Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB09/07/017

Address :
69 Urbal Road Coagh Cookstown BT80 0DP

Townland:
Urbal

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
27/03/2009 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
125/07

IG Ref:
H8904 7816

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

This is a detached two-storey mill owner's house, built c.1850. It is roughly rectangular in plan with a two-storey full width lean-to to the rear West. There is a central flat-roofed projecting porch to the front elevation. The house is set on the Eastern end side of Urbal Road. The front East elevation is three windows in width and faces directly onto Urbal Road. The ground floor has a flat roofed projecting entrance porch to the centre. Windows are timber casement with margin panes. The door is square-headed timber panelled with two fluted pilasters to each side. Pilasters support a carved timber frieze. An elliptical-headed fanlight surmounts the frieze. There are single-light sidelights to each side of the door set on cut stone sills. The corners of the porch have larger pilasters supporting a carved projecting stone cornice. Windows to the ground floor and first floor of the house are segmental-headed with 2/2 timber sliding sash frames, set on cut-stone sills. The side South elevation is gable ended. It has a square-headed 6/6 timber sliding sash window to the ground floor. There are two round-headed 7/7 timber sliding sash windows to the first floor. Windows have margin panes. The side North elevation is gable ended and contains no openings. The rear West elevation is largely obscured by the two-storey return. External walls are painted render. The roof is pitched with natural slate with artificial slate patches. There are two matching rendered chimneys to the roof, one at each gable end. The eaves are projecting slightly, with timber-corbelled brackets to the gables. Rainwater goods appear to be cast-iron. Return: The original return was extended to the left side. The rear elevation of the two-storey lean-to has an irregular assortment of square-headed and round-headed timber sliding sash and timber casement windows. There is a square-headed door to the right, accessed by cut-stone steps. Setting: The house fronts directly onto Urbal Road. There is a small garden to the front. There is a near ruinous mill building to the rear. Urbal Road is largely mixed, comprised of buildings from early Victorian to mid-twentieth century. To the rear there is a large but now nearly derelict mill complex. Some portions of the sluice gate and gearing remain.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

A small building is shown in this vicinity on the OS map of 1833-34, but it is difficult to say whether it is occupying this particular site. This particular structure may be that recorded in the 1833 valuation book as an old thatched house occupied by a Robert Mc Mullen, and measuring 44½ft x 21½ x 11, with thatched sheds of 9 x 17 x 4½, 31 x 18 x 7, 31 x 18 x 7 and 13 x 8 x 6. To the west of the house a ‘spade mill’ is marked on map, which is noted by valuers as ‘in ruins’. The present house, complete with L-shaped return, is shown on the OS map of 1857, along with a large factory building to south-west marked ‘Coagh Spinning Mills’. The valuations tell us that both house and mill were the property of Thomas Duff, and that the plot also included 21 mill worker’s houses. Thomas Duff is mentioned in the OS Memoirs of 1840 as having a flax mill within this townland, which was ‘rebuilt in 1838’. Presumably this expanded over the next two decades, allowing him, among other things, to erect a new residence. When exactly all of this building took place is not certain; however, the house itself does not look as if it is older than c.1855. Thomas Duff appears to have died c.1870, for by 1872 the business was in the hands of the ‘Duff Brothers’. In the same year a ‘new addition’ to the mill was constructed, with the valuers reporting that it contained ‘2,260 spindles’. Increased production and wealth meant that one of the Duff brothers, James, was able to build himself a new residence (‘Ultimo House’), within spacious grounds on the opposite side of the road from the works. The mill, which is noted as also containing a saw mill and tow dressing works in 1924, seems to have continued in operation in some form until the 1970s. The house itself appears to have remained within the Duff family until relatively recently. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI VAL/1B/620B First valuation, Tamlaght parish, c.1833 2 PRONI VAL/1A/6/30 OS map, Co Tyrone sheet 30, with valuation
references, 1833-34(-c.38) 3 ‘OS Memoirs of Ireland…vol.20’ ed Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams, (QUB, 1993), p.74 4 PRONI VAL/2A/6/30A OS map, Co Tyrone sheet 30, with valuation references, 1857(-59) 5 PRONI VAL/2B/6/27 Second valuation, Tamlaght parish, 1859 6 PRONI VAL/12B/37/4A Annual valuation revision book, Coagh ED, 1860-63 7 PRONI VAL/12B/37/4B Annual valuation revision book, Coagh ED, 1864-79 8 PRONI VAL/12B/37/4C Annual valuation revision book, Coagh ED, 1880-81 9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/4D Annual valuation revision book, Coagh ED, 1882-91 10 PRONI VAL/12B/37/4E Annual valuation revision book, Coagh ED, 1892-98 11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/4F Annual valuation revision book, Coagh ED, 1899-1912 12 PRONI VAL/12E/169/1 Valuation plan of the town of Coagh, 1904(-08) 13 PRONI OS/8/79/1 OS town plan of Coagh, 1908 14 PRONI VAL/12B/37/4B Annual valuation revision book, Coagh ED, 1913-29 15 PRONI VAL/3B/7/4 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Coagh ED, 1935 16 PRONI VAL/3C/7/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Coagh ED, 1936-57 17 PRONI VAL/4B/6/6 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Coagh ED, 1957-72

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation K. Group value

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a well proportioned late Georgian house. The decorative ornamentation to the entrance porch and varying fenestration enliven the character of the façade. It retains much of its original character. The building has group value with the listed Ultimo house opposite (HB09.07.020) which was built by the same mill owner following the success of his business on this site..

General Comments

Date of Survey

06 February 2008