Castle Farm, 15 Castlefarm Road, Stewartstown

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A classical detached L-shaped two-storey former stable block, built c,1850 now in ruins. At some time the stable block appears to have been used as a dwelling. It is built from random rubble with an exaggerated cut-stone door and ‘Gibbsian’ style window surrounds. The roof is not present but the walls are gable ended showing it was pitched. It is adjacent to a modern detached house built c.1970 and a farmyard. An outbuilding is attached to one leg of the ‘L’, forming a ‘T’ shape. The wings of the house are roughly equal in size, with a northern wing facing south and running west-east, and an eastern block facing west and running north-south. The facades of the two wings meet at right angles and partially enclose a square garden. Most of the openings have been boarded up and the interior is ruinous. The ground floor openings dominate the elevations; the windows to the upper floor are very small in relation and tucked under the eaves.

North Wing:
The south elevation is arranged in three main bays with a segmental-headed carriage arch, a square-headed door opening and square-headed window opening to the ground floor. These are all surrounded by a Gibbsian-style cut-stone quoins and voussoirs. The voussoirs have a fan-like appearance and read as a single keystone. The quoins are missing to the left of the window where the stonework has been repaired with brickwork. There are two smaller plain square openings to the ground floor and two openings to the upper floor. One of these is an irregular hole in the wall and may not indicate an original opening. Sills are cut-stone. The carriage arch has been filled in with concrete blockwork with a small timber-framed window set in the middle. The walls are random rubble with cut-stone eaves and a cut-stone course above the plinth to the base.

There is no room behind the arch; the gable and rear walls are demolished and an internal stone wall is exposed to the western side of the north wing. The remains of a door opening at the upper level, and the holes where the floor joists would have been, are visible on this west elevation.

The north elevation has a variety of square-headed openings without ornament. Most of these have been boarded up. One is bricked up. The interior of the bay of the south elevation containing the carriage arch can be seen on this elevation. A timber lintel can be seen at springer level in the carriage arch. The gable end of the east block is in line with this elevation and a two-storey pitched roofed stone farm building is attached to this gable.

East Wing:
The west elevation of the east wing is arranged in six bays with square-headed door openings in the first, third and sixth bays. The remainder each have a square-headed window opening. There are three small square openings to the upper floor. All are boarded up. The window in the fifth bay is half boarded, half window frame suggesting the windows were four-over-four timber sash windows. The openings in the third-sixth bays all have the exaggerated cut-stone quoin and voussoir surrounds. The door opening in the first bay is surrounded by concrete, the window in the second by brickwork. The wall is partially coursed rubble with cut-stone eaves, and cut-stone quoins to the southwest corner.

The gable to the south is partially rendered stone, with two square-headed window openings, one to the ground floor and one to the first. The lower has been filled in with brickwork, the upper is open. A rendered wall extends eastward from the eastern corner. A lean-to byre is supported by this wall to the south and leans against the eastern elevation of the east wing. The east elevation is in poor condition with a variety of square-headed door and window openings. Some of the window openings still have eight-over-eight timber framed windows in poor condition. Sills are cut-stone.

External walls are generally random rubble with cut sandstone detail. Some areas show evidence of repair or extension with stone, brick or concrete. The roof and rainwater goods are not present.

Setting
The farmhouse is situated next to a farmyard and modern farmhouse. Some of the agricultural buildings appear to be contemporary with the house. The farm is in the countryside near Stewartstown, with a view from the front of the ruin over the Stewartstown to the southwest. The lane from the road approaches the farm from the north, so the ruined farmhouse faces away from it. The modern house faces towards the lane and the road. There is a square garden contained within the angle between the wings of the ruined farmhouse and the adjacent modern house. The north and east sides of the ruin are farmyard and agricultural buildings.

Historical information

As the name ‘Castle Farm’ suggests, this was the site of a stronghold, begun in 1608 by Sir Andrew Stewart after receiving a grant of land in the area from King James I. In 1622 a ‘strong Castle of stone and lyme, with high walls, 330 foot about’ had been built by Stewart. The fate of the site of the next two centuries or so is uncertain, the appearance of the present outbuildings with their pronounced keystones, however, suggests rebuilding in the early to mid 1700s. A residence is marked on Taylor’s and Skinner’s map of 1777 as ‘Castle Stewart’, which, at that stage, was in the possession of the Caulfield family.

By 1833, this residence had been cleared away, for all that is shown on the OS map of that year is the present T-shaped outbuilding, with an additional projection to the north end, and a freestanding structure to the north-east. To the immediate west is the outline of a smaller T-shaped building, attached to the main structure, but, as the outline indicates, probably roofless and ruinous at this point. Tree-lined drives are also shown, the drive from the west culminating just south-west of the existing building, perhaps indicating the original location of the main house itself.

In the contemporary valuation the main T-shaped building is noted as an old structure in the hands of Hugh and William Robson [actually Robinson], and is recorded as containing two dwellings of 43½ft x 21½ x 17 and 41 x 21½ x 17, with ‘offices’ of 11½ x 21½ x 9, 46 x 22 x 16½, (‘deduct archway’ 10 x 22 x 7½), and other thatched outbuildings, undoubtedly separate from the main structure, of 64 x 14½ x 6, 18½ x 23½ x 7½, 62½ x 21½ x 15, 70 x 16 x 9.

The main structure is shown in its present form on the OS map of 1857, with part of the section to the west -formerly drawn in outline- seemly rebuilt, and another new building to the immediate north-east of this. In the second valuation of the following year, Hugh Robinson is noted as continuing to occupy one of the dwellings, with the other vacant, and another small dwelling sub-let to a Thomas Mullen.

In 1862 the freehold was acquired from the Caulfields by a Robert McGuckian, who continued to lease it to Hugh Robinson up until 1884, when the lease was taken up by a James Woods. Just prior to this, in 1881, one of the houses is noted as ‘down’, and by 1889 another became vacant and was never occupied again, becoming derelict and eventually reported as ‘boarded up’ by the early 1920s. The remaining dwelling appears to have continued to be used up until at least the 1930s.

In 1954 Castle Farm had come into the ownership of a J.H. Donnelly and Edward Laverty. In 1954 the latter built the present two-storey house to the west of the outbuildings, and from 1956, Mr. Laverty is listed by the valuers as the sole freeholder.

The Castle Farm site was scheduled in 1987.

References- Primary sources
1 ‘Taylor’s and Skinner’s maps of the roads of Ireland’ (Dublin, 1777)
2 PRONI VAL/1B/611 First valuation, Donaghenry parish, c.1833
3 PRONI VAL/1A/6/39 OS map, Co Tyrone sheet 39, with valuation
references, 1833-34(c.38)
4 Lewis, Samuel, ‘Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, vol.11’, (Dublin, 1837), p.574
5 PRONI VAL/2A/6/39A OS map, Co Tyrone sheet 39, with valuation references, 1857(-58)
6 PRONI VAL/2B/6/11A Second valuation, Donaghenry parish, 1859
7 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20A Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1860-63
8 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20B Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1864-78
9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20C Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1879-81
10 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20D Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1882-92
11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20E Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1893-1901
12 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20F Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1902-11
13 PRONI OS/6/156/1 OS plan of Stewartstown, 1906(-c.24)
14 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20G Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1912-29
15 PRONI VAL/3B/7/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Stewartstown ED, 1935
16 PRONI VAL/3C/7/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Stewartstown ED, 1936-57
17 PRONI VAL/4B/6/6 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Stewartstown ED, 1957-72

Secondary sources
1 Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 3rd Series, vo.27 (1964), pp.147-48 [Contains the 1622 description of the castle.]
2 EHS SMR file TYR 039:010

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is the sole surviving above ground remnant of the former castle complex of an important archaeological site. The dressings to the openings reveal a somewhat rustic example of Gibbsian style. The architectural detailing highlights the importance of the original castle. The remains are too ruinous to consider listing.