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

64 James Street, Cookstown

This terraced two-storey house, built around 1838, represents an important element of early nineteenth-century Cookstown and forms part of a group of buildings from the same period along James Street.

The building is rectangular in plan with an extensive two-storey pitched extension to the rear north elevation, added later. The external walls are rendered. The west elevation fronts directly onto James Street and contains the principal architectural interest. At ground floor level, a doorway sits to the left with a square head, panelled timber door and overlight, surrounded by a projecting carved surround and topped with a projecting carved timber cornice. To the right of the doorway is a canted bay window with segmental-headed windows set in chamfered surrounds. The bay contains 1/1 and 2/2 timber sash frames mounted on a continuous carved stone sill, with a projecting cornice at the top. The upper level has tripartite 1/1 timber sliding sash windows to the right and a 2/2 timber sash frame to the left, both set on painted cut stone sills. The front elevation is rendered and painted with quoins to the edges. The main roof is natural slate with a brick chimney featuring profiled stepped capping. Rainwater goods to the front are cast iron.

The rear east elevation is obscured by the returns and finished in dry dash render. The pitched return extension to the south has a flat-roofed bay to the north, with an assortment of timber casement and uPVC windows and doors. A metal stair leads from the first floor to the rear yard. External walls to the extension are dry dash render with artificial slate to roofs and uPVC rainwater goods.

Historically, the site in 1838 was occupied by an L-shaped dwelling with a short frontage to Loy Street and a semicircular south-facing end. In 1835, this was recorded as a relatively old building occupied by Mrs Logan with a rateable value of £7-8-3. By 1859 the property housed the local dispensary under the lease of James Cluff, later succeeded by Richard Cluff in 1862. In 1878, a large curved bay portion at the south end was demolished to make way for the present number 66. The property continued as a dispensary until 1890, when its lease was acquired by James McVeigh and it reverted to private occupation. The canted bay was probably added shortly after this date. An 1899 entry in the valuers' office notebook shows a plan similar to the present configuration, with the bay to front and long rear return. The building housed a surgery as of 1956, though this had ceased to function by 1960. Various residents are documented from 1892 onwards, including Henry A. Mann, Alexander Morrison, John W. Fleming, Annie Turner, John and Kathleen Quinn, J. Duncan, and J. A. Quinn.