Methodist Manse

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey three-bay gabled mid-Victorian stucco house in a very plain form of Italianate style, with a projecting rectangular porch.

It stands in a built-up area facing the main street of the town but set back slightly from it within its own grounds, and located immediately adjacent to the Methodist church to which it is joined by a short stone balustrade.

The main entrance faces west, set in the centre of the west elevation.
Walling is of smooth cement render, lined and blocked, with a projecting plinth and platband, slightly projecting quoins, and a simple frieze moulding to the porch.
The roof is of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with timber barge boards and oversailing eaves with tongued and grooved sheeted timber soffits. There are two chimneys, one on each gable of patterned red and yellow brickwork.
Rainwater goods comprise extruded aluminium gutters and circular upvc downpipes.
Windows are all timber vertically hung sliding sashes, two over two, with horns, except for narrow fixed lights in the sides of the porch, but vary in shape. Those to the ground floor flanking the porch are tripartite with segmental heads to the central light. There is a pair of coupled semi-circular headed openings above the porch, with a rectangular headed window to the flanking first floor windows. All windows are replacements dating from the 1980s. The entrance contains a rectangular timber panelled door with plain fanlight set in a segmental arched surround with plain reveals.

The north and south gables are blind, with quoins to the west extremity only. There are projecting shaped timber brackets supporting the eaves.

The east or rear elevation is of three storeys due to the drop in level of the site past the line of the front wall. It is of similar materials to the front but of assymetrical arrangement of windows and projections.
Windows are all rectangular of varying sizes and shape and are of modern type, fixed lights and top-hung vents.
There is a deep two-storey block projecting from the centre, and a shallower single storey block projecting to one side, containing a modern garage door. Rainwater goods are as previous.

SETTING:
To the front of the house is a small garden with a lawn to each side of a concrete path enclosed by a low smooth rendered plain wall with stone copings, surmounted at the front by plain ironwork railings with a simple ironwork gate.
Abutting each corner of the house at the front are short runs of stone balustrading, the one to the north connecting with the church alongside.
To the rear is a garden with concrete areas, and beyond that the extensive tarmac carpark of the church.

Historical information

Site shown developed on 1st edition OS map of 1833-34, and that of 1857. The manse, however, is later, having been built in 1863-64 to serve the neighbouring Methodist church [HB09/13/008], itself dating from 1858. It was first occupied by Rev. E. Harpur, with the original rateable value £17. Rev. Harpur was followed by Rev. John Wilson in 1867 and George R. Walsh in 1868. Rev. W.L. Doonan took up residence in 1870, and added ‘new offices’ to the rear in the same year.

Rev. Doonan was succeeded in 1873 by William B Lambert [?or La Bert], Rev. Alexander Fullerton in 1876, Rev. William Quaile in 1879, and Samuel Dunlop in 1883. Rev. George Robinson followed Samuel Dunlop in 1885, and was succeeded by Rev. James Daly in 1888. In 1891 Rev. John G. Whittaker is recorded as the householder, with Edward West taking over from him in 1894, followed by Rev. Henry N. Nevin in 1895, Rev. William Clark (1898), Rev. Hugh Moore (1902), Rev. A. Crawford (1905), and Rev. Fleming Orr (1907).

Rev. James R. Clinton took up residence in the manse in 1910, remaining there until 1914, when John A. Walton is listed as the occupant. Rev. W. Wimperas was next, in 1917, with Rev. Sayers succeeding him in 1921, Rev. James W. Moore (?1923), and Rev. J. Johnston (1927). In 1936 a Samuel H.J. Currie is listed as the occupant, followed by Rev. Allen in 1937, Rev. Rooney in 1941, Rev. W.M. Lipsett (1946), Rev. J. Firth Little (1951), Rev. E. Colvin (1958), Rev. A.E. Nelson (1962), Rev. Robert Ferguson (1964), Rev. Sidney Edgar (1966), and Rev. W. Taylor (1970).

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

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a mid-Victorian house of modest pretention, designed in a very plain form of Italianate style characterised by the symmetry of the front and the presence of tripartite and coupled round-headed windows. It has undergone some modernisation of interior finishes and fenestration to the rear, but still retains its original exterior appearance to the front where it forms part of an interesting group with the associated Methodist church alongside it.