44 James Street, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80 8LT

44 James Street, Cookstown

This is a Grade B1 listed building of late Victorian date, constructed around 1896 as part of a terrace of three matching properties. The building was originally built as a house and now operates as a House of Prayer.

The Structure

The building is three storeys tall with a roughly rectangular plan stretching back to the east. It includes a two-storey lean-to return, also dating from around 1896, and a further single-storey extension added in the 1960s. A yard at the rear is accessed via an integral coach arch. The building forms part of a short matching terrace (including numbers 46 and 48 James Street) within a longer row of attached buildings. All three properties have group value with one another.

The West Elevation

The front elevation faces directly onto James Street and is composed of three distinct elements on the ground floor: a doorway to the right, a window to the centre, and a coach arch to the left. The shallow-pointed arched doorway has a panelled timber door with an overlight, surrounded by chamfered cut-granite stonework, and features a wrought-iron signage bracket above.

The windows are paired with shallow-pointed arches and 1/1 timber sash frames, also with chamfered cut-granite surrounds. The shallow-pointed coach arch to the left has cut-granite surrounds and is fitted with a painted metal security gate and grill.

The upper levels contain shallow arched windows with 1/1 timber sliding sash windows, where the upper sashes contain coloured glass arranged in a checkered pattern. A stone string course runs along the first floor, with a projecting stone string course at second floor level and a dentilled eaves course at the roof.

The second floor features two roundel windows with cut-stone surrounds. The left roundel contains a carved timber quatrefoil frame with stained glass, while the right roundel has a cut-granite datestone inscribed '1896' set within a quatrefoil panel. A paired window at second floor level has matching stone dressings and is positioned below a small gablette with decorative carved painted timber bargeboard.

The ground floor of the west elevation is faced with rock-faced squared granite rubble. The upper floors are constructed of red clay brick with stone string courses and stone dressings. The roof is covered in artificial slate with cast-iron rainwater goods. All original brick chimneys have been removed.

The East Elevation and Returns

The stepped rear east elevation is faced with smooth render and contains an irregular arrangement of timber sliding sash windows. The two-storey lean-to return has a natural slate roof with original cast-iron downpipes. The flat-roofed single-storey 1960s extension is faced with dry-dash render on a rendered base and contains an assortment of timber casement windows with painted timber soffits and replacement uPVC rainwater goods.

Setting and Historical Context

The building is situated on the rising sloped pavement on the eastern side of James Street, on the southern edge of Cookstown's commercial centre. The mixed terrace comprises mainly Victorian buildings.

Historical records from the valuation books show the property was first recorded as a 'house and yard' in 1897 with a rateable value of £19, with Edward Liddle listed as leaseholder and presumed developer. Thomas Harbison was the first recorded occupant in 1898, followed by Thomas H. Crone from 1909. Robert J. Lindsay acquired the lease of this property and the two houses to the south in 1910. Subsequent occupants included Alfred Moore Elliott (1911), Frederick S. Carson (1912), Alfred George Elliott (1914), James Malone (1918), John Malone (1920), and Peter Cosgrove (1923). By 1936, Peter Cosgrove held the lease with Patrick Kelly as tenant. Later tenants included Sinclair Sloan (1959), M. Smith (1960), and Kevin J. Smith (1966).

The building is noted as a monument and demonstrates late Victorian architectural quality through its well-proportioned design, lively detailing, and survival of original features including decorative stonework, timber sash windows with coloured glass, and cast-iron rainwater goods.