Glenlowry House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is an attached rendered two-storey house, built c.1859. The building is roughly rectangular in plan with a pitched two-storey return to the rear. There is a single-storey lean-to abutting the rear of the return. There is a yard to the rear with two outbuildings; a pitched two-storey outbuilding, and an additional single-storey lean-to with a metal roof. The return of the adjacent building (HB09/13/002B - Loy House B) encloses the yard to the North.

The front West elevation faces onto Chapel Street. There are square-headed 1/1 timber sash windows to front elevation with painted cut-stone sills. There is a replacement timber door with an overlight to the ground floor. The door has a rendered surround with a central rendered keystone.

The rear elevation has square-headed replacement timber casement windows. There is a square-headed timber door to the ground floor.

The main roof is pitched and slated. There are rendered chimneystacks to the main roof with profiled stepped capping. rain water goods are cast iron.

External walls are rendered with quoins to edges.

Return:
The two-storey return and single-storey lean-to have timber casement windows as previous. There is a square-headed door to the lean-to. Walls are painted dry-dash render.

Outbuildings:
The two-storey out-building has timber casement windows to the West elevation. There is an integral elliptical-headed coach arch to the left of the ground floor. The East elevation has square-headed stable doors. There is a square-headed timber door to the upper level. The roof is pitched and slated with cast-iron rainwater goods.
The single-storey outbuilding has two large square-headed openings facing the yard. It has a metal lean-to roof.

Setting:
The house is set back from Chapel Street behind iron railings on a dwarf wall. There is a small garden to the front with a gated path leading to the entrance door. The rear yard is concreted. The house is set to the Northern side of the town centre.

Historical information

This site of this property and its two neighbours to the south (nos.86 and 88, HB09/13/001B-C), is shown developed on 1st edition OS map of 1833-34, but the structure shown on the map appears considerably narrower than that we see today. The valuation of November 1834 tells us that the building in place at that point was part of the large house to the north, ‘Loy House’ (nos.80 and 82, HB09/13/002A-B), and, as such, appears likely to have constituted the ‘offices’ (i.e. outbuildings) recorded as measuring 110 x 20 x 16½.

The present terraced building is shown in much of its current form on the valuation plan of 1859. It is likely that transition of the site from one occupied by (part of) an outbuilding, to a domestic structure, took place when Loy House itself was itself was divided into two properties. This happened sometime after 1846, most probably around 1851, when the Stewart (of Killymoon) Cookstown estate was auctioned off. Whether the outbuilding in question was completely demolished or whether the three new separate dwellings made use of the structure is uncertain.

No.82 is recorded in the second valuation of 1859 as the home of a Charles Irvine, with Andrew Mulholland (the mill-owner of Ballywalter Park Co. Down, who bought part of the Cookstown estate in aforementioned 1851 sale), the lessor, and the rateable value £23. Miss Eliza Miller is noted as the next occupant, in 1862, followed by James Rutherford in 1871, Godfrey Lyle in 1872, Mary Sinclair in 1874 (after the house remained ‘vacant’ for a period), Ida Sinclair in 1880, John McKenzie (1887), Philip Foy (1893, after a period of vacancy), Robert Cunningham (1895), and a Thomas McSherry in 1898. In 1901 a [?]Jonathon W. Fleming became tenant, followed by a Hugh McCullagh in 1903, who remained there until some time after 1929. By 1936 an Alexander Foster was occupying the property, followed by an Olivia Foster in 1952, and a Francis McCaffrey in 1955. By 1956 McCaffrey had acquired the lease, however, by that point, the extensive ‘offices’ had been subdivided into seven separate properties. McCaffrey was still in residence in 1972.

The name ‘Loy Houses’ is applied by the valuers to this house, its two neighbours to the north and neighbour to the south, after c.1868. As stated above, the name ‘Loy House’ appears to have referred to the two northernmost properties only, which were indeed once a single dwelling. The name may have been applied to this house and its immediate neighbour to the south because, as we have seen, both stand on ground which was originally occupied by an outbuilding formerly belonging to Loy House, part of whose fabric they may incorporate. It is odd, however, that the building two doors to the south (present no.88 HB09/13/001C), which stands on part of this site also, was not included within the title.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/9/10/1 OS plan of Cookstown, 1833
2 PRONI VAL/1B/622A First valuation, Derryloran parish, 1834-c.1838
3 PRONI VAL/1D/6/2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, c.1838
4 Lewis, Samuel, ‘A topographical dictionary of Ireland…’ vol.1, (London, 1837)
5 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.]
6 PRONI VAL/2D/6/3/1-2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1859-82 [2 sheets]
7 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5A Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1860-63
8 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5B Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1864-68
9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5C Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1868-81
10 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5D Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1881
11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5E Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1881
12 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5F Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-90
13 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5G Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-88
14 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.]
15 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5H Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1895-99
16 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5K Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1889-99
17 PRONI VAL/12E/171/1/1-2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1892-97 [2 sheets]
18 PRONI OS/33/1/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
19 PRONI OS/9/10/2/1-2 OS plan of Cookstown, index map, 1895 [2 sheets]
20 PRONI OS/9/10/3/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
21 PRONI VAL/12E/171/2/1-3 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1897-1910 [3 sheets]
22 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7A Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1901-07
23 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7B Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1909-15
24 PRONI OS/33/2/1-4 OS plan, 1909 & 1918 [4 sheets]
25 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7C Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1916-29
26 PRONI VAL/3G/142/1 /1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1936-37 [4 sheets]
27 PRONI VAL/3C/7/8 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban, 1936-57
28 PRONI VAL/3G/142/2/1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1937-51
29 PRONI VAL/4B/6/10 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban vol.1, 1956-72
30 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

B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This building has group value with the adjacent former Loy House with which it was closely connected. It has definite character with the front elevation having good proportions and the setting to the front is enhanced with with an iron gate and railings.