51/53 Smith Street, Moneymore, Magherafelt, BT45 7NN

This is a well-preserved pair of semi-detached cottages located on Smith Street in Moneymore. Erected between 1840 and 1859 by the Drapers Company, they were designed by William John Booth. The cottages are two-and-a-half storeys high, with six bays each, and feature gabled slate roofs.

Architecturally, the cottages are characterized by roughcast rendered and painted white walls, with a plinth and painted quoins. Each house has a central panelled front door with a chamfered sandstone surround and a painted arch. Flanking the door are four-pane double-hung sash windows, one wider than the other, both with chamfered sandstone surrounds and painted. There is a shared half-round metal gutter on a corbel course, along with a shared downpipe. The roofs are natural slate, and No. 51 has a small, gabled Velux rooflight with heavy moulded kneelers and flat barge stones brought to the apex in front of the chimney stack. Rectangular sandstone chimney stacks are on each gable, and a central chimney stack rises from the ridge, with two diagonal flues. Each gable also includes a two-pane casement window illuminating the attic space.

The cottages are set back slightly from Smith Street, with a broad footwalk in front. They were likely intended to have narrow front gardens, and they have deep gardens to the rear. They are thought to be part of a larger development of eight paired cottages designed by Booth, who was known for his "very heavy kneeler blocks". The cottages have retained more of Booth’s original design characteristics than other buildings on Smith Street. William Magee was the builder.

These cottages are located within a conservation area and possess architectural interest due to their style, plan form, and group value. They also hold historical interest relating to their authorship and local significance.