The Governor's...
The Governor's house in Omagh is now on the market and priced at a modest £40,000. The house is part of a broader gaol complex, most of which has been demolished. The B1 listed building was built in 1820 by renowned Irish architect John Hargreaves for £17,000.
This eight-sided building was where the governor of the gaol lived, and he could come out onto the platform and look down on the prisoners from above. The prisoners were kept segregated. Males were on one side, and paupers and females on the other. A report made in 1876 showed 32 male and 16 female prisoners. He also noted: 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 1876 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 100 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦, 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 2 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 5 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡.
Executions were commonplace in these times, and many took place here with the bodies buried on site. In later years the hangings took place on Gallows hill. The goal closed in 1902, and the house came into private ownership in 1960. It is one of the few historical buildings left in Omagh and would be a good opportunity for the property to return to public ownership. The potential here is massive to restore this piece of history and turn it into something for all to enjoy. This unique building is one of a kind and should be saved in the right way for future generations.
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