39 Bowling Green, Strabane, County Tyrone, BT82 8BW

39 Bowling Green is a large and architecturally unusual terraced house on the east side of Bowling Green in Strabane, built in at least two stages during the mid-19th century. It forms part of a short late-Georgian row and retains much of its mid-19th century appearance to the front elevation. Despite interior alterations, it remains of special architectural and historic interest.

The building is part three-storey, part two-storey in height, and its complex form reflects its phased construction history. The tallest section, to the northwest, is thought to date from around 1835. The lowest section — a two-storey gabled block to the front — was probably added around 1860, and an intermediate three-storey portion to the rear may date from sometime between those two periods. In 1970 the property was converted into eight apartments and an office.

The building consists of three distinct elements: a large but relatively narrow three-storey double-pile block to the northwest; a two-storey gabled block to the southeast at the front; and a lower three-storey gabled block to the southeast at the rear. The front elevation faces roughly southwest and is asymmetrical.

The main entrance sits to the left of the ground floor of the two-storey section on the right-hand (southeast) side. It comprises a panelled timber door with high-level three-pane sidelights and a broad plain rectangular fanlight, all enclosed within a moulded architrave with brackets beneath the sill of the sidelights. There is a somewhat curious cornice-like moulding above the entrance. To the right of the main entrance is a second doorway, which now leads into the office. This is a slightly narrower panelled and glazed timber door with a plain rectangular fanlight, also set within a matching architrave. To the left of the entrance, within the tall three-storey section, are two windows with Georgian-paned timber sash frames and surrounds similar in character to the entrance treatment. The first and second floors of the three-storey section have similar windows, though those at second-floor level are shorter, with three panes over six. The first floor of the two-storey section has two windows matching those on the ground and first floors of the three-storey portion, but set at a slightly lower level. Stretching from the right-hand (southeast) edge of the two-storey section is a tall wall abutting the neighbouring property. This wall contains a doorway with a panelled timber door and a blind fanlight; a projecting course above the doorway indicates that there was once a vehicle entrance at this point. The entire front elevation is finished in painted lined render.

The southeast elevation shows the gable of the two-storey section to the left and that of the lower three-storey section to the right, with the double-pile profile of the taller three-storey block set back behind them. Only the upper half of the southeast gable of the two-storey section was visible during survey, though internal evidence confirms a doorway with a partly glazed recent door at ground-floor level. This section has no other openings, nor does the exposed uppermost portion of the southeast face of the taller three-storey block. On the upper storey of the southeast gable of the lower three-storey section there is a segmental-headed window to the left with a horned timber sash frame (one over one), and to the right a much smaller flat-arched window with a recent timber frame. A window appears to be present on the left side of the first floor of this section, though only its very top was visible. The southeast elevation is finished in lined render, partly painted.

The rear (northwest) elevation comprises the two three-storey sections, with the lower one to the left. The ground floor of this lower section was not visible, but at first-floor level there is a small window with a recent timber frame to the right. On the second floor there is a similar small window to the left and a larger window to the right with a horned timber sash frame (one over one). The taller section has a window at each floor: those at first and second floor correspond to the windows on the front of this section, and the ground-floor window appears to match as well, though it could not be seen in full. There is also a small additional window to the left on the first floor with a recent timber frame, and a smaller window to the right on the second floor that appears to have a fixed timber frame. The rear elevation is finished in lined unpainted cement render. The northwest elevation consists solely of a small exposed section of the main three-storey block, finished to match the rear elevation and without any openings.

All sections of the roof appear to be slated. The southeast gables of the lower three-storey section and the two-storey section each have a rendered chimneystack. The larger three-storey section has two rendered stacks, each set lengthways along the ridge. Rainwater goods are a mixture of cast iron and PVC-u.

The site is shown as developed on the Ordnance Survey map of 1833–34. However, the town plan of Strabane drawn up to accompany the valuation of 1832–34 has been lost, making it very difficult to trace detailed information about the buildings in the town at that date. A reading of the valuation book itself reveals nothing matching the size of this property, suggesting that the house as it now stands dates from after 1834. The second valuation of 1857 and all subsequent valuations confirm that a building of some form was standing here by that date. In 1857 the property was occupied by Robert Wilson, with the representatives of Alexander Auchinleck recorded as the immediate lessor. An Alexander Auchinleck is noted in the 1832 valuation as owning an old, long, one- to one-and-a-half-storey thatched house on the Bowling Green; it seems likely that this earlier structure occupied the site of the present building, its plot probably also covering those of the present numbers 43 and 45, both of which were also in the hands of Auchinleck's representatives in 1857.

The phased nature of the building's construction is supported by the map accompanying the 1857 valuation, on which the two-storey portion is not shown. It is uncertain precisely when this section was added, since no major changes are recorded in the annual valuation revisions that begin in 1864. It is possible that it was built during the gap in the valuation record between 1857 and 1864, though the rateable value for both years is identical at £24-10-0, implying no significant alteration during that period. The rateable value did rise by £1 in 1870, but this is too small an increase to account for so substantial an extension. Regardless of the exact sequence of events, the Georgian-paned windows of the two-storey section suggest it was added sooner rather than later after 1857, and documentary evidence confirms it was certainly in place by 1883. As for the lower three-storey section to the rear, it was present in 1857, but whether it formed part of the original build or was an early addition is uncertain, particularly as surveyors were unable to access much of the building. The segmental-headed window in the southeast gable — a detail more commonly associated with the later 19th century — may indicate a later addition, though the relatively recent interior alterations and the absence of clear documentary evidence make a firm conclusion impossible.

The social history of the house is more readily traced. Robert Wilson, an attorney who had offices in the neighbouring property at what is now number 37, was followed by William Wilson in 1874, then by Oliver White in 1888. In 1892 the lease passed to a Miss Hamilton, and in 1902 William Keatly became the tenant. Annie F. Keatly is recorded as the next occupant in 1919, followed by Charlotte Keatly in 1947 and Gordon Simpson in 1963. In 1970 the property was divided into flats and an office: valuers recorded the creation of three flats and one office on the ground floor, two flats on the first floor, and either two or three flats on the second floor (the valuation record is unclear on the latter point).