20 Ballygillen Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a detached snecked and rubble stone two-storey house, built c. 1858 by ‘R. Browne’. It is long and rectangular in plan with a single-storey return to the rear Northwest. The house is set to the Northeast of Ballygillen Road accessed off a long private lane. It is set among a large cluster of stone outbuildings and modern sheds.

The front Southeast elevation is four bays in width. Windows to the ground and first floor are square-headed with painted cut-stone sills. There are red brick voussoirs over. The ground floor has 6/6 timber sliding sash frames. The first floor has 3/6 timber sash frames. There is a square-headed door to the third bay to the right. The door is replacement timber with an original rectangular overlight. It is set on a concrete step. There is a cut-stone datestone set to the top left corner of the door. It is inscribed ‘R. BROWNE A.D. 1858’.

The side Southwest elevation is gable ended with a roughcast render finish. There are no openings to this elevation. There is a chimney to the apex of the gable.

The outbuilding obscures the side Northeast elevation.

The rear Northwest elevation has square-headed windows set on plain cut-stone sills. Windows to the ground floor are 18-light timber casement. Windows to the first floor are 9-light timber casement.

External walls are snecked and rubble stone to the front elevation and roughcast render to the sides and rear. There is a continuous projecting red brick eaves course. There is natural slate to the pitched roof with four brick chimneys. Chimneys are simple with profiled stepped capping. Rainwater goods are cast-iron.

Returns

There is a single-storey outbuilding attached to the Northeast, along the same building line as the house. There is a single-storey pitched outbuilding to the Northeast, and further to the West and Southwest. There is a large complex of large concrete and metal sheds to the rear North.

The single-storey return to the rear is pitched. It has a square-headed 18-light timber casement window to the rear gable. There is a square-headed external timber door to the Northeast elevation. External walls are roughcast render.

Outbuildings

The attached single-storey outbuilding to the Northeast is whitewashed stone and render. There are two square-headed openings to the rear with timber sheeted doors. The roof is pitched with natural slate. Rainwater goods are replacement uPVC.

There is a single-storey pitched outbuilding to the Northeast.

The single-storey pitched outbuilding to the West has an elliptical headed opening with a timber-sheeted door to the South gable. There is a small round-headed opening to the gable over. The roof is pitched with a metal-sheeted roof.

The remaining outbuildings are pitched with metal roofs and whitewashed stone and render.

Water Pump

There is a cast-iron water pump to the rear North within the rear yard, installed c. 1858. The pump has a slender round fluted pedestal with an elongated rounded cap. A down turned spout is located to the Northwestern side of the pump with a handle projecting downward. The pedestal is fluted to the top and bottom and the base is a square cast-iron plate, which is bolted to the stone base. The manufacturer’s stamp is embossed to the cap. It reads “W J SCOTT COOKSTOWN”. The cap is fluted with an oval-shaped finial on top.

Setting

The house is set to the Northeast of Ballygillen Road accessed off a long private lane. It is located to the Northeast of Cookstown. It is set among a large cluster of stone outbuildings and modern sheds.

Historical information

A building is shown on this site on the OS map of 1832, but not noted in the contemporary valuation, as undoubtedly it was below rateable value, suggesting a modest single-storey structure. The date stone on the present dwelling states that it was built in 1858 by a Robert Browne. Mr. Browne remained in residence until 1893, when he was succeeded by a John Browne, who acquired the freehold in the same year. The property was still the Browne (or Brown) family up until at least 1957.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/5/49/1 OS map, Co. Londonderry sheet 49, 1832
2 PRONI VAL/2A/5/49A OS map, Co Londonderry sheet 49, with valuation
references, 1853(-57)
3 PRONI VAL/2B/5/26C Second valuation, Artrea parish, 1857
4 PRONI VAL/12B/34/24A Annual valuation revision book, Salterstown ED, 1860-63
5 PRONI VAL/12B/34/24B Annual valuation revision book, Salterstown ED, 1864-78
6 PRONI VAL/12B/34/24C Annual valuation revision book, Salterstown ED, 1879-83
7 PRONI VAL/12B/34/24D Annual valuation revision book, Salterstown ED, 1884-98
8 PRONI VAL/12B/34/24E Annual valuation revision book, Ballyronan ED, 1899-1915
9 PRONI VAL/12B/34/24F Annual valuation revision book, Salterstown ED, 1915-29
10 PRONI VAL/3C/6/16 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Salterstown ED, 1936-57

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a detached snecked and rubble stone two-storey house, built c. 1858 by ‘R. Browne’. This is a well preserved, picturesquely sited, mid nineteenth century farm house. The main house is well proportioned and externally it is in quite original condition. The extant outbuildings and the pump in the yard add to the value of this rural cluster. The rural setting is well preserved.