22 Curly Hill Road, Strabane, Co Tyrone BT82 8LP

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached road-fronted multi-bay two-storey with attic-storey rendered house, built c.1880, with a curved corner bay to west, two-storey return, attached gate-screen and lower two-storey building to west. Located on the north side of Curly Hill Road fronting onto the road, facing south.

Pitched natural slate roof, black clay ridge tiles, several rendered profiled chimneystacks with clay pots and cast-iron rainwater goods. Rough-cast rendered walling with smooth render plinth course. Square-headed window openings with rendered reveals, concrete sills and 2/2 timber sash windows.

Principal elevation is four irregularly-spaced windows wide, with eaves set unusually high over first floor windows. Entrance opening to right bay and curved corner bay to the left, corresponding to curved wing of adjacent gate-screen. Square-headed door opening with replacement timber panelled door and rectangular overlight with the remains of a red brick porch. A small red brick wall indicates an earlier front entrance porch, the former entrance now having a single-pane timber sash window with coloured margin lights.

West gable has a door opening at attic-level with timber glazed door opening onto cantilevered concrete platform. The curved bay continues as a rubblestone screen wall to the gate-screen.

Rear elevation abutted with two-storey rough-cast rendered return with pitched natural slate roof, two rendered profiled chimneystacks with clay pots and cast-iron rainwater goods. Square headed windows with rendered reveals and 2/2 timber sash windows. Small square headed window opening on gable at attic level.

East gable has a pair of diminutive window openings with two-pane timber casement windows. A tall rubble stone wall abutts the east gable.

The gate-screen comprises an elliptical-headed carriage-arch formed in redbrick with a pair of tongue-and-groove timber gates. The arch is flanked by a pair of rubblestone curved wings, that continue as curved bays to both the house and the adjoining road-fronted outbuiding. The wall to the house has a crow-step detail and a pedestrian entrance formed in redbrick with tongue-and-groove timber door. The two-storey outbuilding is finished as per the main house with a curved corner bay to the right and tongue-and-groove shutters to the first floor windows, concrete block to the ground floor openings. To the east gable the tall rubblestone wall runs along the road enclosing a yard to the north with a corrugated iron gate. The enclosed yard is bounded on the west by the rear return of the main house, on the east by remains of large stone arches(possibly remains of earlier outbuildings of Curly Hill Estate) and to the north by a large two-storey rubble outbuilidng with 'Belfast Roof'.
Owner advised that her father constructed the roof on the outbuilding during mid 20th century. Attractive mature garden and small orchard to north of enclosed yard and extensive rural landscape to north west of house and yard bounded on all sides with dry stone walling.

Roof Natural slate
Walling Rough-cast render
Windows Timber sash
Rainwater goods Cast-iron

Historical information

Outbuildings are shown on the site of the present house on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833. A building opposite is captioned ‘Curly Hill’ and on the second edition the building occupying the site in question seems to be included in this designation. However, on valuation maps from 1833 onwards the two buildings have separate plot numbers and appear to be separately owned. On the third and fourth editions (1905, 1951) the current house appears and is captioned ‘Hollymount’.

The Townland Valuation (1828-40) lists a farm yard and outbuildings occupied by Mr Samuel Colhoun and valued at £5. Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) lists the property as a ‘Caretaker’s house and offices’, later amended to a ‘Gate lodge and offices’. It is implied that the house is part of a larger estate, likely to be the Curly Hill estate. The lessors are Geo Smiley, Andrew Spotswood and Connolly Lisky and the value is £4, later amended to £5. In 1869 the reference to gate lodge is deleted and the buildings are simply described as ‘offices’. In 1880 William Hunter adds a house and shop to the plot and the valuation is increased to £15. It is likely that this is the current house.

Buildings behind the main house are described as a house and offices valued at £1.10s and 10s respectively. In 1915 a new outbuilding is added and this increases the value to £2. Accompanying valuers’ notes give a plan of the house and outbuildings, constructed of rubble masonry and f[elt?] and describe the outbuildings as ‘purely agricultural’. In 1918 Robert Gormley is the occupier in fee. The buildings remain in the ownership of the Gormley family but the house is leased by them to other occupiers.

In 1934 the main house is occupied by John George McGinnis and leased from Daniel Doherty. It is initially valued at £6.10s, later raised to £10.10s and comprises a kitchen, room and five bedrooms. Dimensions are given for a porch, main house, return and attic over. Following an appeal in 1935 the valuer confirms that part of the premises is still being used as a shop. In 1941 the house is occupied by R A Hale and leased from Judge Smyly. It is described as ‘unfinished’ and the valuer comments, “House being reconstructed but work held up indefinitely due to lack of materials. Partly completed and occupied are one kitchen, room used as office, two bedrooms and bathroom. Other rooms are unplastered, not floored or otherwise unuseable”. In 1943 the house is almost finished, “Although not quite finished internally the house is now in a good habitable state. Contains the following accommodation: ground floor: hall, office, sitting room, kitchen, scullery. First floor: two good bedrooms, bathroom. Adjoining part of house contains workshop on ground floor with two rooms over (not finished). Fair attics over whole building.” The value is subsequently raised to £28 with £4.5s for outbuildings. In 1944 during the course of an appeal Richard Hale comments that he spent £150-200 on interior fittings and decoration. The valuer comments, “This is an old house which the present occupier has attempted to remodel and improve, without, in my opinion, very much success….The situation of this house is very bad. Approach is by a steep and narrow street with a very bad surface past poor working class houses. Furthermore it is right out on the road without any garden, without even a forecourt to give a slight degree of privacy.”

In 1934 the buildings behind the main house are being used as a slaughter house and are leased by Daniel Doherty from Judge Smyly. The dwelling is valued at £2 (reduced from £5.5s following an appeal in 1935) and the slaughter house at £4.5s. The premises have a lease dating from 1817.

There are two more dwellings on the plot, a ‘small kitchen type of house’ adjoining the main house to the west, which after 1934 is leased by Charles Campbell from Daniel Doherty and valued at £4.5s. It comprises a kitchen, two rooms upstairs and a W.C. in the yard. No separate entrance to this house is visible on the front elevation today.

A further house is listed to the west of the main house, on the other side of the entrance gateway, which has numerous changes of tenant and is leased from Daniel Doherty in 1934 and R A Hale thereafter. It is valued at £3.15s, raised from £2.15s and comprises a kitchen and one room with a loft upstairs. It has an earth closet and is of rubble, brick and slate. The valuer describes it as a ‘kitchen type of house’.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/5/1 – First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/5/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1854)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/5/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1905)
4. PRONI OS/6/6/5/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1951)
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/5 – Townland Valuation Map
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/638C – Townland Valuation (1828-40)
7. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/5 – Griffiths’ Valuation Map
8. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/41 - Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
9. PRONI VAL/12/A/6/59 – Valuers’ Note Book (1911-15)
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/42/31A-M – Annual Revision Records (1860-1931)
11. PRONI VAL/3/D/7/9A/6 – Valuers’ RV Binder (1933-57)
12. PRONI VAL/3/G/159/1/3 – First NI General Revaluation Town Plan (1933-57)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Multi-bay two-storey rendered house on the north side of Curly Hill Road with attached gate-screen and outbuildings. A late nineteenth-century rural house of modest and informal proportions which possibly contains fabric from original outbuildings of Curly Hill Estate, opposite. Positioned on the roadside and with extensive mature site to north east the group of buildings forms an interesting complex. Although of some local interest the buildings are not of sufficient interest to warrant listing.