Courtyard

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a group of outbuildings of an eighteenth century country house built in the later part of the eighteenth century. It consists of a number of buildings arranged in a regular fashion around a quadrant courtyard.

The wing to the North is linear in plan, and consists of single-storey hipped building to the left, an open archway, and a single-storey hipped outbuilding to the right.

The wing to the West is also linear in plan, and abuts the North wing at right angles. It consists of a two-storey stone hipped building to the North (left), a central gable-ended turreted block to the centre, and a two-storey rendered hipped building to the South (right).

The wing to the South is curved in plan, and consists of a further arrangement of mixed single-storey and two-storey buildings. Its curved plan allows it to abut the North wing and West wing at right angles, thus forming a complete courtyard enclosure. It has a pitched single-storey curved building to the left, a 2-storey hipped block, a 2-storey pitched block, and a further single-storey pitched block to the right.

Beyond the wing to the West is a further linear arrangement of outbuildings.

To the Northwest of the courtyard is a large walled garden.

NORTH WING

The North wing is composed of a single-storey hipped building to the left, an open archway, and a single-storey hipped outbuilding to the right. Both buildings are hipped with natural slate. Both buildings are adjoined by a central elliptical-headed arch with cut-stone capping to the wall over.

The building to the left is six bays in width. The front elevation consists of six elliptical-headed recessed bays. The three bays to the left are open with rendered stall risers. There are elliptical-headed windows inset within the fourth and sixth bay. Both windows are timber casement set on cut-stone sills. There is a square-headed door to the fifth bay. The door is timber sheeted, and has a brick surround. The side West elevation is abutting the West wing. The side East elevation is exposed within the central archway. It contains no openings. The rear elevation has two small square-headed horizontal slit windows at high level. There is a further square-headed door located to the right.

WEST WING

The West wing is composed of a two-storey stone hipped building to the North (left), a central gable-ended turreted block to the centre, and a two-storey rendered hipped building to the South (right).

2-storey North building (right):
The courtyard elevation is four windows in width. There are segmental-headed bays to the ground floor. The ground floor bays have square-headed timber double doors to the first and third bay. The second and fourth bays are square-headed timber casement. All recessed bays have decorative brick surrounds. There is a continuous cut-stone string course at arch springer level.
The first floor has segmental-headed timber casement windows. All windows have decorative brick surrounds and are set on a continuous cut-stone stringcourse at sill level. External walls are snecked and rubble stone. The roof is hipped with natural slate.

Central turreted block
The courtyard North-western elevation is three bays in width. It comprises three round-headed arches to the ground floor, divided by rectangular buttresses at each bay. Round-headed arched openings are supported by cut-stone columns, the stepped buttress abut the columns to the exterior. The round-headed arches have brick voussoirs. Within the round-headed archways are recessed square-headed openings with cut-stone lintels over. The lintels are surmounted by brick roundel openings within the recess. The openings have large timber doors to the left and right bay. The central bay is open. This is surmounted by a stone and brick gable with a brick roundel to the centre. The brick is aligned with the central bay of the ground floor, and carries up on the line of the columns to form a slightly projecting brick bay. There is a hexagonal brick turret surmounting the gable to the centre. Each face has a round-headed opening. There is a clock face inserted into the courtyard face. All other remaining faces have recessed timber doors. All round-headed openings have brick voussoirs and cut-stone keystones over. The roof to the turret is pitched and curved.
The rear elevation has a large square-headed opening to the ground floor. There are square-headed timber casement windows to the first floor. External walls are rubble stone with brick dressings. The roof is pitched and hipped with natural slate.

2-storey South building (left):
The courtyard elevation is four bays in width. There are segmental-headed bays to the ground floor. The ground floor has a square-headed timber and glazed door to the second bay. All other bays have square-headed timber casement windows. There is a continuous cut-stone string course at arch springer level. The first floor has square-headed timber casement windows. All windows have decorative brick surrounds and are set on concrete sills. There is a continuous cut-stone stringcourse below sill level. The rear elevation contains an irregular assortment of square-headed timber and uPVC windows to the ground and first floor. There is a square-headed door to the ground floor. External walls are rendered. The roof is hipped with natural slate. There are three rendered chimneys with profiled stepped capping to the roof. Rainwater goods are replacement uPVC.

CURVED SOUTH WING

The curved South wing is comprised of a pitched single-storey curved building to the left, a 2-storey hipped Church, a 2-storey pitched building, and a further single-storey pitched building to the right.

Pitched single-storey curved building:
The courtyard elevation of the left block comprises of an irregular assortment of square-headed window openings. Some windows are set within elliptical-headed recesses. There is a projecting single-storey lean-to to the front. It has a square-headed timber entrance door to the North and a square-headed timber casement window to the West. The side elevations are abutting the adjacent buildings. The plain unpainted rendered rear elevation contains three pointed-arched windows to the ground floor
External walls are painted render. The roof is pitched and curved with natural slate. There are simple rendered chimney to the roof.

2-storey curved hipped chapel:
The front courtyard elevation of this hipped two-storey block has four long pointed-arched lancet windows. The side elevations are partially obscured by the adjacent buildings. The plain rendered rear elevation has four pointed-arched lancet windows. There is a continuous cut-stone stringcourse at mid window level. There is a single-storey rear entrance porch to the ground floor right.
External walls are painted render. The roof is hipped with natural slate. Rainwater goods are cast-iron. There is a single-storey rear entrance porch to the ground floor right. There is a square-headed door and a pointed arched window to the South elevation. There is a further pointed-arched window to the West elevation. The roof of the porch is flat.

2-storey pitched block:
The front courtyard elevation is four bays in width. The ground floor has recessed elliptical-headed bays. There are square-headed windows to each bay. There are square-headed windows to the first floor. The side elevations are obscured by the adjacent buildings. The plain rendered rear elevation has a square-headed painted timber door to the ground floor right. There are four square-headed louvered timber openings to the first floor. External walls are painted render. The roof is pitched with natural slate. Rainwater goods are cast-iron.

Single-storey pitched block to the right:
The front courtyard elevation has an assortment of square-headed openings. There is an elliptical-headed coach arch to the left.
The rear elevation is rubble and snecked stone. Window openings appear to be blocked up, however it is partially obscured by foliage. The roof is pitched with natural slate. Rainwater goods are cast-iron.

Setting:
The demesne is located to the Southeast of Cookstown. The courtyard consists of a number of buildings arranged around a central roughly quadrant yard. The entrance to the demesne is off Mountjoy Road to the North via a long circular drive which sweeps around the West of the walled garden and enters the courtyard at the South through the archway in the central block; this was the original main entrance to the courtyard. A more recent cut-off from the entrance drive, near the new house, leads directly to a large forecourt created to the north of the courtyard, which is then accessed through a small arched gateway in the north range. There is also a more grand entrance (HB09/11/013F) to the demesne off the Castlefarm Road to the west, linking to the circular drive, which must have originally been the main entrance but which is now kept locked. The demesne is well-wooded and some of the original landscape features survive.

Historical information

The outbuildings themselves appear to be largely contemporary with the original house, the distinctive quarter circle plan form shown on the OS map of 1833-34, and the first valuation of 1835 grading most of the complex as ‘old’ at that date. Their dimensions are recorded in the same valuation as, 87ft x 17½ x 11, 44 x 21 x 16, 80 x 17 x 11, 40½ x 23 x 17½, 61 x 18 x 10, 69 x 17½ x 10, 56½ x 21½ x 16, (deduct archway 9 x 22½ x 10), 58 x 21½ x 16½, 54 x 11 x 6 (a ‘newer’ structure), 27 x 9½ x 8 (also more recent), 41 x 14½ x 7, 88 x 20 x 9, 56½ x 13 x 7, 31½ x 13½ x 7, 56 x 21 x 13, 35 x 20 x 9, 44 x 13½ x 7 (‘houses outside garden [?offices]’), 33 x 13½ x 10, 44 x 13½ x 7, with the house itself measuring 90 x 55 x 30, with 8ft high cellars.

Stewart Hall (or Stuart Hall), the country house these former outbuildings once served was built c.1760 by Andrew Thomas Stewart (Viscount Castle Stewart from 1793, Earl Castle Stewart after 1800). Beginning as a typically uncomplicated rectangular Georgian block, the building was extended in 1860 by means of the addition of a somewhat ill-conceived Baronial tower to the south-east, with a castellated parapet applied to the original section in an effort to lend the whole unity. The property badly damaged by a bomb in 1974, and demolished in the 1980s and replaced by the present bungalow.

The date of the highly unusual private Presbyterian meeting house or ‘chapel’ contained within the complex is uncertain. It is not marked on the OS maps of 1833-34 or 1853-57, but noted for the first time on the OS map of 1906, and only mentioned by the valuers in 1923 (‘chapel and farm offices’); however the valuers were never interested in religious buildings as a rule, as these were exempt from rating. Thus, going on this evidence, it appears to have brought into being at some point in the later 1800s, and is therefore the work of the 4th or 5th Earls of Castle Stewart.

The walled garden is shown on the OS map of 1833-34, and includes a date stone of 1832. The decorative folly towers are shown on the OS map of 1853 and are much in keeping with the later baronial additions and embellishments to the house, made by the 4th Earl of Castle Stewart in 1860.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D/1618 Castle Stewart Papers, 1587-c.1960
1 PRONI VAL/1A/6/47 OS map, Co. Tyrone sheet 47 with valuation
references, 1833-34(-35)
2 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland…vol.20’ eds. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams, (QUB, 1990), p.15 (1834)
3 PRONI VAL/1B/621A-B First valuation, Ballyclog parish, 1835
4 PRONI VAL/2A/6/47B OS map, Co Tyrone, sheet 47- with valuation references, 1853-57
5 PRONI VAL/2B/6/25C Second valuation, Ballyclog parish, 1857
4 PRONI VAL/12B/37/1A Annual valuation revision book, Ballyclog ED, 1860-63
6 PRONI VAL/12B/37/1B Annual valuation revision book, Ballyclog ED, 1864-80
7 PRONI VAL/12B/37/1C Annual valuation revision book, Ballyclog ED, 1881
8 PRONI VAL/12B/37/1D Annual valuation revision book, Ballyclog ED, 1882-96
9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/1E Annual valuation revision book, Ballyclog ED, 1897-1911
10 PRONI OS/6/3/47/3 OS map, Co. Tyrone sheet 47, 1906
11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/1F Annual valuation revision book, Ballyclog ED, 1912-29
12 VAL/3C/7/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Ballyclog ED, 1936-57

Secondary sources
1 Rowan, A.J., ‘North west Ulster’, (London, 1979), p.489
2 EHS Garden file relating to Castle Stewart

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

This is a group of outbuildings of an eighteenth century country house built in the later part of the eighteenth century. It consists of a number of stone and rendered buildings arranged in a regular fashion around a quadrant courtyard. Although altered in the early nineteenth century, they date from the later part of the eighteenth century. They form an important surviving portion of a significant house and estate. The grouping is most unusual in that it includes what once was a privately owned Presbyterian chapel (now in use as an art gallery), stables and estate workers cottages. Along with the walled garden and entrances, the group is somewhat eclectic in character and is a noteworthy collection of estate structures.

General comments

HB09/11/013 has been split into its constituent parts, not all of which are listed.