Camowen Green, Camowen Road, Omagh, BT79 0HA

Camowen Green is a detached, multi-bay, two-storey rendered house built around 1780 and substantially refurbished and extended around 1900. Its present appearance is largely the product of that early 20th-century work, which added the eastern wing, the circular stair tower, and much of the surviving internal detailing. The remarkable stairhall remains the centrepiece of the house. Taken together with its outbuildings, glasshouse, landscaped grounds, and hydro-electric generator, this group constitutes one of the most intact and extensive medium-sized farm complexes in the area and is of considerable architectural and historic importance. The property is currently in use as an organic farm.

PLAN AND GENERAL FORM

The house is rectangular on plan, facing south, with a central circular entrance tower and a breakfront to the east that extends to the rear to form a return. There is a single-bay two-storey entrance projection to the east side elevation, with an attached screen wall containing an arched opening into the rear yard. A glasshouse projects southward from this screen wall. The rear yard is enclosed by single- and two-storey stone outbuildings to the east, north, and west. Abutting the east range is a further stone structure with a barrel roof, and a small two-bay two-storey outbuilding is attached to its north gable. To the northwest, on the banks of the Camowen River, is a stone structure housing a hydro-electric generator.

ROOFS AND EXTERNAL MATERIALS

The roof is pitched natural slate with black clay ridge tiles, hipped to the east breakfront with lead ridges, half-hipped to the rear gable of the return, and conical over the entrance tower. There are five yellow brick chimneystacks. Moulded cast-iron rainwater goods are carried on cavetto-moulded corbels at the eaves. The external walls are finished in painted ruled-and-lined render with a rendered plinth course and rusticated rendered quoins at all corners. Window openings throughout are square-headed with moulded architrave surrounds, stone sills, and horizontally-glazed timber sash windows unless otherwise noted.

PRINCIPAL ELEVATIONS

The front south elevation is divided into three parts. To the left (west) is a lower two-bay two-storey section forming the earlier part of the house, dating from around 1780. At the centre is the circular entrance tower, which has a double-height round-headed window opening with moulded surround and impost mouldings, filled with leaded stained glass and weather-glazing. To either side of the tower is a square-headed door opening with moulded architrave surrounds and original raised-and-fielded timber panelled doors, with two blind openings above each. To the right (east) is the taller breakfront, two windows wide.

The west side elevation is essentially blind except for a single door opening fitted with a glazed timber door having coloured margin lights. This doorway previously opened into an elaborate glasshouse, demolished around 1980; a lean-to concrete canopy on a pair of rendered piers now occupies the position. A brick chimneystack rises from the west gable, which takes the form of a catslide roof and is abutted by a single-storey rendered outbuilding.

The north rear elevation is multi-bay and two storeys, with a wall-head dormer and a projecting return of two storeys with an attic storey. The wall-head dormer and the secondary staircase in the return are lit by square-headed window openings with timber sash windows having coloured margin lights. Some replacement timber casement windows have been inserted at the west end of this elevation; elsewhere the windows are 2/2 timber sashes. At the junction of the main body of the house and the rear return there is an irregularly shaped window opening set at a 45-degree angle, containing a 2/1 timber sash window. A single door opening at the west end has a replacement timber panelled and glazed door opening onto cement platform steps. To the west elevation of the return is a diminutive single-storey accretion with a catslide roof and a small door opening with a vertically-sheeted timber door. The return also has a circular moulded surround to a clock-face at attic level.

The east elevation is four windows wide with a single-bay two-storey projecting side entrance bay. Window openings are square-headed with single-pane timber sash windows. To the north of the entrance bay is a square-headed door opening with a vertically-sheeted timber door. A further square-headed door opening to the south of the entrance bay, inserted around 1980, has a timber glazed door. Attached to this entrance bay is a rendered brick double-height gate screen arch with stone coping. A corbelled brick bell aperture above contains an iron bell, with an iron gate frame below giving access to the rear yard. The screen wall continues as the south gable wall to the east range of outbuildings forming the yard. An iron-framed greenhouse projects southward from this wall, with a low rendered base wall and horizontal glazing in the form of a pointed arch, terminated by a pitched rendered gable.

OUTBUILDINGS AND YARD

The single-storey east range to the rear yard has a pitched natural slate roof with a lucarne to the south, cast-iron rainwater goods, rendered walling, and square-headed window openings with stone sills and 2/2 timber sash windows. The north range is single-storey with a loft, having a pitched natural slate roof, cast-iron rainwater goods, lime-washed rubble stone walling, and two carriage-arch openings. A flight of stone steps at the east end leads to a loft door. A further segmental arch connects the north range to the east range beneath a corrugated iron barrel roof, giving access to modern outbuildings to the rear. Attached to the west end of the north range is a two-storey outbuilding set at an angle, with a hipped and pitched natural slate roof and steel casement windows, with a flight of stone steps to its east gable. A further double-height stone outbuilding abutting its north elevation has a corrugated iron roof. Set at a right angle is a further single-storey structure with a pitched natural slate roof and a pair of carriage-arch openings, attached to the west gable of the house.

Abutting the east elevation of the east range is a double-height stone barn supported on redbrick piers rising from the east elevation of that range. The roof is a wrought and cast-iron riveted king-post truss with a corrugated iron barrel covering and two lanterns. The north gable wall of this barn is abutted by a two-bay two-storey rubble stone structure with a lean-to section to the east, having a pitched natural slate roof, a redbrick chimneystack to the north gable, and square-headed window and door openings formed in redbrick, fitted with replacement timber casement windows and a timber glazed door.

To the northwest, on the banks of the Camowen River, is a multi-bay single-storey stone structure housing the hydro-electric generator, which is powered by a channel running beneath it.

SETTING AND APPROACH

The house stands on an elevated site within landscaped grounds with a front lawn. Two short avenues join to the south and lead to Camowen Road, entering via a pair of decorative cast-iron gates on octagonal cast-iron posts.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The house appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833, at which time a mill to the southwest and a mill stream and old bleach green are also shown. By the second edition of 1854 the mill had gone, but additional outbuildings had appeared, some of which appear to survive today. A formal garden is also shown on the 1854 map. In the Townland Valuation of 1828–40 the property is listed as occupied by a Mr Robinson and valued at £16. Griffith's Valuation records the occupier as John Norris, leasing from the Earl of Belmore; the property is described as a house, offices, and land valued at £14, with dimensions recorded for the house and two offices, as well as a turf house and fowl house. The Annual Revision records show the value subsequently raised to £16, and by 1867–68 the house was occupied by Robert Harvey, who became the owner in fee in 1887.

By 1934 the house was still in the occupation of a Robert Harvey as owner in fee. At that date the plot comprised a house, three cottier houses, a turbine house, offices, and land. The accommodation within the house then consisted of a scullery, storeroom, passage, kitchen, bedroom, WC, back hall, office, pantry, morning room, dining room, hall, drawing room, and strong room on the ground floor, with five bedrooms, two servants' bedrooms, a bathroom, WC, and storeroom on the first floor. The whole was valued at £75. By 1939 the value had been reduced to £50 and the occupier had become Fergus N. Gilmour. The valuer's notes from that time record: "There are several glass houses included in this valuation which are now used for growing tomatoes for commercial purposes… Dwelling is of large rambling old-fashioned type, some fine rooms, fine entrance hall and staircase. Own water and electric light supply and drains to river… very old (eighteenth century)."

According to information provided by the owner, the building was originally a plain Georgian house built in the late 18th century and extended and embellished at the beginning of the 20th century. The hydro-electric generator was installed in 1907, powered by a turbine supplied by Scott's Mill in Omagh, and continues to generate all power for the house to this day. A glasshouse to the east of the house, built in 1907 by Skinner and Board for growing vines, unusually incorporated a garage in its front half; this is shown on a valuer's sketch plan made around 1934. A wrought iron and glass conservatory to the west was dismantled by the present owner in the 1980s. According to the owner, the north range of outbuildings was originally the first Baptist church in the area, relocated to the site during the mid-19th century using the original king-post trusses and purlins. The owner also states that the easternmost barn with the barrel roof had the largest roof span in Ireland at the time of its construction.