Gortnacreagh Road, Omagh, Co.Tyrone, BT78 5RQ

Detached asymmetrical three-bay two-storey house built around 1830, located on the north side of Gortnacreagh Road, Omagh. The building is rectangular on plan with a single-storey entrance porch to the east. The roof is pitched natural slate with blue and black clay ridge tiles and two smooth rendered corbelled gable chimneystack; a third red brick chimney has been added later to the party wall. The eaves are corbelled with a timber eaves board supporting replacement uPVC rainwater goods. Walls are roughcast rendered with a smooth rendered plinth. Windows are 2/2 timber sliding sashes, vertically divided and diminished in height at first floor, with smooth rendered architraves and projecting stone cills.

The principal elevation faces east and is abutted off-centre at its left by the single-storey entrance porch with pitched roof. The exposed section to the left and right contains a window at each floor. A re-entrant angle to the right is abutted by an original windbreak porch with a lean-to slated roof. The right bay contains timber sheeted double doors at ground floor with a single window above at first floor. The single-storey entrance porch is detailed as the main house with a single window to the east gable. The left cheek contains a timber-panelled entrance door with glazed top panels and flanking sliding sash sidelights with stone cills; the right cheek is blank. The left (south) gable contains two windows at ground floor, that at left being 1/1 and diminished, with a single 1/1 timber sliding sash at first floor. The rear (west) elevation contains three windows at ground floor and two windows at first floor, that at right being dipartite. The right (north) gable is blank; the render shows visible traces of an earlier flat-roof extension, now removed.

The house is located to the west side of a farmyard complex. Original single- and two-storey outbuildings are positioned to the north and east with exposed random rubble walling, natural slate roofs, timber sheeted doors and metal casement windows, built around 1830. A replacement farm dwelling at east was built around 1970. The house is bounded at south by roughcast rendered walling with saddleback coping and is accessed via a wrought-iron gate supported on two square roughcast rendered piers.

Stylistically the house appears to date from the 1830s, although the north end bay may have been added later as a byre with bedroom over. The entrance porch is also a later addition; the original entrance would have been through the windbreak porch at the right re-entrant angle. The building is shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833, as is a small outbuilding opposite the north east elevation and a building opposite the main entrance. The 1854 map records the longer outbuilding opposite the north east corner. Townland Valuation records note a dwelling house and offices valued at £2.8s. Griffith's Valuation of 1858 records the property leased from Charles and John Gardiner and others (in chancery), valued at £2.10s. Various changes in occupier are noted within the same family, with the building valuation increased to £3.10s in 1892. The building retains many original features externally including the original windbreak porch at east with timber sheeted door and original 2/2 timber sliding sashes. Together with the surrounding traditionally constructed outbuildings it forms a group of vernacular architecture. However, it is of a relatively common type and not among the best examples of a traditional rural dwelling.