19 Bowling Green, Strabane, Co Tyrone BT82 8BW

19 Bowling Green is a relatively plain three-storey terraced house of probable pre-1832 construction, set on the southeast side of Bowling Green, Strabane. It forms part of a group of four similar buildings, of which only two originals survive — this property and its immediate neighbour, number 17.

The asymmetrical front elevation faces northwest. On the ground floor, the entrance sits to the right and comprises a mid-20th century flat-panel door beneath a plain rectangular fanlight, the whole framed by plain pilasters. The pilaster to the left is surmounted by a decorative console bracket supporting a projecting cornice. This entrance forms a neatly symmetrical composition with the doorway of number 17 next door. To the left of the doorway are two identical windows, each fitted with plate-glass glazed timber sash frames and moulded surrounds. Two further matching windows appear at first-floor level, with two shorter versions above at second-floor level. The front façade is finished in painted lined render with bevelled quoins to the left-hand edge.

The northeast gable is partly obscured at ground- and first-floor level by a high wall belonging to the neighbouring police station. The exposed upper portion of the gable is finished in the same manner as the front elevation, though unpainted. At attic level there are two small, widely-spaced window openings, both of which have been boarded up. The rear elevation could not be observed. The gabled roof is covered in asbestos slates, and there is a rendered chimneystack at the northeast end. Rainwater goods are cast iron.

The interior has not been surveyed.

The site is shown as developed on the Ordnance Survey map of 1833–34. The town plan of Strabane drawn up to accompany the valuation of 1832–34 has unfortunately been lost, making it very difficult to trace building details with certainty for that period. Reading through the valuation book itself, however, four dwellings of identical size are recorded, with dimensions of 23ft × 26ft × 27ft with returns of 23ft × 12½ft × 12ft, which appear to correspond to the two surviving original houses in this terrace, numbers 17 and 19. These four houses were already regarded by the valuers as "not new" at that time and were occupied by a Francis O'Brien, Colonel McAlpin, Daniel Wauchob (probably Wauchop), and William Elliott.

The second valuation of 1857 retains its map, which shows the terrace much as it remained until the partial demolition of more recent years. The 1857 valuers unfortunately supply no dimensions and no quality letter, making direct comparison with the 1832 entries impossible. However, two details suggest continuity between the two valuations. First, the immediate lessors of the houses recorded in 1857 are listed as "the representatives of Colonel James McAlpin" — apparently the same individual noted as occupying one of the properties in 1832. Second, in both valuations two houses are valued slightly lower than the other two, which the 1832 valuation attributes to one pair lacking cellars. Neither detail conclusively proves that the buildings of 1857 — two of which still stand — are the same properties noted in 1832.

In terms of appearance, the buildings can safely be classed as late Georgian in character, notwithstanding the later plate-glass sashes and flat-panel doors. The surviving original interior detailing at number 17 — in particular the staircase, the noticeably squat doorways, and the five-panel doors — supports this assessment. The decorative console brackets over the doorways have a somewhat Victorian feel, but may well have been later additions.

In the 1857 valuation, the house known today as number 19 was occupied by a William Ramsay, who also held the neighbouring number 17 for much of this period. Between approximately 1880 and 1887 the Committee of Strabane Academy are listed as occupants — the Academy itself being located on Derry Road — with the building standing vacant between the latter date and 1889. A Reverend J. Rutherford lived in the building briefly in 1889–90, followed by John McCay (1890–91), Robert Pollock (1891–94), John Campbell (1894–95), and then John McCay again from 1896, when he occupied the ground floor with a John Wilson on the floors above. From 1897 McCay is named as the immediate lessor, with a John J. Smith living on the upper floors. McCay remained at number 19 until his death around 1924, using the ground floor as an office. John McCay and Co. are recorded as the sole occupants from 1925 to 1931, and as occupying the ground floor only for the following nineteen years. A Jane (or Jeannie) Smith resided on the upper floors from 1931 until 1954, in which year John and Margaret Perry became the immediate lessors. In 1955 a P. McGoldrick acquired the freehold and lived in the house until at least 1972.