Omagh Governors House dates back to early 19th century

Jimi Hendrix’s blistering version of the Bob Dylan song ‘All Along the Watchtower’ has been interpreted in some quarters as raging against oppressive forces and championing the advocacy of justice.

Omagh has its own watchtower, known as the ‘Governors House’, which is tucked well behind the modern façade that lines the town’s streets.

And though the context of which Hendrix interpreted his famous cover isn’t applicable to Omagh, an advocator of local justice once inhabited this panopticon.

One rainy Thursday evening, I went along to the Governors House to meet with members of Omagh Heritage Forum who enlightened me on this hidden section of Omagh’s history.

Whilst I had seen this tower before from a distance, I always wondered what stories it held.

The historic tower dates back to the early 19th century, and housed the governor who oversaw Omagh Gaol.

The three-storey, octagonal tower was built in 1823 as part of an expansion programme to the existing Gaol, which was built 19 years prior.

The man who built this new house for the governor was none other than John Hargrave, the same man who designed the Omagh Courthouse in 1814.

The tower was placed in the centre of the Gaol, and a balcony was added to allow the governor to oversee all of the prisoners and the outlining gardens.

The house held three bedrooms, two receptions and a boardroom which catered for the family of the governor.

The vaulted basement in the house was used primarily to store perishable goods used for the Gaol kitchen, which was added as an annex to the house itself.

During the governance of George Mason in 1873-1881, it is reported that the prisoners were treated to the faint sound of his wife, Matilda Mason’s piano in the later hours of the evening.

This would be the height of luxury that prisoners would have gotten, in comparison to the lifestyles led by the residing families.

Back to the present day, I was enthralled and humbled by these selfless historians as they took me a short distance to the barrier outside the tower.

We carefully swooped under some wire and made our way through the unkept grass, with relics of residency hidden amongst the foliage.

However, peeking inside, it quickly became clear that not much history is to be found beyond the surface level architecture.

Every corner and crevice of this house was filled with belongings and random articles of furniture, appliances, collections and other assortments of items.

None of which held any historical value to the original purpose of the tower itself, bar a rusty pirate-looking hook that hung from the top floor.

Still, I pondered how this place may have looked like in the times of the Gaol.

I envisioned bare floors, polished wood, fresh uncracked plaster with the governor sitting on a grand satin chair, reading a book below a large priceless piece of art.

The current reality is that dust-covered boards lie on top of rotting wood, presumably from the original wood structure during the construction in early 1800s.

The windows are either broken or fully displaced, and plaster was crumbling as gusts of wind flew through the room.

This basement is the worst section of the building for clutter, and at no point is the floor viable to walk on.

The Governors House is of special interest to Omagh Heritage Forum.

Last year, the group launched a campaign to bring this important remnant of of local history back to public ownership.

It has been nearly a year since Vincent Brogan, the head of the Heritage forum, launched the group’s campaign to bring this remnant of history back in to public ownership.

The building and adjoining land had been on sale, with an asking price of £40,000

Mr Brogan called on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to purchase the building and preserve the history of the site.

Speaking on the matter, he said, “By 1902, the jail ceased to function as a jail, and it fell into dereliction, before eventually being sold off to a private owner.

“That person bought the jail and the buildings within it, and quite a number of the buildings were demolished and used to build different other buildings which we can identify in Omagh town.

“What we have here in the Governor’s House is one of the pristine remaining buildings. It’s B1 listed, and it needs to be protected for the future.”

He added, “We feel that the heritage in Omagh is in this area.

“We have lost other buildings within the town to development or dereliction, and work should be advanced rapidly to keep a building like this.”

However, despite the efforts of the Omagh Heritage Forum, the site was sold a month later to an unknown buyer.

It’s unclear what the future holds for this historic house, which is now nearly 200-years-old.