SE T IN STONETHE BUILT HERITAGE & BUILDING STONES OF

DRAPERSTOWN, MONEYMORE & SURROUNDING DISTRICTS

‘’By its very nature stone is intensely local, reflecting and representing the geology of a place’’

Dawson StelfoxForeword: Stone by Stone

The underlying geology of an area is often

expressed in the built landscape. Building stone

tends to be local in origin and represents the

geology of the area. Rural buildings and the

walls forming boundaries of fields use stone

gathered or quarried locally. In an area such as

the Sperrins where rocks only outcrop at the surface in the higher

parts of hills or in quarries, buildings provide the best clues to hidden

geology. Elsewhere the geology is marked by a thick covering of soil

and glacial debris or peat bogs.

The bulk and weight of building stone makes it difficult to transport. Much of

the built heritage especially in the plantation villages dates from the 17th & 18th

centuries. Imported building stone from other parts of Ireland or Britain could

only have been transported by sea, canals and later, the railways. The Sperrins

were relatively poorly served by all of these and in a time when roads were poor,

the use of local stone was essential.

Most small towns use the best available building stone in public buildings such as

town halls, court houses, libraries etc and in their churches. Sometimes public,

corporate funding or funding by landowners or benefactors meant that the cost

of imported stone could be met to enhance the architectural appearance of

the buildings.

In 1613, the Drapers’ Company (one of the London Livery Companies tasked

with the Plantation of Ulster and County Londonderry in particular) was granted

38,800 acres of land stretching from Draperstown in the north to Moneymore

in the south. These two principal towns were market centres for the surrounding

farmland but remained as insignificant villages with a cluster of ramshackle

cottages until the early 19th Century. Agents were appointed by the Drapers’

Company to oversee the design and construction of the two towns. Two of these

agents had considerable expertise as architects and set about a transformation

resulting in some of the finest buildings in rural Ireland. Jesse Gibson was

responsible for many of the earlier fine building in Moneymore between 1818

and 1822. He was followed by William Joseph Booth who contributed to both

towns but especially Draperstown between 1822 and 1847.

James Stevens Curl in his books on the Londonderry Plantation and

architecture of the two towns states that “Moneymore and Draperstown

are two of the most interesting of the planned towns built by the London Livery

Companies in Ulster”.

In the Sperrins gateway region a wealth of excellent building stone was

available and used extensively in the past. These include sandstones from

Cookstown and Dungannon, basalt from the western margin of the Antrim

Plateau and sandstones from Mid Ulster. The main rock of the area is schist

which dominates the local buildings and walls, often enhanced by other

stones for finer stonework such as cornerstones, door lintels and mullioned

windows. Slate was imported from Wales for roofing material and granite

and marble either imported or brought from other parts of Ireland for

ornamental monuments and embellishments.

W M Lynn

Co. Londonderry

Co. Antrim

Co. Tyrone

Co. Fermanagh

Co. Armagh

Co. Down

0 20km

Schist

Clay

Limestone and sandstone

Sandstone

Basalt, gabbro and granite

Granite

Sandstone and limestone

Basalt

Sandstone and slate

Newry

Belfast

Londonderry

Omagh

Enniskillen Armagh

LoughNeagh

N

Moneymore

Draperstown

The Solid Geology of Northern Ireland

Commonly used building stones of the area

Sandstones

Very variable in:• Texture: range from coarse/pebbly to fine/silty• Colour: yellow or beige to pink or red• Degree of cementation: strong silica cement to weak calcareous cement/friable• Homogeneous throughout or displaying beds or various structures.

Its attractive appearance, resistance and ability to be dressed into regular blocks (Ashlar) or finer details by the stonemason make it the dominant building stone of the area.

Basalt

• Dark grey to black with fine crystalline texture

Because it is very hard, it tends to be rough-hewn into irregular blocks with intervening spaces infilled with lime mortar. The facing of the blocks are left with a rough finish. Often used for perimeter walls and field boundaries.

Limestones

• Commonly grey Carboniferous fine grained and homogeneous• often containing fossils or Cretaceous white limestone (Chalk)• often containing Flint nodules and sometimes fossils

Its ability to be dressed into blocks and for working finer architectural detail, including polishing, makes it a favoured stone. White limestone hewn into rough stone blocks is used for less prominent structures where it is locally available.

Properties that make a good building stone:

• Hard and durable• Good load-bearing strength• Can be readily cut or dressed by the stonemason• Homogeneous with interlocking crystals or well cemented grains• Few joints or bedding planes which can be lines of weakness• Resistant to physical and chemical weathering• Non porous or impermeable• Attractive appearance when dressed or polished.

Pink Red

Commonly used building stones of the area

Schist

The most common rock of the area and is used in walls and less significant buildings such as older cottages. It is muddy grey in colour and although quite hard it contains fine beds so does not lend itself to being finely worked. Its irregular shaped blocks make a mortar infill essential but are used in a dry stone form (no mortar) in boundary and field walls.

Marble

This is generally used for monuments or as a facing stone. It has a range of colours from pure white to grey, green or reddish brown, often variable in a single slab. It is prized for its homogeneous, sugary texture and its ability to be cut and worked into the finest detail. Ireland has a range of marbles of different colours but fine white marble is often imported from Italy.

Slate

This finely laminated rock can be split into thin sheets and cut into a range of sizes for use as a roofing material. Most slate is imported from Wales and due to its dark grey or purple colour they are known as Bangor Blues, but coarse local examples or slabs of schist can be seen sometimes on old cottages or farm out houses.

Granite

• A coarse crystalline hard rock with a speckled appearance ranging in colour from light grey through pink to red

The granites of Northern Ireland are mostly grey but imported pink granites sometimes present on monuments. Granite can be dressed into a range of block sizes and lends itself to polishing for ornamental works.

Pink Grey

Draperstown

1 3Old Market House 2

The Infants’ School and School House

4

MARKET STREET

HIG

H ST

REET

CONYNGHAM STREET

The Common Barn5

SMIT

H S

TREET

CIR

CU

LAR

RO

AD

9St John’s Desertlyn Parish Church

10

The Parochial Sunday School

78

Free School

HAMMOND STREET 6

Hammond Street Cottages

First Presbyterian Church and houses opposite

New Market House & Corn Store S T P

AT R I CK ’ S

ST R E E T

OLD CROSS

PL

AN

TIN

PA

RK

H I G H S T R E E T

BA

CK

RO

AD

HI G

H S

TR

EE

T

1

St Columba, Ballynascreen Parish Church

Market House/ houses adjacent

Presbyterian Church

Tudor Gothic Cottages

Soup Kitchen

Corn Store

Soup Kitchen 7 Soup Kitchen Soup Kitchen

Corn Store

Soup Kitchen Soup Kitchen

Corn Store Corn Store

76

Market House/ Market House/ Market House/ Market House/ Market House/ Market House/ houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent

3H

I GH

ST

RE

ET

BA

CK

RO

AD

BA

CK

RO

AD

BA

CK

RO

AD

BA

CK

RO

AD

76

HI G

H S

TR

EE

T

Market House/ Market House/ Market House/ houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent houses adjacent

BA

CK

RO

AD

BA

CK

RO

AD

BA

CK

RO

AD

BA

CK

RO

AD

3

2

H I G H S T R E E T

Presbyterian ChurchPresbyterian ChurchPresbyterian ChurchPresbyterian ChurchPresbyterian ChurchPresbyterian ChurchPresbyterian Church

4

Gothic CottagesGothic CottagesGothic CottagesGothic CottagesGothic Cottages5

STONARD STREET

1 2

4 5

6 7

The Soup Kitchen, Draperstown

3

1. St Columba’s, Ballynascreen Parish Church 1881

A fine church of local sandstone constructed in a number of stages, the tower being the only remaining part of an earlier church built by Bishop Hervey, the Earl Bishop, in 1760. Note the original door and high level window now infilled on the tower. The tower is topped with a fine dressed sandstone octagonal spire. The sandstone blocks of the original tower are more roughly dressed with mortar infilling than the more recent construction with its regular ashlar form. The sandstone facings around the porch entrance and window mullions are finely worked. The interior (if accessible) has a finely carved altar, pulpit and font incorporating marble and granite embellishments. There is a range of stones used in the graveyard memorials.

3. Houses adjacent to Market House

Constructed at the same time, planned by W J Booth, and in the same stone as the Market House, they form a fine terrace overlooking the original triangular village green (now sadly built over by modern constructions). The house at the extreme right (now a Dental Surgery) was once an inn, later the police station, and was destroyed during the Troubles and restored to its present form – some differences between it and the adjacent houses can be observed. The house to the extreme left was the dispensary and is currently being restored. Some of the other houses have undergone restoration or alteration.

2. The Market House 1838

By W J Booth. A fine ashlar sandstone building with pediment at front and clock tower at back. The local sandstone blocks are regular in size throughout with stonemason’s embellishments on cornerstones and around doors and windows. The sandstone is variable in colour and texture and some blocks show the effects of weathering and newer lighter coloured blocks represent restoration and replacement in a number of places. The Market House later became the Courthouse, then the library and is now a crèche.

Stone detail on tower

Carved granite cross

Marble gravestone

Sandstone graves

Draperstown

5. The Tudor Gothic Cottage 1840-45

By W J Booth. A row of restored cottages in local sandstone with finely worked honey coloured sandstone around the doors and window mullions with lattice glazing and slated roofs. This attractive sandstone displays a range of colours and textures with some finer cross beds in the occasional grey siltstone bock. The two-storey building at the left extremity of the row with a wide entrance gate (now a garage) was once a blacksmith’s and possibly wheelwright’s as indicated by the cut stone to the right above the carriage entrance. The two cottages at the right extremity of the row have not been restored and have been altered in structure, window form and the addition of plaster work masking the natural stone.

7. The Soup Kitchen 1839

Also on the Back Road adjacent to the Corn Store but with less attention to structural composition, it has been restored and now houses the offices of the Sperrins Gateway Landscape Partnership. It was a soup kitchen during the Famine of the 1840s. The variable sandstone blocks are roughly dressed in a form termed rubble stone and bound together by lime mortar unlike the tightly fitted ashlar of the other buildings, where mortar is used sparingly or not at all. The wall on the opposite side of the lane uses a range of rubble stone and mortar but there are some fine wedge-cut stones and keystones above the arched openings in the wall.

6. The Corn Store 1839

By W J Booth. This restored building on the Back Road displays a very attractive range of ashlar sandstone ranging from muddy grey to pink. Some blocks are coarse with layers of quartz pebbles – a naturally occurring structure called grading. There are finely dressed cornerstones and lintels above the windows and doorways. Once the store for grain and positioned directly behind the Market House it is now a civic space.

4. The Presbyterian Church 1843

By W J Booth - ashlar local sandstone cut into fine regular blocks with a frontal pediment and six large metal framed windows on each side. Some fine detail and structures can be seen on individual stone blocks. The rather austere form of the building is offset by some elaborate older gravestones in the surrounding churchyard making use of a range of building stones.

Draperstown

Moneymore

1 3Old Market House 2

The Infants’ School and School HouseThe Infants’ School The Infants’ School and School House

4

MARKET STREETH

IGH

STR

EET

CONYNGHAM STREET

The Common BarnThe Common BarnThe Common Barn5

SMIT

H S

TREET

CIR

CU

LAR

RO

AD

9St John’s Desertlyn Parish Church

10

The Parochial Sunday School

78

Free School

HAMMOND STREET 6

Hammond Street Cottages

First Presbyterian Church and houses opposite

New Market House & Corn Store S T P

AT R I CK ’ S

ST R E E T

OLD CROSS

PL

AN

TIN

PA

RK

H I G H S T R E E T

BA

CK

RO

AD

HI G

H S

TR

EE

T

1

St Columba, Ballynascreen Parish Church

Market House/ houses adjacent

Presbyterian Church

Tudor Gothic Cottages

Soup Kitchen

Corn Store

76

3

2

4 5

STONARD STREET

1 2 3

5 6

9 10

4

7 8

1. The Old Market House 1818

By Jesse Gibson together with the adjacent inn, dispensary and doctors house predate the grander buildings by Booth on the opposite side of High Street but display many interesting architectural features such as the bell tower, porches and symmetrical layout. Unfortunately, the building stone is masked by plaster or stucco work but is mostly local sandstone and can be seen in the rear of some of these buildings. Further along the High Street and on the same side are a number of fine 19th century houses culminating in the three-storey Manor House with its pillared portico and balustraded roof – again the building stone is masked.

2. The New Market House 1839

By W J Booth and directly opposite the Old Market House but is a much grander structure together with the symmetrical terrace of houses on either side. Built of ashlar sandstone blocks similar to its counterpart in Draperstown but in a more elaborate Palladian style with a large central archway and pedestrian passages on both sides. There is an overhanging pediment and the adjacent houses have had shop fronts added at a later stage. The gable walls at the end of each row together with the buildings behind use local white limestone (chalk) in their construction.

3. The Corn Store 1835-39

By W J Booth, this consists of a number of buildings running behind the Market House and can be accessed through the main archway or by Market Street. The houses on the right side of Market Street are built mainly of white limestone blocks (chalk), a common building stone in the area. They contain glassy grey or black nodules of flint and occasional fossils. Brick, which was fired from local brick clays, is used around windows, doors and for chimneys. The lower building in the Corn Store is a three-storied structure with galleries again constructed of white limestone. Behind this is the substantial Market Superintendent’s House and the Old Gaol, both of white limestone construction but with sandstone corner stones and chimneys. They can be viewed from Market Street.

4. The Infants’ School and School House 1840

By W J Booth and located at the bottom of Market Street on the Circular Road. These are constructed of white limestone with sandstone corner stones and gable tops on the two storey School House. On the opposite side of Circular Road are two fine ashlar sandstone houses flanking the Second Presbyterian Church.

Moneymore

5. The Common Barn 1843

This a large two-storey structure at the end of Circular Road on Conyngham Street. It is constructed of ashlar sandstone and a darker sandstone on the corners and the external staircase which gives access to the upper hall. This is badly weathered and discoloured but some fine features such as the balustraded stairs can be seen. It is currently used as a car repair garage on the lower level and a boxing club above.

6. Hammond Street Cottages 1830s

By W J Booth, these single-storey ashlar sandstone cottages are on the left hand side of Hammond Street leading from Conyngham Street. Unfortunately, only the second building of this row displays the fine building-stone and mason’s craft as all the others have been rendered or painted over. From Hammond Street turn onto Bridger Street then Cookstown Road.

7. First Presbyterian Church and houses opposite 1823

By Jesse Gibson. The church on Cookstown Road displays no evident building stone since it is entirely rendered (plastered) but has a fine frontal pediment. The houses opposite the gates of the church and further up the hill on Cookstown Road are built of white limestone with arched doorways and dark sandstone corner stones with Georgian framed windows. The high wall that separates the churchyard from the back of Main Street buildings is composed of a range of local rubble stone held with lime mortar.

8. The Free School 1820

By Jesse Gibson at the end of High Street towards the Cookstown Road was built for girls and boys with a master’s residence. It is now the Orange Hall and although the architecture can be admired the building stone is nowhere evident due to rendering.

Moneymore

Front view of The Common Barn

9. St John’s Desertlyn Parish Church 1829-32

Designed by W J Booth and restored after a fire in 1891. It is a rather plain ashlar sandstone structure with wide rounded windows and entrance in a Norman Revival style. There is a high square clock tower which dominates the town. There are some very ornate grave memorials in a range of stones (granite, marble and sandstone) and displaying the craft of the stonemason – note the sandstone and marble headstone to the right of the front door.

10. The Parochial Sunday School 1843

By W J Booth, this is situated opposite the gates of St John’s Church. Constructed of ashlar white limestone with sandstone corner stones and slated roof, it is currently the Assembly Rooms. Near the entrance is a wall mounted war memorial for the First World War commemorating the fallen. It is finely worked limestone surrounding a polished granite tablet on which the names are inscribed.

Springhill, Moneymore

17th Century Plantation house built by the Lenox-Conyngham family is situated on the outskirts of Moneymore on the B18 Coagh Road. The main house and its two wings are constructed with a combination of sandstone and basalt but this is not well exposed due to a coating of lime wash giving the structure its white colour. Sandstone detail is exposed on the entrance walls and most of the outbuildings are composed of rubble basalt and mortar. It is also used in the perimeter wall and gate pillars. The cellar entrance to the tea rooms gives a view of the slated rear walls – a feature used on north facing walls of many such houses to reduce dampness in walls not exposed to the drying influence of the sun. The floor of the cellar entrance and some of the cellar rooms are covered in local tiles. These have a range of attractive colours which show up well when wet. This is a National Trust property.

Outlying Rural AreasMoneymore

Lissan House

17th Century Plantation house built by the Staples family around 1620 is situated about three miles northwest of Cookstown on the B162 road to Lough Fea and Draperstown. The main house is lime washed and is constructed primarily of local sandstone which is visible only at the entrance portico and the large bay windows on the right hand extremity of the house. The house is in the process of restoration by the Lissan Trust but is open to the public. There are some fine outbuildings in the yard, in need of restoration and a fine high garden wall of rubble stone construction which is being restored.

Outlying Rural Areas

The Old Parish of Lissan Church, Churchtown

About 4 miles north of Cookstown and a mile west of Lissan on the Tullynure minor road is the village of Churchtown with two interesting churches.

The Old Parish of Lissan Church has some interesting building stones exposed at the entrance porch and to the left of this. These include sandstone, granite and basalt in the form of irregular rubble stone held by lime mortar. The entrance and cornerstones are of finely dressed sandstone in contrast to the main structure. There is an interesting memorial plaque on the wall of the porch which is surrounded by a finely carved limestone around an inscribed marble tablet.

Derrynoid Centre

The original house has been demolished but the coach house entrance and surrounding buildings have been restored (not currently in use). The buildings display a range of ashlar sandstone in pink, red and beige colours with local brickwork around the entrance arch and windows. A pink granite plaque opposite the entrance gives details of the restoration.

St Eugene’s Church (RC), Moneyneena

On the outskirts of the village on the Feeny/Dungiven road is a rough cut local sandstone structure with some fine detail around the windows and entrance. Worth noting is the fine rose window above the entrance and the belfry above it. On the opposite side from the entrance is a fine semicircular sacristy with stained glass windows.

Kilcronaghan Parish Church,Tobermore

At the top of Tobermore on the Wood Road, this church is constructed mainly of local basalt, unlike most of the churches in the nearby towns which use sandstone. Basalt blocks in a range of sizes with a rough cut finish form the bulk of the structure but for finer detail around the entrance, windows and buttresses dressed sandstone is used. This gives a pleasantly contrasting effect. The entrance walls use rubble basalt of irregular shape with a sandstone coping and dressed sandstone pillars.

The Corr Memorial Church, Churchtown

About half a mile north west of the old church is The Corr Memorial Church. Built in 1907 it displays some of the finest examples of the stonemason’s craft. The bulk of the structure is local sandstone in ashlar finish but with a rough exposed front. There is much finely dressed sandstone detail around windows, the entrance and the impressive round bell tower.

Outlying Rural Areas

DisclaimerEvery care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the compilation of this guide. The information provided is, to the best of the promoter’s knowledge correct at the time of going to print. The promoters cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions but if any are brought to their notice future publications will be amended accordingly.

References used:The Buildings of Ireland – North West Ulster by Alistair Rowan (Penguin)Stone by Stone – A Guide to Building Stone in the Northern Ireland Environment (Appletree Press)The Londonderry Plantation 1609 – 1914 by James Stevens Curl (Philmore & Co. Ltd)Draperstown and Moneymore by James Stevens Curl (Ulster Architectural Heritage)

Moneyneena Catholic Church

Derrynoid Centre

DRAPERSTOWN

Kilcronaghan Parish Church

MONEYMORE

Springhill

Lissan House

Churchtown

Kilcronaghan Parish Church, Tobermore

© Permit No: 140040

This Intellectual Property is Crown Copyright and is reproduced with permission of Land & Property Services under Delegated Authority from the

Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright and database right (2015).

SPERRINS GATEWAYL A N D S C A P E PA RT N E R S H I P

www.sperrinsgateway.com

Benchmark on Market House, High Street, Draperstown