38 Mill Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three-bay two-storey with attic semi-detached house, built 1863 and extended c.1880; located in an alleyway east of Mill Street in Gilford town centre. Rectangular on plan and linked to a two-storey outbuilding to east by a first floor addition supported on cast-iron beams over a ground floor storage area.

Pitched natural slate roof with rendered chimneystacks having terracotta pots. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods. Walling is English-garden wall bonded red-brick to south elevation and smooth render to east gable. Windows are boarded (timber-framed casement window with leaded pane to ground floor); 1/1 and 6/6 timber sliding sash to east gable, all with projecting masonry sills and rendered reveals.

The principal elevation faces south and is five openings wide to first floor and four openings wide to ground floor. Timber sheeted and glazed door to left surmounted by leaded and coloured glass transom light.

The west elevation is abutted by adjoining building.

The north elevation was not accessible.

The east gable has a 1/1 window to attic; first floor is abutted at right by the addition with exposed box 6/6 window at left; ground floor has a half-panelled timber door surmounted by leaded and coloured glass transom light with margin panes; 1/1 window at ground floor right.

Setting

Accessed via an alleyway from Mill Street, via timber-sheeted gates leading to a tarmacadam yard. Two-storey brick outbuilding to east; south elevation has two 6/6 timber sliding sash windows flanking a timber-sheeted door; ground floor with timber-sheeted door having four-paned transom at left; large timber-sheeted sliding door to centre and metal doors to right. To far south is a mature garden, enclosed by decorative cast-iron railings and gate.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Brick / Render
Windows: Boarded / Timber
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

The current building forms the return to a dwelling house fronting onto Mill Street and was built in 1863 and extended c1880. The dwelling house, to which the current structure forms the return, was originally associated with the neighbouring public house. In the mid-1920s the main house was purchased by the Catholic church as Gilford’s first parochial house, and the return may at this point have been converted into a separate dwelling for a housekeeper.

In valuation records, the house has not been treated as a separate dwelling, but has been included in the valuation of the building facing the street front.

The current house and its neighbour were ‘in progress’ during the compilation of Griffith’s Valuation in 1863. The neighbouring house was built as a ‘public house, grocery &c’ by Thomas Thompson and the current building was constructed as his dwelling. Dimensions are given for the incomplete house of 7?x8? (yards) with a deduction for the carriage archway and the dimensions of the two-storey return are also given at 8?x5. The current dwelling is shown on the associated valuation town plan as a short return to the main house on the street front. Due to its unfinished state, the house was not given a valuation until the mid 1860s when it was valued at £23.

In 1880 the pub and house passed to Bridget Thompson and in 1881 new outbuildings and a garden were added to the plot, increasing the valuation to £24.10s and 10s for the garden. It was at this time that the return was extended to its present dimensions.
The 1901 census shows that the neighbouring building continued to be run as a pub and that Bridget Thompson, wine and spirit merchant, was living in the current 13-room house and return. Fourteen outbuildings are listed including stables, a coach house and a harness room together with agricultural buildings such as cow houses and a fowl house. Bridget Thompson lived with her son, who was manager of the public house, and her granddaughter Carmen who had been born in South America. The family retained a general domestic servant. By 1905 the house had passed to the representatives of Bridget Thompson and the pub passed to the Livingstone family, and from this point onwards the pub and house were no longer jointly owned. Thomas Vaughan, wood-turner, was the occupier of the current house and return from 1907, followed by his widow Mary Vaughan in 1925 and he and his wife are listed in the 1911 census, living with their 18-year-old daughter Edith who is a dressmaker.

In 1926 the house was purchased for £570 by the Trustees of Gilford Roman Catholic Church and functioned as the parochial house, housing the first resident priest in Gilford, Father Michael Brown who is listed as the occupier from 1929. Campbell suggests that the rear of the church itself had originally been designed as a curate’s residence and that subsequently temporary lodgings were elsewhere in the town. Father Michael Brown was followed by Father James McEvoy in 1949 and Father Michael H O’Rourke in 1952 and it has been speculated that during this period the rear return may have been used as accommodation for a housekeeper. The house was sold to Mr Minnis in 1969 and subsequently became a funeral parlour (Cairns) but currently lies vacant.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/26/1 First Edition OS Map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/26/2 Second Edition OS map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/3/26/3 Third Edition OS Map 1901-2
4. PRONI OS/6/3/26/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1920-21
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/48E – Griffith’s Valuation (c.1861)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/25A-H Annual Revisions (1864-1930)
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/13A-B Annual Revisions (1899-1929)
8. PRONI VAL/3/C/4/2 – First General Revaluation (1936-57)
9. PRONI VAL/3/D/4/3/J/3 – First General Revaluation (1933-57)

Secondary Sources

1. Cairns, A “The Church and Community of St John the Evangelist Gilford, Sesquicentennial 1850-2000” Lurgan: Inglewood
Press, 2002
2. Campbell, P “Parish of Tullylish” in Dromore Diocesan Historical Society “The Diocese of Dromore Past and Present” 2004
3. Campbell, Rev E “Ecclesiastical Buildings Diocese of Dromore” Newry Telegraph, 1940

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A vacant three-bay two-storey with attic semi-detached house with attached outbuilding, built c.1863 and extended c.1880; located in an alleyway east of Mill Street in Gilford town centre. Although it has some architectural detailing and the attached outbuilding survives it is worthy of record but it is of a late date and not of special interest.