Loreto Convent Burial Vault, Loreto Grammar School, James Street, Omagh, BT78 1DL

This is a Victorian basalt burial vault with sandstone dressings, built between 1880 and 1899 and terraced into the hillside south of Brook Street. The vault, of local interest but not considered suitable for listing, is situated within the lawned gardens of Loreto Convent (reference HB11/11/002) to the west and adjacent to tennis grounds to the northeast.

The principal, east-facing elevation features squared, rock-faced basalt walling, with dressed sandstone quoins and coping. The round-headed fan and door are blocked with concrete breeze blocks, set within a dressed, chamfered sandstone architrave and transom. The vault opens onto an earthen court, flanked by coursed rubble basalt retaining walls. An ornate, painted cast-iron fence and gate enclose this court. The vault is terraced into a hillside covered in mature trees, obscuring any other elevations. It has a flat masonry roof concealed within the hillside.

The vault was labelled ‘Burial Vault’ on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1906 and is also shown on the Ordnance Survey town plan of Omagh from 1906. It was not shown on the Ordnance Survey town plan of 1882, allowing for a construction date between 1882 and 1906. It served as a mausoleum and is currently used for that purpose. The ownership is by the Roman Catholic Church.