Loreto Convent, Brook Street, Omagh, Co Tyrone BT78 1DL

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A mid-Victorian stone building in Gothic Revival style comprising an L-shaped block of 3 storeys and a basement, with a circular stair tower to the front, and a gabled chapel attached to the rear. Main entrance faces west.

WEST ELEVATION: comprised of 5 bays arranged symmetrically to the left of a circular stair tower, and two further bays to the right of the tower; the portion to the left contains a central elevated entrance reached by a double flight of exterior steps. There is a slight difference in the quality of masonry of the 5 bays to the left of the tower, and the two right-hand bays and the tower itself, suggesting two phases of building although detailing of window openings and stringcourses is similar, and the roof is now treated as one unit.

Roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; dark toned ridge tiles with ironwork finials to extremities, but most of the original stiff-leaf foliated details are now missing. One chimney on main ridge, smooth cement rendered, with battered cap, and three original octagonal stoneware pots. Walling to left of stair tower is of random rubble sandstone with squared sandstone quoins and roughly squared dressings to window reveals; slightly projecting face to basement storey with weathered stringcourse; moulded stringcourse to second storey and moulded cornice. Walling of stair tower and to right of tower is of snecked sandstone rubble with squared sandstone dressings to windows. Many of the stone dressings have been later rendered and incised to simulate markings of natural stonework. Windows to basement are timber sliding sash, vertically hung, semi-circular arched, 3 over 3, with horns, with projecting sandstone cills; arched ironwork security bars. Windows to elevated ground floor and to first floor are similarly sashed but Gothic arched, combined in tall Gothic arched recesses. Windows to second floor are similarly sashed but rectangular, the cornice forming the heads. Central entrance bay contains similarly sashed windows but that to second floor has a shouldered head, set in a cusped Gothic arch with moulded label; plain circular motif in tympanum, surmounted by a gablet with moulded coping. Central entrance on elevated ground floor comprises a stop-chamfered Gothic archway containing a pair of rectangular chamfered panelled doors with central timber colonnettes, set below a moulded cornice and a Gothic traceried fanlight.

Doorway opens onto a short flight of concrete steps which divides into a double flight at the base; chamfered plinths of sandstone and smooth cement render; ornamentally treated cast iron railings. Front and sides of exterior steps are of sandstone rubble: front contains a Gothic arched lunette with cast iron traceried bars; smooth render to voussoirs. Left-hand side of top flight contains a rectangular ledged timber door set in a squared chamfered dressed surround; right-hand side contains a window as previous to basement of main block. Moulded gutters, look like pvc, with pvc downpipe. Circular stair tower has a slated conical roof, lead dressed to apex. Windows are narrow lancets, timber sashed 1 over 1 with horns, Gothic arched to second floor; rectangular headed to first floor but recessed in Gothic arched openings with decorative chamfering to head; and rectangular headed to elevated ground floor; all openings chamfered. Base of tower is of rectangular plan with moulded cornice carrying stone weatherings. Front face and left-hand side contain rectangular timber windows, sashed 1 over 1 with horns, with ironwork security bars, and recessed cills, right-hand side contains a rectangular ledged timber door set in chamfered reveals. Decorative cast iron railings to plinth wall bounding path around base of stair tower.

NORTH ELEVATION: comprises north end of main front block, of 4 storeys as previous, with a long rear return wing extending to the left in the same plane; ground slopes up to left so only one small basement opening at right-hand end of rear return. Main front block, to right, has hipped slated roof; walling as previous to left-hand portion of entrance front with squared quoins visible to basement and to top part of wall; windows as previous to entrance front; moulded pvc gutter and pvc downpipes. One chimney, smooth cement rendered, with battered cap and three original octagonal stoneware pots, rising from a slightly projecting stone breast through first and second storeys. Rear return wing to left is 9 bays long, with a modern high-level link block projecting from it connecting with a modern block to the north. Rear return wing is of 3 storeys with a part basement at the right-hand end: top floor is on same level as main front block, but two lower storeys are at lower level than corresponding storeys on main front block. Dressings to ground floor and first floor of wing to right-hand side of high level link are nearly all rendered, but dressings from link to left-hand end are dressing sandstone. Windows to ground storey are Gothic arched, containing rectangular timber sliding sashes, 3 over 3 with horns, surmounted by arched 3-pane top vents; the three ground floor windows to left-hand end have iron security bars; the fourth ground floor opening from the left is a doorway, Gothic arched, containing a pair of rectangular timber panelled doors; windows to first floor are similarly Gothic arched but without top vents. Windows to second floor are rectangular sashed, 6 over 3, with horns, with the cornice as the heads and the stringcourse as the cills. One chimney at rear of main front block, smooth rendered as previous, with original pots; two chimneys to front wall plane of wing, of ashlar sandstone with moulded battered caps; two original stoneware pots to each.

REAR ELEVATIONS OF MAIN BLOCKS: East gable of rear return wing is a blank wall of snecked sandstone with wide chimney breast projecting at top storey on stepped corbels.

South face of rear return wing is 3 storeys as previous, but wall is rendered. Windows are as previous to north face but also rectangular headed to first floor; smooth rendered reveals. Fire escape stairway to right-hand end; modern high level link block in concrete brickwork projecting to left of fire escape stairway, with high level modern timber boarded addition to left of that, within rear yard, all partly obscuring original south face of rear return.

Rear elevation of main front entrance block, within rear yard: roof slated as previous; walls rendered; windows mainly rectangular timber sashed 3 over 3, with horns, but also later pvc windows; pvc rainwater goods; later lean-to addition at basement level.

SOUTH ELEVATION: 4-storey, 4-bay; hipped roof as previous to entrance front. Walling as previous to right-hand portion of entrance front; pvc rainwater goods. Windows as previous to entrance front except no iron bars to third basement window from left. First bay from left has no windows to upper floors: instead there is a slightly projecting chimney breast in sandstone through first and second storeys, surmounted by a smooth rendered chimney stack, with battered cap and two original stoneware pots. Chimney breast cusp-arched at bottom, with label moulding, carved head stops and foliated finial, framing a niche which contains a sculptured figure of Christ supported on a foliated sandstone corbel.
Extending to the right is a gabled chapel: slated roof with terracotta ridge tiles; snecked sandstone walling with weathered buttresses; cast iron gutter on shaped stone corbels; cast iron downpipe; chapel 2-storey high on a basement: one basement window as previous to main block; chapel windows are coupled lancets with cusped heads, set below relieving arches. Projecting forward at right-hand end is a single storey sacristy: roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with terracotta ridge tiles and terracotta finials; moulded cornice to parapet walls; windows are small rectangular timber sashes, 1 over 1 with horns, in front and right-hand side; rectangular leaded windows to left-hand side flanking a leaded oculus. Rectangular ledged timber doorway to front, set in chamfered reveals, reached by short flight of stone steps.

East gable of chapel contains a 3-light Gothic traceried window with carved head label stops. Ornamental ironwork cross finial to apex of gable.

North side of chapel is of similar detailing to south except ground floor area obscured by later modern flat roofed corridor in concrete brickwork.

SETTING: The building stands in its own extensive grounds, now largely occupied by modern 20th century school buildings, with a tarmac driveway and tarmac areas around it, but with grassed areas beyond them; mature trees and shrubs. Immediately to the west, in a lawn, facing the main entrance is a white painted metal statue on a sandstone pedestal with devotional inscriptions; a short distance to the north is a 19th century burial vault with only its entrance gable exposed (HB11/11/003); to the south-west is an open burial ground bounded by a hedge with no memorials of any special architectural interest; to the north is the main driveway with main entrance gateway comprised of three piers of sandstone rubble and squared sandstone dressings with shallow pyramidal caps, containing a pair of large iron vehicular gates and a smaller pedestrian gate, none of any special architectural interest. Boundary walling of sandstone rubble, with some cement rendered coping.

Historical information

Built in 1856-9, apparently in stages, the 5 bays to the north being built first, with the tower and 2 bays to the south following later; it also appears that the rear return wing was also added later as evidenced by original quoins visible on the north elevation. The date of the chapel is uncertain. Authorship of each part is uncertain but both J. Neville and Hadfield and Goldie have been recorded as architects involved, possibly the former for the original convent block, and the latter for additions.

References – Primary Sources

1. OS Map 1935, Co Tyrone 35.

Secondary Sources

1. Information from Mother Superior in 1970 as recorded in 1st survey.
2. A.J. Rowan, The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster (Harmondsworth, 1979), pp 446-447.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

This is a fine, mainly mid-19th century institutional building in Gothic Revival style, which retains much of its original character, as well as most of its original exterior features.