Grove House, 180 Crevenagh Road, Omagh, Co Tyrone, BT79 0HB

Grove House is a detached two-bay two-storey house dated 1897, situated on the north side of Crevenagh Road, Omagh. The building is an example of a common late 19th-century type, executed in an archaic style. Externally it remains largely intact in terms of massing and proportion, though the design is poorly conceived and not among the best examples of its type.

The house is arranged on an L-plan facing south, with a central two-storey entrance porch on the south elevation. A single-storey outbuilding abuts the east side, and a single-storey lean-to entrance porch projects into the north re-entrant angle. The roof is hipped natural slate with blue and black clay ridge tiles. Two red brick corbelled party-wall chimneystack rise from the structure. Paired concrete corbelled brackets on a projecting eaves course support original ogee-profile cast-iron rainwater goods.

The walls are finished in ruled-and-lined render with stepped plastered quoins. Windows are square-headed 2/2 vertically divided timber sliding sashes, segmental-arched-headed at first-floor level, with precast concrete moulded architraves and projecting masonry cills. The principal entrance comprises a four-panelled door with transom light over, set within a precast concrete surround and accessed by three concrete steps.

The principal south elevation contains the central two-storey return with hipped natural slate roof; the exposed section shows one window at each floor to left and right. The left (west) elevation contains two windows at each floor. The rear (north) elevation has a projecting bay at right and is abutted by the single-storey lean-to porch at left; the exposed section contains two windows at each floor, with the right window at first floor containing stained glass with margin lights. The projecting bay on the north elevation contains a single ground-floor window. The right (east) elevation is partially abutted by the single-storey outbuilding; the exposed section shows a replacement timber casement window at first floor and a date stone reading "GROVE HOUSE / BUILT / 1897". The north lean-to porch contains a replacement timber casement window to north and a replacement timber entrance door to west.

The attached outbuilding at the east has a pitched natural slate roof and exposed lime-rendered random rubble walling (ruled-and-lined) to its north elevation. Its north elevation contains a timber panelled door at left and timber casement at right. The east gable has a single timber casement window at ground floor and attic.

The house is accessed by lane from the south. A farmyard lies to the west, accessed through square-plan piers and plinth wall. The west gable of the house is enclosed by timber fence and accessed at south by a pedestrian wrought-iron gate. A two-storey random rubble outbuilding at the east appears earlier than the main house, built circa 1830, with a pitched metal corrugated roof. Further outbuildings to the north are of no architectural interest.

Historical records indicate buildings have occupied this site since at least the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833. The present house first appears on the 1906 OS map, captioned "Grove House". Griffith's Valuation (1856–64) lists a house, offices and land on the site valued at £3, occupied by Duncan Carr and leased from James Sheil. Contemporary notes describe "the third of this farm is very good and lies well. The rest is also good medium land. It is an excellent farm." The occupier's name was amended to Kerr in Annual Revisions. New offices were built in 1863 and a new turf house in 1888. William George Kerr became occupier in 1887, and by 1899 the value of buildings on the plot had risen to £14, indicating a new house had been constructed. In 1907 W G Kerr became the owner in fee.