Robert Mullen and Thomas McKernon in possession of two properties each, one of which was converted to a shop (remaining so until the 1990s). The other two dwellings carried on as double tenancies until the early 1970s, but after this the process accelerated and by 1984 all of the former labourer’s houses had witnessed amalgamation with consequent internal changes. In the 1990s further alterations were carried out, with three of these dwellings (which had originally contained six properties) amalgamated again to form a single house with integral garage. The former foremen’s houses have remained four separate properties, however, although all have c.1980s rear extensions.

References- Primary sources
1 ‘OS Memoirs of Ireland vol.20...’, eds. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams, (QUB, 1993), p.34
2 PRONI VAL/1B/623 First valuation, Desetcreat parish, 1834-c.1838
3 PRONI VAL/1A/6/38 OS map, Co. Tyrone sheet 38, with valuation
references, 1834-c.1838
4 Lewis, Samuel, ‘A topographical dictionary of Ireland…’ vol.1, (London, 1837)
5 ‘Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1846)
6 ‘Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1856)
7 PRONI VAL/2A/6/38 OS map, Co. Tyrone sheet 38, with valuation references, 1857-58
8 PRONI VAL/2B/6/6/24B Second valuation, Desertcreat parish, 1858
9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/21A Annual valuation revision book, Tullaghoge ED, 1860-63
10 PRONI VAL/12B/37/21B Annual valuation revision book, Tullaghoge ED, 1864-80
11 ‘Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1870)
12 ‘Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1880)
13 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5C Annual valuation revision book, Tullaghoge ED, 1881
14 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5D Annual valuation revision book, Tullaghoge ED, 1881-94
15 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5E Annual valuation revision book, Tullaghoge ED, 1895-1912
16 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster directory’ 1902- (Belfast News-Letter, 1902- )
17 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5F Annual valuation revision book, Tullaghoge ED, 1913-29
18 PRONI VAL/3B/7/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Tullaghoge ED 1935
19 PRONI VAL/3C/7/7 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Tullaghoge ED, 1936-57
20 PRONI VAL/4B/6/9 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Tullaghoge ED, 1956-72
21 PRONI VAL/14A/126 Third general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Sandholes ED, 1975
22 PRONI VAL/14B/174 Third general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Sandholes ED, 1976-87
23 PRONI VAL/14C/156 Third general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Sandholes ED, 1987-93

Refs- Secondary sources
1 Godfrey, Ernest, ‘The Lindesays of Loughry, Co. Tyrone- a genealogical history’ (London, 1949)
2 Rowan, A.J., ‘The buildings of Ireland – North west Ulster’, (London, 1979)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

This is a well preserved example of a small picturesque mid-nineteenth-century labourer’s cottage forming one of eight matching terraced houses in two blocks on the North side of Lindesayville Road. It shares a group value with the adjacent matching terraces (HB 09/15/010A-I). The houses are designed in a picturesque vernacular style and a rare survival as a recognisable form. Their history and relationship to the Loughry estate is of interest as is the record of how they changed as social circumstances altered over time. They are well-composed, of modest scale and add much variety and interest in their rural setting.

General comments

In the first survey this house was recorded as HB09/05/010

There is still some confusion with house numbers. The surveyors have elected to use the numbers as decided by the rating office.