Mortuary at Cowan Heron Hospital, Dromara Road, Dromore, Co Down, BT32 5EU

A mortuary building erected circa 1915 as part of the Cowan Heron Hospital complex on Dromara Road, Dromore. The hospital itself, an Arts and Craft cottage hospital, was constructed between 1898 and 1900 to designs by Peter Chalmers Cowan, county surveyor for County Down. The hospital was opened in 1900 and comprised a central block with two wings extending to its west and east sides, and a large two-storey rear return.

The mortuary building first appeared on the fourth edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1919-20, suggesting construction between 1903 and circa 1920, though no documentary evidence concerning its architectural style or character survives. It was positioned to the south-west of the main hospital along the site boundary.

The hospital was constructed on land belonging to William Cowan Heron, a local Justice of the Peace and businessman, who financed the building at his own expense for the benefit of the people of Dromore and its neighbourhood. Heron was also responsible for supplying the town clock in 1891 and for other improvements to the town. The hospital and its associated outbuildings were jointly valued at £75 upon completion, a rate maintained until 1930. Between 1903 and 1919-20, extensions were added to both wings, likely financed by Heron before his death in 1917. The mortuary may also have been financed by Heron, though no evidence supports this.

The mortuary continued to appear on Ordnance Survey maps circa 1970 but was demolished in 1997 as part of a redevelopment scheme affecting the main building and grounds. In its final years it served solely as a care home for the elderly. No trace of the building remains at the former hospital site.