The Court House, 77 Main Street, Loughgall, Armagh, Co Armagh, BT61 8HZ

The Court House, 77 Main Street, Loughgall

Built in 1746, this two-storey rubble limestone building with hipped roof occupies a prominent position set back from the main street within a compound. The building stands end-on to the street and was originally rendered and roughcast, but this finish was removed in 1996 to expose the stonework beneath. It is now Grade B1 listed.

The south-west elevation faces the main street and comprises four bays across two storeys. The hipped roof is covered with Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses with a deeper bottom course. A cut-stone eaves course runs across the facade. The ground floor features three large semi-circular arches with roughly shaped voussoirs, now fitted with modern glass door-screens protected by outward opening arched double doors of ledged timber hung on full-width iron hinges. The upper storey contains four rectangular timber sash windows, vertically hung with 9 over 6 panes, with horns and exposed sash boxes set in plain reveals. The windows have roughly shaped voussoirs to flat-arch heads and project stone cills. Cast iron gutters and downpipes run to each end of the elevation.

The north-west elevation is single-bay with a ground floor timber sashed window (6 over 6 panes) recessed within a large semi-circular archway, protected by an iron grille. The north-east elevation contains four ground floor arched openings, each fitted with a timber doorscreen comprising a rectangular ledged timber door with glazed panel coupled with a fixed panel of the same design, all surmounted by a semi-circular tongued and grooved sheeted tympanum. A first floor sashed window (6 over 6) sits at the extreme right-hand bay, with a later inserted first floor doorway to its left containing a rectangular ledged timber door set in plain reveals with a flat-arch head, opening onto a modern timber fire-escape stairway. The south-east elevation is single-bay; the ground floor contains a large semi-circular arched opening now closed up with brickwork, whilst the first floor has a rectangular ledged timber door set in plain reveals with a flat-arch head.

A notable feature is the vaulted screed-covered bridge on the south-east side, reached by a tarmac ramped path from the front yard. The bridge is carried on a flying half-arch with rough stone voussoirs, rubble stone spandrels and parapets with angled stone copings.

The boundary to the main street is formed by a rubble stone wall containing a pedestrian opening north of the building. South of the building, the boundary wall returns along a private roadway and contains a vehicular gateway marked by square dressed stone piers mounted with cast iron protectors inscribed with metal plaques reading 'Victor C. Taylor, Atlas Foundry, Belfast'. The front yard is surfaced with concrete setts. A large modern single-storey shed of lightweight construction stands to the rear; to the east the ground rises steeply in landscaped terrain merging with an adjoining property garden.

Historically, the building was described in the 1830s as having a roughcast and whitewashed finish, comprising a market house on the ground floor with the court house above. However, another contemporary source indicates the market had been discontinued by that time, though a monthly manorial court continued to be held. The building was restored in 1996, when the ground floor was subdivided into three main spaces, the steep banks to the rear were excavated, and the rendered exterior finish was removed to reveal the underlying stonework. It now operates as a shop.