Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB10/07/006

Address :
1 Mill Avenue Sion Mills Co. Tyrone BT82 9ET

Townland:
Liggartown

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
17/01/1979 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Hall

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
72-16

IG Ref:
H3405 9312

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Owner Category

Church - C of I

Exterior Description And Setting

Freestanding single-cell double-height gable-fronted Tudoresque half timbered former church, built c.1895, now in use as a hall and located on a corner site at the east side of Memount Road within the Sion Mills Conservation Area. Rectangular on plan, with gabled porch to west, small catslide outshot to east, and full height gabled projection to south. Pitched tiled roof with timber eaves-brackets and bargeboards, aluminium rainwater goods. Redbrick chimneystack to catslide projection; redbrick bellcote on western end. Walling is narrow panelled applied half-timbered with rendered infill panels over a high squared rock-faced uncoursed sandstone plinth having sandstone buttresses at regular intervals; angle buttresses at west. Windows to main block are dipartite cusped-headed leaded lattice windows set in square-headed timber frames (except where otherwise stated), all have secondary glazing; those to projections are divided by a single timber transom and mullion, replacement leaded glazing; continuous painted lead capped sill course throughout. Principal entrance elevation faces north and consists of four equally-spaced windows with catslide outshot at left end. Outshot has two windows to north and a replacement timber sheeted door to left cheek accessed by three pavoired steps. East gable has quadripartite window, detailed as others (external metal grille over). South elevation has gabled right bay, slightly projecting. Four windows to main section, one window to gable. West gable has a diminished gabled extension with central window; transomed and mullioned window to right cheek; hardwood sheeted door to left cheek. Setting: The former church is set slightly back from the road on an open plot and surrounded by paviored perimeter paths; there is a lawn with single-storey shed (constructed in similar style) to southeast. Bounded to west by a low stone wall and to the north by a low red brick wall with iron railings; red-brick gate piers with decorative concrete cap; timber gate with metal knob. Accessed from the road at north via a painted timber pedestrian gate supported on red brick piers. Situated to the southeast is the replacement church, The Church of the Good Shepherd (HB10/07/002A). Roof: Pitched tiled. Walling: Half timbered; roughcast infil panels; all over rockfaced uncoursed square sandstone plinth Windows: Leaded stained glass, cusped timber frames RWG: Half-round aluminium gutterss

Architects

Unsworth, W F

Historical Information

Sion Mills was a company-owned town established by Herdman & Co., a flax spinning mill, and was run by the Herdman family as a model village for their workers and village maintenance staff, who all had an option for healthcare, until the village was privatised in the mid 1960s when the mills needed to raise capital during a slump in the linen industry. The building is first shown on the third edition OS Map of 1905, captioned “St Saviours Church”. In the Annual Revisions, it first appears as a Parochial Hall in 1913 at a value of £20. It is owned by the Representatives of the Church Body and leased from Herdmans Ltd. Rowan mentions the hall among “other buildings: The wide grass verges and tree-lined road provide an attractive setting for more half-timbered work by Unsworth: ... Old St. Saviour’s Church, half-timbered like the rest and with a red-brick bellcote, opened for worship in May 1895 though never consecrated” (Rowan, p.488). Walker states that “like the rest of the village, it was built in a Tudoresque style. Although St. Saviour’s was used as the chapel-of-ease to the present church at Urney, it was never actually consecrated and, providing too small, was succeeded by the present church in 1909. A bible from St. Saviour’s can be seen in the present church [of the Good Shepherd, HB11/07/002A]” (Walker, p.153). References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/6/10/1 -First Edition OS Map (1832-33) 2. PRONI OS/6/6/10/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1855) 3. PRONI OS/6/6/10/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1905) 4. PRONI OS/6/6/10/4 -Fourth Edition OS Map (1951) 5. PRONI VAL/12/E/182/1 -Town Plan of Sion Mills (1866-1898) 6. Montgomery, William. “Map of Strabane, 1840.” In Ferguson, Celia, ed. “The Herdmans and Sion Mills, 1835-2005: Book One – The Early Years: A Collection of Letters, Photographs & Extracts from Documents and Books of Interest.” (Sion Mills, Co. Tyrone: Sion Mills Building Preservation Trust, 2005), p.0. Secondary Sources 1. “1835 to 1935 At the Works of Herdmans Limited, Sion Mills, Co. Tyrone.” Sion Mills, Co. Tyrone: Self-published, 1935. 2. Bence-Jones, Mark. “A Guide to Irish Country Houses.” Second Revised Edition. London: Constable and Robinson, 1990. 3. Dixon, Hugh. “An Introduction to Ulster Architecture.” Second Edition. Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2008. 4. Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland). “Sion Mills Conservation Area.” Belfast: H.M.S.O., 1977. 5. Herdman, Rex. “Recollections of Rex Herdman.” In Ferguson, Celia, ed. “The Herdmans and Sion Mills, 1835-2005: Book One – The Early Years: A Collection of Letters, Photographs & Extracts from Documents and Books of Interest.” (Sion Mills, Co. Tyrone: Sion Mills Building Preservation Trust, 2005.), p.123. 6. Ferguson, Celia, ed. “The Herdmans and Sion Mills, 1835-2005: Book One – The Early Years: A Collection of Letters, Photographs & Extracts from Documents and Books of Interest.” Sion Mills, Co. Tyrone: Sion Mills Building Preservation Trust, 2005. 7. Kennedy, Michael G. “By the Banks of the Mourne: A History of Strabane.” Strabane, Co. Tyrone: Strabane Historical Society, 1996. 8. McEvoy, John. “Statistical Survey of the County of Tyrone with Observations on the Means of Improvements; Drawn Up in the Years 1801, and 1802, For the Consideration, and Under the Direction of The Dublin Society.” (Dublin: Graisbery and Campbell, 1802. Reprinted as McEvoy, John. “County of Tyrone, 1802: A Statistical Survey.” Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1991), p.172. 9. McCutcheon, W.A. “The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland.” (London: HMSO, 1980), p.40-41. 10. Mitchell, C. J. Haldane. “Omagh: Paintings and Stories from the Seat of the Chiefs.” Donaghadee, Co. Down, Cottage Publications, 2000. 11. Rowan, Alistair. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Buildings of Ireland Series. Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979. 1. Rynne, Colin. “Industrial Ireland 1730-1930: An Archaeology.” (Cork: The Collins Press, 2006.), p.40-41. 12. “Sion House, Strabane.” “The Irish Builder.” 4 December 1884. 13. Williams, Jeremy. “Architecture in Ireland, 1837-1921: A Companion Guide.” Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd, 1994. 14. Young, Robert Magill “Belfast and the Province of Ulster in the Twentieth Century.” Pike's New Century Series, ed. W. T. Pike. Brighton : W. T. Pike, 1909.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

Church Hall (Formerly St. Saviour's) is a fine example of an Tudoresque style church built to designs by the accomplished architect, William F. Unsworth as a place of worship for the community of the model village of Sion Mills. Although the church proved too small to be practical, it has served as a church hall and continues to be used by the local community. The building lies within the Conservation Area of Sion Mills and enhances the conservation area status. Despite replcement fabric, original proportions and key features have remained intact and the building is prominently located on a corner site within the village, and has group value with the other half timered buildings designed by the same architect.

General Comments

Date of Survey

10 March 2009