14-16 Molesworth Street, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80 8NX

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a two-storey former town hall, masonic hall and offices, built c. 1884 possibly to designs by John Lanyon. The building is now in retail and office use. The building is long and rectangular in plan, with a two-storey flat roofed return to rear. The building is street fronted.

In the front North façade there are two main entrance doors. That to the left side has a pointed arched door opening with a replacement timber panelled door with a fanlight; it has retained a carved stone surround and surmounting carved stone ‘tympanum’ to the door head. That to the right side has a segmental headed doorway with a carved stone surround and replacement timber door with an overlight. Five shop windows have been created, all have modern timber shop window frames; there are some modern signboards set over some of the shop windows.

There are enlarged first floor window openings all with modern top opening timber window frames. A carved stone quatrefoil roundel window is set above the doorway. An Oriel window is set to the right of the front elevation. The Oriel rises from a carved stone cushioned base which is supported on a polished granite column with a carved floral capitol; this rests on a narrow rendered base. A carved stone roundel date stone is set to the top of gable and is inscribed ‘1884’.

The front façade was originally finished in clay facing brick; this is now finished with c.1982 dry-dash render. The originally brick plinth to the base of the front elevation has been rendered over. The rear South elevation is of smooth render containing an irregular arrangement of 1/1 timber sliding sash and casement windows.

The main roof is finished with fibre cement slate with red clay ridge tiles. Original chimneystacks have been removed. There are three small gables set to the centre of the roof and a large gable set to the left side. At the base of the steep pyramidal roof (set over the Oriel window) there are small timber gablettes; this roof is topped with a carved finial.

Setting:
The former town hall is street fronted, and forms a part of a long mixed terrace that varies in height. It is located on the South side of Molesworth Street, set in the North-east corner of Cookstown.

Historical information

This stretch of terrace, originally known as ‘The Commercial Buildings’ was constructed in 1884 (possibly to the designs of John Lanyon) and first recorded in the valuation book in 1885. It originally contained five separate properties the largest of which, to the eastern side (present no.16), was a house and offices occupied by a solicitor, William James Venables. The central section (no.14) was occupied by the ‘Cookstown Discount Company’ on the ground floor, with the upper storey a Masonic hall. The ground floor of the western section (no.12) was used by the Town Commissioners [i.e. it acted as the town hall], with a ‘Young Men’s Reading Rooms’ above this.

A John Malone took over the lease of the ground floor of no.14 in 1907, and in 1924 the NI Ministry of Labour took on the lease of this floor for the establishment of a labour exchange for the area. In 1928, the local Masonic lodge moved to premises in Fairhill Road and upper floor of no.14 was converted by Cookstown Urban District Council for use as offices. In the same year the Council also took over the whole of no.12.

Between 1936 and 1956 the building witnessed a high turnover of occupants, the labour exchange moving elsewhere in 1939 and Cookstown Urban District Council quitting their offices in 1956 following the building of a new town hall in Burn Road. By the latter date the building appears to have been divided into 11 properties, with a Peter Cosgrove the major leaseholder. It has remained in multiple occupancy ever since.

The front elevation retained much of its Ruskinian Gothic form when first surveyed in September 1973, but had assumed much of its present form, with enlarged windows and render, by early 1982.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5F Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-90
2 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5G Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-88
3 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.]
4 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5H Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1895-99
5 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5K Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1889-99
6 PRONI VAL/12E/171/1/1-2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1892-97 [2 sheets]
7 PRONI OS/33/1/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
8 PRONI OS/9/10/2/1-2 OS plan of Cookstown, index map, 1895 [2 sheets]
9 PRONI OS/9/10/3/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
10 PRONI VAL/12E/171/2/1-3 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1897-1910 [3 sheets]
11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7A Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1901-07
12 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7B Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1909-15
13 PRONI OS/33/2/1-4 OS plan, 1909 & 1918 [4 sheets]
14 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7C Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1916-29
15 PRONI VAL/3G/142/1 /1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1936-37 [4 sheets]
16 PRONI VAL/3C/7/8 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban, 1936-57
17 PRONI VAL/3G/142/2/1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1937-51
18 PRONI VAL/4B/6/10 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban vol.1, 1956-72
19 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)
2 Rowan, A.J., ‘The buildings of Ireland – North west Ulster’, (London, 1979)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This former town hall has considerable social significance. A main chamber has survived substantially intact. However, much of the external original fabric has been subject to a large number of modifications with the loss of external character and appearance. The current appearance masks the buildng's interesting history and the internal Victorian remains.