48/50 William Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a terraced three-and-a-half storey house and butcher shop, built c. 1897. The building is rectangular in plan, with a two-and-a-half storey return to the rear. The upper level now contains a beauty salon space. A further single-storey flat-roofed extension stretches back to the East (rear). There is brick and render to the external walls. The building forms part of a long row of mixed terrace buildings along William Street.

The front West elevation faces onto William Street. The ground floor has a shopfront, with the house doorway on the left, and a shop window and door to the right. It comprises three plain rusticated rendered pilasters. These pilasters are set on painted cut-stone padstones. There are decorative carved corbel brackets supporting a stylised ‘pediment’ above the door, and a cornice above the shopfront. The corbel brackets are heavily eroded and may represent a ram to the left, an ox to the centre, and a pig to the right. There are recessed panels to the top of each pilaster with reliefs depicting doves in flight. The pilasters are surmounted by carved finials. The main house door is square-headed with circular pilasters to the door architrave. The pilasters support a segmental-headed overlight set within a carved stone surround.

The shopfront has a single-light aluminium window set on a polished granite stall riser. The polished metal shopfront dates from ten mid-twentieth century. There is an integral aluminium door to the right with an overlight. The shopfront is surmounted by a three-light stained glass window. There is a carved stone frieze over depicting the lettering ‘J. MAC MAHON’. It is surmounted by a projecting carved stone cornice. There is a retractable shop sun screen / blind immediately over the shop window and door; there appears to be an original integral sun screen / blind to the top of the aluminium shop front.

The upper levels have segmental headed windows having 1/1 timber sash frames. There are carved stone surrounds to windows, with moulded keystones to the centre of each window depicting (animal?) faces. There are projecting carved stone string courses at window sill level, springer level and again at half window level. The stringcourse at first floor half window level is in a shingle-like moulding. The stringcourse at first floor springer level has projecting roundels with carved reliefs at the centre of each bay.

There is Flemish bond brick to upper levels and rendered quoins to edges. The ground floor comprises of an elaborate carved door surround and a later aluminium shopfront. The eaves are projecting, and cast iron ogee guttering rests on a carved stone dentilled course. The roof is pitched with artificial slate. There are brick chimneys with profiled capping and clay pots.

The rear East elevation is gable ended with plain render.

The side South elevation abuts an archway at ground floor level.

Returns:
The main two-and-a-half-storey return contains an assortment of 1/1 timber sash windows. There is a dormer to the South side. The roof is pitched with artificial slate.

The single-storey extension has an arrangement of high level openings. There are large extract ducts to the sides.

Setting:
The building is set within a mixed terrace, to the eastern side of William Street within the commercial centre of Cookstown. The mixed terrace comprises mainly of Victorian buildings ranging in age from early to late nineteenth century.

Historical information

It is difficult to trace the site of this building with accuracy in the 1834-35 valuation. The site may have been occupied by a house of belonging to a Joseph Greer (1B 23½ft x 24½ x 18½, with return [1B] of 29½ x 20 x 23), but it is very difficult to be certain.

In the 1859 valuation a house is recorded on this site, occupied by a John Quinn, with John Harbison the immediate lessor, and the rateable value £13. In 1882 or 1888 (the annotations in the valuation book are confusing) the rateable value is noted as rising to £23, seemingly on the account of the addition of a store to the rear. A John McCormack is recorded as the occupant in 1888.

In 1895 a Joseph McMahon became the leaseholder, and by 1897 he had rebuilt the property, which after that date is recorded as a ‘house, shop, store, yard and garden’, with a rateable value of £49. The valuers’ office notebook tells us that the newly-built property contained a shop, ‘back room’ and kitchen to the ground floor, 2 ‘sitting rooms’ to the first floor with 2 bedrooms in the return, 2 bedrooms to the second floor with a servant’s room in the return, and a single room to the attic level. McMahon acquired the freehold of the property (from the Earl of Castlestuart) in 1912. The building was still in the hands of the MacMahon family in 1972.

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 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.]
5 PRONI VAL/2D/6/3/1-2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1859-82 [2 sheets]
6 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5A Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1860-63
7 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5B Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1864-68
8 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5C Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1868-81
9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5D Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1881
10 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5E Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1881
11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5F Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-90
12 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5G Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1882-88
13 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.]
14 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5H Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1895-99
15 PRONI VAL/12B/37/5K Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1889-99
16 PRONI VAL/12E/171/1/1-2 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1892-97 [2 sheets]
17 PRONI OS/33/1/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
18 PRONI OS/9/10/2/1-2 OS plan of Cookstown, index map, 1895 [2 sheets]
19 PRONI OS/9/10/3/1-5 OS plan of Cookstown, 1895 [5 sheets]
20 PRONI VAL/12A/6/11 Valuers’ office notebook, Cookstown Union, 1895-1900
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/12A/6/16 Valuers’ office notebook, Cookstown UD, 1901-10
24 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7B Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1909-15
25 PRONI OS/33/2/1-4 OS plan, 1909 & 1918 [4 sheets]
26 PRONI VAL/12B/37/7C Annual valuation revision book, Cookstown ED, 1916-29
27 PRONI VAL/3G/142/1 /1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1936-37 [4 sheets]
28 PRONI VAL/3C/7/8 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban, 1936-57
29 PRONI VAL/3G/142/2/1-4 Valuation plan of Cookstown, 1937-51
30 PRONI VAL/4B/6/10 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Cookstown Urban vol.1, 1956-72
31 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

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

An elaborate and rare example of a late-Victorian townhouse and shop. The front elevation is lively with contrasting plasterwork and brick detailing together with a fine mid twentieth century polished shopfront. The plasterwork depicting animals is particularly important. Inside the butcher's shop there are increasing rare pictorial representations in glazed tiles.