Strabane Court House, Derry Road, Strabane, Co Tyrone BT82 8DT

Strabane Court House, Derry Road, Strabane, County Tyrone

Strabane Court House is a modestly scaled classical building of 1805, situated on the north side of Strabane on the Derry Road. It is a detached, symmetrical, three-bay classically styled court house, T-shaped on plan, with the principal rooms set over a ground-level basement. The scale, massing and spatial arrangement of the original building survive intact and are typical of provincial civic buildings of this period in Ulster. The building was substantially refurbished following serious bomb damage in 1994, and it is the large extent of replacement fabric resulting from that refurbishment which has led to it being considered historically interesting but not deemed worthy of listing.

Architectural Description

The central bay projects forward as a pedimented breakfront. Fixed to the pediment is the Royal Coat of Arms. The roof is pitched natural slate with a single pebbledashed chimneystack. Eaves are boxed and rainwater goods are half-round aluminium. The walls are cement rendered with rusticated cement quoins. Windows are security glazed with reconstituted stone architraves and sills; all are square-headed with the exception of a segmental-headed window to the breakfront bay.

The principal elevation faces west. At its centre are double-leaf panelled steel security doors at principal floor level, reached by a flight of 17 granite steps flanked by a cast concrete balustrade. The cement rendered terminating piers at plinth level are inscribed with dates: 1920 to the left and 1994 to the right. Above the entrance is a double-height window. The right and left bays each have a window at principal floor level and at upper floor level. The basement is lit by a narrow window to either side of the steps.

The north gable is blank and is abutted at basement level by a modern single-storey courtroom extension. This return is lit by two windows. The rear elevation is centrally abutted by the courtroom return; the side bays are each lit by a window at principal and upper storey level. The return gable has three windows at principal floor level and two at basement ground level. The south gable has a single window at ground level; the return here is abutted at ground level by a lean-to office extension described as of little interest. The courtroom above is lit by two windows, with a further window lighting the basement ground level.

Interior

The spatial arrangement reflects the specific use of the building and has remained unchanged, dominated by a large double-height sessions chamber with ancillary rooms to either side.

Setting

The court house sits within a tarmac perimeter bounded by high security walling and fencing on all sides. The boundary wall is cement rendered with the exception of a random rubble section at the north-west. Vehicular access gates attended by a security installation open onto Derry Road to the west.

Historical Background

A Sessions House had already been built in Strabane by 1622. It is concluded by William Roulston that this early building was probably destroyed in 1641, and its site appears to be unknown, although, like the present building, it had a strong room beneath it for keeping prisoners. Alistair Rowan gives a date for the present building of 1807, but primary evidence supports an earlier date of 1805. A letter from James Hamilton Junior to his father, the Marquess of Abercorn, dated 29 August 1805, refers to the new Sessions House and makes clear that the Abercorn family were financially involved to some extent in its construction, Hamilton writing that he had been left unreimbursed for a sum of above £300 which he had advanced for the county and which had been expended in finishing the new Sessions House of Strabane. In a further letter of 11 February 1807, Hamilton states that he has the satisfaction of knowing that he had been the procurer and patron of five very large bridges, besides innumerable small ones, and the Sessions House of Strabane, which cost above £1,200.

Both C.E.B. Brett and Rowan record that repairs were carried out to the building by John Hargrave in 1825, though no primary evidence was found to substantiate this. Some improvements do appear to have been carried out in 1825 to convert the ground floor of the Sessions House into a prison or bridewell. According to the Inspectors General of Gaols, the bridewell was in an unfinished state that year, described as insecure and not provided with beds and blankets, nor able to be so until the cells and rooms were fitted up with fireplaces, windows and other necessities, a pump sunk, privies built and the yard walls raised.

The Sessions House and yard are listed in the Townland Valuation of 1828–40 and valued at £22, with the main building recorded at dimensions of 77 by 28 by 29 feet and two additions of 24 by 22 by 29 feet and 24 by 5 by 29 feet. On the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833 it is captioned as the Session House and shown as a T-shaped structure with a projection to the west. The earliest town plan of Strabane, dating from 1832, was not available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and so the early ground plan could not be examined in further detail. A Sessions House or Court House and bridewell in Strabane are mentioned in several 19th century surveys of Ireland, including the Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland of 1846 and the English Cyclopedia of 1867. Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64 lists the Sessions House, offices and yard and values them at £40. The accompanying valuation town plan appears to show the building extended somewhat to the north, with outbuildings to the north-east and south-west. Annual Revision records of 1864–73 show the valuation revised upward to £50, probably indicating additions or improvements, perhaps those shown on the Griffith's Valuation map.

The Inspectors General report of 1855 states that an addition to the bridewell was in contemplation in order to provide accommodation for females. The Inspectors General report of 1865 describes the court and bridewell in considerable detail, following a dispute between the authorities and the keeper of the bridewell who had erected a steam mill partially on ground belonging to the bridewell in contravention of the terms of his employment. A plan of the front part of the courthouse from this report shows the court house above, high steps leading to it built over an arch used as a stable, and an entrance under the court house through an arch to the bridewell and keeper's apartment. The plan also shows a yard to the south where prisoners took exercise and a turf and straw house belonging to the county.

The Annual Revisions town plan of 1884–1908 shows an extension to the south-east corner of the building and indicates in greater detail an entrance through the wall to the north of the front steps, leading to an archway and thence to a new porch on the north façade, which appears to be the entrance to the bridewell. By 1934 the occupier of the Petty Sessions Court House, Caretaker's House and offices was Tyrone County Council, with a valuation initially set at £50, raised to £100 but reduced to £75 on appeal, the Council having complained that the building was very old, in bad repair, and that the costs of repair and insurance were considerable. The inspector found the building well fitted up internally, comprising a Solicitors' Room, Magistrates' Room and office, and a Caretaker's room beneath. The caretaker's accommodation comprised a kitchen, scullery, four bedrooms, two reception rooms, a lumber room and a WC.

The building was damaged by a bomb blast in 1994 and suffered serious damage. Following refurbishment it has remained in use as a court house to the present day.