Carricklee Stableyard

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached late nineteenth century Arts and Crafts style quadrangular stableyard, dated 1891, located to the west side of Carricklee Road, Strabane. Series of three rectangular-on-plan blocks forming the north, east and south courtyard sides; entrance at east.

Roofs are pitched rosemary tiles, red clay ridge tiles; red brick corbelled chimneystacks with clay pots; deep overhanging timber sheeted eaves with exposed rafter ends and timber bargeboards supporting u-profile cast-iron rainwater goods; walls are roughcast rendered with mock half-timbering to gables and stepped brick quoins. Windows are bottom-hung sixteen-pane timber casements contained within cambered-headed openings and painted stepped brick surrounds with projecting masonry cills unless otherwise stated.

The north seven-bay one-and-half-storey block contains the stables and is the largest and most elaborately detailed block within the stableyard. Rectangular-on-plan with hipped roof; cross-gabled at north end surmounted by clock tower with bellcast roof and weathervane. Gables at south, east (courtyard facing) side, with slightly lower ridge line; West pitch contains two wall-head dormers and central timber louvred cowl-dormer; east pitch contains three timber louvred cowl-dormers.

Principal south (stableyard facing) elevation contains central square-headed entrance door; two windows at each side; left gable contains window at each floor (twelve-pane at first floor); abutted at left corner by roughcast rendered wall with rosemary tiled coping, enclosing yard; right gable contains round-arched-headed opening; window at first floor detailed as left gable, wall abutted at mid-height by pitched canopy aligned east-west. Left (south) gable is blank; west elevation is gabled at left side; with central gabled entrance porch; window at first floor; at right a series of eight square-headed ventilation openings are surmounted by two wall-headed hipped dormers contains timber-sheeted loft doors. Entrance porch contains close timber studding and has single window (now boarded) to gable; vertically sheeted timber door to each cheek. North elevation is abutted by full-height canted bay containing stairwell at right; at left by single-storey lean-to extension. Exposed section contains vertically sheeted timber door within stepped brick surround and cambered opening. Canted bay has bellcast rosemary tiled hipped roof; walls are exposed red brick; ground floor abutted by single-storey lean-to extension; six-pane fixed window at landing level and four-pane fixed window at each cheek at first floor with continuous masonry cill.

South block contains rectangular-on-plan single-storey cottage with pitched roof; single red brick corbelled chimneystack with clay pots; remainder detailed as stable block. North (stableyard) facing elevation contains at right, vertically sheeted timber door with fanlight over; five windows at right. East gable is blank with mock half-timbering. South elevation contains at right double leaf glazed doors with fixed side lights; at left of door at eaves level two square-headed ventilation openings are now blocked and rendered; two windows at left. West gable (which faces stable block) is abutted at right corner by roughcast boundary wall with rosemary tile coping and lean-to store; exposed section is blank.

North single-storey block is rectangular-on-plan and detailed as other blocks. South (courtyard) facing elevation is abutted at roof level by pitched canopy of which the north side is tiled and the south side is glazed, supported on four cast-metal columns and metal trusses; exposed section below contains at left; vertically sheeted timber door with fanlight over; window at immediate right; at right a vertically sheeted timber door with fanlight over and window at immediate left; cast-iron water tap surround at right; at far right a series of large vertically sheeted timber sliding doors. West elevation is abutted by a single-storey lean-to extension of no interest; exposed section is blank. North elevation contains three windows at right; east gable is blank with mock half-timbering.

Stableyard is accessed from the east side via vertically sheeted timber gates supported on brick piers with projecting base and decorative capping stones with ball finial and crest; crest on left pier contains the letters ‘J.H.’; right (north) pier contains the date ‘1891’. Stableyard bound by roughcast rendered walls with pitched rosemary tiled coping and exposed rafter ends. North-west corner (internal angle between north and west blocks) is also bound by similar wall detailing forming small square yard, accessed at west side. Set within a mature landscaped estate the stableyard is located north-west of the main Carricklee house.

Roof Rosemary tiles
Walling Roughcast rendered
Windows sixteen-pane timber casements contained within cambered-headed openings with stepped brick surrounds and
projecting masonry cills
RWG U-profile cast-iron

Historical information

The courtyard has two ornate shields, one embossed with a “J.H.” monogram and the second displaying the date of 1891 with interlaced numerals. The courtyard is first shown on the third edition OS map of 1905.

According to Annual Revision Records, John Herdman (1841-1903), co-owner of Herdman & Co. Ltd, Sion Mills, became the occupier of buildings on the site in 1875. In 1892, the site increased in value from £28 to £51.10s, which is consistent with the construction of the courtyard buildings and the associated “Carricklee House” in 1891.

Rowan describes Carricklee as “a vaguely Elizabethan-style house, built by John Herdman of Sion Mills in 1891” (Rowan, p.496). The first survey ascribed the buildings stylistically to W. F. Unsworth. Dean also attributes the estate on stylistic grounds to W. F. Unsworth.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/4/1-First Edition OS Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/4/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1855)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/4/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1905)
4. PRONI VAL/1/B/642 -Townland Valuation
5. PRONI VAL/2B/6/44 (1857) -Griffith’s Valuation (1858)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/42/20A-G -Valuation Revisions (1860-1924)
7. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/4A+B -Griffith’s Valuation Map (1858)
8. PRONI VAL/12/D/6/4C -Valuation Revision Map(1896-1925)

Secondary Sources

1. Dean, J. A. K. “The Gate Lodges of Ulster: A Gazetteer.” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994.
2. Rowan, Alistair. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Buildings of Ireland Series. Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A well detailed detached late nineteenth century Arts and Crafts quadrangular stableyard, dated 1891, located to the west side of Carricklee Road, Strabane. Made up of a series of three rectangular-on-plan blocks forming the north, east and south stableyard sides with entrance at east. The stableyard has remained largely unaltered with most original fabric intact. Rosemary clay tiles, cowl-dormers and applied half-timbering are a few of the original Arts and Crafts features that make this a group of integrity; it remains an impressive structure and is contributes significantly to the architectural heritage of the area; associated buildings include Carricklee House and Carricklee gatelodge (HB10/08/004C).

General comments

This record has been renumbered HB10/08/004B-previously HB10/08/004