Former Market Yard, to the rear of, 73-75 and 77-79 Main Street, Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone

The former Market Yard, located to the rear of 73-75 and 77-79 Main Street in Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone, dates to the early 19th century and was built around 1830 by Col Hugh Montgomery. It provided a marketplace with covered spaces for the sale of flax, eggs, butter, and potatoes. The Old Clabby Road previously entered the town through the yard, and the market ceased operation with the end of the town’s monthly fairs in the late 1950s.

The buildings were an irregular group of single and 1.5-storey structures. Generally, they were constructed of finely cut snecked ashlar stonework, with some random rubble construction. All buildings had gabled roofs covered with a combination of natural and fibre cement slate. The ashlar stonework featured high-quality details including voussoirs, chamfered arises, and quoins. The buildings faced in two directions; one range accessed via an archway from Edfield Way and used for storage by the Floral Valley garden centre, featuring a set of external cantilevered stone steps to the south. The other range was accessed from a public pathway connecting Main Street and Edfield Way, and included an overhanging roof supported by timber trusses resting on stone corbels.

Following the placement of a Building Preservation Notice on February 29, 2008, and before a detailed survey could be completed, the buildings were largely demolished. What remains is a single stone wall with the overhanging roof and trusses. A plaque located on the wall at the Main Street entrance provides additional detail. Beneath one of the buildings was a former police station, which included a cell known as “the black hole”.