34a and 34b Oldtown Street, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80 8EF

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a terraced two-and-a-half-storey house with a single-storey basement, built c. 1870. It is roughly rectangular in plan with a three-storey lean-to return to the rear.

External walls are dressed regular-coursed sandstone with render to the basement. The rear elevation is unpainted dry-dash render. There is artificial slate to roof with cast-iron rainwater goods. There is a brick chimney with profiled stepped capping to the South.

The front East elevation faces onto Oldtown Street. There is a recessed segmental-headed doorway to the right of the ground floor. The door is timber and glazed with an overlight. There is a square-headed window to the left of the ground floor, with 6/6 timber casement frames. The upper levels has 6/6 windows with dressings as previous. All windows have cut-stone sills and timber lintel insets. There are concrete steps leading to basement level with painted wrought iron railings. The basement has a timber casement window to the left of the ground floor. There is a continuous stone plinth at sill level. There is a square-headed doorway below the main entrance to the right with a glazed and timber door.

The rear elevation has an assortment of timber casement windows and a door visible to the second floor. All other floors are obscured by the returns. There is a metal fire escape staircase connecting the ground and upper floors.

Return:
The three-storey lean-to return has an assortment of square-headed timber casement window to the rear West. There is slate to the roof. Much of the return is obscured by the metal fire escape stair.

Setting:
The building is set back from Oldtown Street behind a low rendered wall with cast-iron railings.

Historical information

The site of this building and its two neighbours to the north and south [HB09/12/003A, C] is shown developed on the OS map of 1833-34. In the first valuation of 1835 the plot is recorded as being taken up with three old thatched dwellings of differing sizes, that to the north single-storey, that to the centre of similar footprint but two-storey, and that to the south also two-storey, but considerably larger than its neighbours. The properties are noted as occupied by a Hugh Mullen, Thomas Bell, and Robert Dunseith, respectively, with the northernmost house exempt from valuation on account of its modest proportions. These dwellings were still standing at the time of the 1859 valuation, with Thomas Bell still occupying the middle building, a Mary Ridell living within that to the north and a Joseph Ferguson within that to the south, with a William Paul the immediate lessor of all three.

In 1870 all three houses were demolished by Mr. Paul and replaced with those we see today. This particular dwelling was first occupied by a William [?]Coombes, followed by a John O’Neill in 1872, ‘McNamee & Lowry’ in 1874, and Frederick P. McNamee in 1875. In 1878, Thomas Paul, (who contemporary directories suggest was a yarn merchant), became leaseholder, and a Thomas McCormick took on the tenancy in 1881, followed by a John Elder in 1884. The following year a John Wilson Fleming, a rising local businessman and later owner of the Loughry estate, took over the lease of the property, with a Miss Mary L. Harris, (who later appears to have married, becoming Mary L. Lewis), succeeding him in 1908. Edward Smith is noted as the tenant in 1912, John Forsythe in 1913, Robert Donnelly in 1914, Donald Crawford in 1915, James A. Donaghy in 1918, and the leaseholder Mary L. Lewis in 1921.

By 1936 a Rachel Browne is recorded as the tenant, and Robert Coulter the immediate lessor. Browne was succeeded by an Alexander McCullough in 1938 and an Eleanor McCullough in 1949. In the same year the lease passed to Daniel Coulter, but was in the hands of Robert Coulter by 1956. McCullough and Coulter are listed as occupant and leaseholder up until at least 1972.

References- Primary sources
1 ‘Pigot & Co's Provincial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1824)
2 PRONI OS/9/10/1 OS plan of Cookstown, 1833
3 PRONI VAL/1B/622A First valuation, Derryloran parish, 1834-c.1838
4 PRONI VAL/1D/6/2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, c.1838
5 Lewis, Samuel, ‘A topographical dictionary of Ireland…’ vol.1, (London, 1837)
6 ‘Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1846)
7 PRONI VAL/2C/63 Second valuation, Union of Cookstown (Dublin, 1859) [This is the printed version of the second valuation. The handwritten version (which may have been more detailed and include property dimensions etc.) no longer exists. The printed volume merely provides names of tenants and leaseholders, and rateable values.]
8 PRONI VAL/2D/6/3/1-2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1859-82 [2 sheets]
9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5A Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1860-63
10 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5B Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1864-68
11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5C Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1868-81
12 ‘Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1870)
13 ‘Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland’, (Manchester, 1880)
14 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5D Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1881
15 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5E Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1881
16 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5F Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-90
17 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5G Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-88
18 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5J Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1889-94 [The reference number for this book is out of sequence in the
PRONI catalogue- the dates it covers are actually earlier than VAL/12B/37/5H.]
19 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5H Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1895-99
20 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5K Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1889-99
20 PRONI VAL/12E/171/1/1-2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1892-97 [2 sheets]
22 PRONI OS/33/1/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
22 PRONI OS/9/10/2/1-2 OS plan of Cookstown, index map, 1895 [2 sheets]
23 PRONI OS/9/10/3/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
24 PRONI VAL/12A/6/11 Valuers’ office notebook, Cookstown Union, 1895-1900
25 PRONI VAL/12E/171/2/1-3 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1897-1910 [3 sheets]
26 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7A Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1901-07
27 PRONI VAL/12A/6/16 Valuers’ office notebook, Cookstown UD, 1901-10
28 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster directory’ 1902- (Belfast News-Letter, 1902- )
29 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7B Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1909-15
30 PRONI OS/33/2/1-4 OS plan, 1909 & 1918 [4 sheets]
31 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7C Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1916-29
32 PRONI VAL/3G/142/1 /1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1936-37 [4 sheets]
33 PRONI VAL/3C/7/8 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban, 1936-57
34 PRONI VAL/3G/142/2/1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1937-51
35 PRONI VAL/4B/6/10 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban vol.1, 1956-72
36 PRONI VAL/4B/6/11 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban vol.2E, 1956-72

Secondary sources
1 Oram, R.W. and Rankin, P.J., Historic buildings…Dungannon & Cookstown (Belfast, UAHS, 1971)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a terraced two-and-a-half-storey house with a single-storey basement, built c. 1870. This was a well composed example of a modest Victorian town house. Although the terrace adds interest to the streetscape, it survives as a façade only and insufficient historic fabric survives to merit listing.