Errington, 82 Relagh Road, Trillick, Omagh, BT78 3RN

Errington is a detached three-bay, two-storey-over-basement house on the east side of Relagh Road, Trillick, built in its current principal form around 1860, but incorporating two earlier structures: a rear return dating from around 1835 and a north wing that is the oldest surviving part of the complex, built around 1810. Together these three phases of construction give the house an unusual and layered character. The building is privately owned and remains in use as a house; the listing covers both the house and its outbuildings.

Historical Background

The house stands in the townland of Glengeen. Two rectangular buildings are recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833, and the most easterly of these appears to have survived as the north wing of the current building. The name "Errington" first appears captioned on the second edition OS map of 1852, by which point the building had begun to take something close to its present form, though the main house section was still under construction. A marginal note in Griffith's Valuation records, dated August 1858, states: "A new mansion house nearly finished," with the property valued at £16 and subsequently raised to £18, later increasing to £24 in the Annual Revision Records. Both Errington and the nearby Relagh Lodge are listed in Griffith's Valuation as belonging to Robert W. Storey. At the time of valuation, Storey was living at Relagh Lodge and Errington was unoccupied. The completed main house section appears on the 1905/6 OS map. A note from 1891 records that Storey asked to have the house separately valued, noting it was "occupied part of year by himself and always by [constabulary?] offs requiring the working farm." The property remained in the Storey family's freehold until 1915, when it was divided into two lots and passed to the Humphrey family. Relagh Lodge had disappeared from the map by the fourth edition of 1939. J. A. K. Dean, in The Gate Lodges of Ulster (1994), notes that Relagh Lodge "was by 1855 being rejected in favour of the family's new residence of Errington nearby." The OS Memoirs of the 1830s describe the earlier building as: "Relagh, the seat of Counsellor James Story, is a neat double cottage situated in the townland of Relagh."

Architectural Character

The original house of around 1835, simple in design and with little ornamentation, now forms the rear return of the later building. During the construction of the main house around 1860, this return — originally a three-bay, two-storey structure — appears to have been remodelled and extended into the new building. The north wing, with its plain detailing, is likely the oldest surviving element, built around 1810. The main house of 1860 is a substantially more ornate building than the earlier phases, distinguished by dressed sandstone dressings to window openings, corbelled chimneystacks, and leaded lattice windows lighting the stairwell to the rear. The house has an unusual plan: the stairhall is accessed to the rear of the entrance hall, running perpendicular to the principal accommodation. Detailing remains largely intact throughout and the house retains much of its original character.

Exterior — Main Block

The roof is pitched natural slate with blue-black clay ridge tiles. Two corbelled ashlar chimneystacks carry decorative clay pots. The eaves are corbelled and overhanging. Most of the original cast-iron rainwater goods have been replaced with half-round aluminium. The walls are roughcast rendered. Windows to the main block are square-headed, timber-framed, 6/6 sliding sashes — diminished in size at basement and first floor — with boasted-fielded sandstone dressings, stepped at ground floor level, all with projecting masonry cills unless noted otherwise.

The principal elevation faces east and is symmetrical. A central single-storey canted bay with a hipped roof was added around 1980; it has replacement ogee-profile uPVC rainwater goods and contains the principal entrance in its south cheek, with a single window to each cheek (with smooth rendered surrounds). To the left of the canted bay is a single window; to the right is a tripartite window. At first floor, three windows are evenly spaced, though the right-hand one is a replacement 6/6 uPVC casement designed to mimic the original timber sliding sash.

The left (south) gable features a projecting uPVC canted bay added around 1990 at ground floor left, with a leaded natural slate hipped roof, replacement uPVC ogee-profile gutters, and square downpipes supported on roughcast rendered soffit. To the right of this bay is a single window; there are two windows at first floor. At basement level there is a single window directly below the canted bay, flanked on each side by a timber four-pane casement, plus a further window at left.

The rear (west) elevation is abutted by the slightly lower two-storey return. The re-entrant angle between them contains a single-storey lean-to entrance porch. The exposed section of the rear elevation contains dipartite metal-frame lattice windows with a chamfered mullion and chamfered surround with an infilled masonry cill to each floor. At basement level, a window is flanked to the left by a metal-frame single-pane casement within a projecting square surround. At ground floor, a window is flanked to the left by a replacement uPVC window. At first floor, a window is flanked to the left by a replacement timber casement.

The right (north) gable is abutted by the two-storey north wing with a pitched roof. The exposed section contains two square casement windows with projecting sandstone surrounds at first floor level.

Exterior — Two-Storey Return

The two-storey return, possibly an earlier longhouse, was built around 1835. Its roof is pitched natural slate, hipped to the west end, with blue-black clay ridge tiles and two smooth rendered corbelled chimneystacks. Walls are smooth rendered over a recessed painted plinth. Windows are vertically divided 2/2 sliding sashes with projecting masonry cills unless noted otherwise.

The north elevation is abutted at the left by the single-storey lean-to entrance porch. The exposed section contains an early round-arched-headed timber sheeted entrance door within a round-arched-headed sandstone surround, with a replacement casement window to its left. To the right, a square-headed double-leaf timber sheeted door with a transom light divides two timber casement windows. At first floor there are three windows, with a 3/3/3 metal casement at the left. The lean-to entrance porch contains a timber sheeted door with a chamfered sandstone surround and a 3/3 timber sliding sash window to the west cheek with a chamfered sandstone surround and projecting masonry cill.

The west elevation is abutted at the right by a single-storey lean-to extension, which in turn is abutted by a random rubble wall running east-west, enclosing a farmyard to the rear.

The south elevation contains two 3/3/3/3 metal casements at the left at ground floor. To the right is a fifteen-pane glazed timber door flanked on the left by a single window. At first floor there are seven windows, two at the left paired with a continuous cill.

Setting and Outbuildings

A series of single-storey and two-storey outbuildings lies to the north-west and adds considerable interest to the rural estate setting. The most notable is a north-south aligned block with a pitched natural slate roof and ashlar gable chimneystacks. Its walls are roughly coursed exposed random rubble with red brick surrounds, with visible traces of lime render to the east. Original timber fenestration is largely intact, including lattice windows and square-headed vertically sheeted timber doors with opening horizontally divided transom lights. The south-east corner of this block is abutted by a round-headed coach arch wall with a slated canopy; this wall adjoins the west wall of the two-storey return and encloses a farmyard to the north.

The house sits within an unspoiled rural landscape. There is an expansive garden to the east, enclosed by a river running to the south-west, and a traditional farmyard to the south. Access from the road to the west is over a road bridge with low, roughly coursed rubble drystone parapet walls with flat stone coping. A parallel access to the farmyard is provided to the north.

Later Alterations

A survey photograph dated 1978 shows that the principal elevation originally had a single-storey rectangular flat-roofed porch, which has since been replaced by the current canted porch of around 1980. The canted bay on the south elevation was added around 1990.