Town House

Photo:Front elevation of town house with dormer windows and fine doorcase

Front elevation of town house with dormer windows and fine doorcase

Donor

Photo:You can see the house on Bowgate Street c. 1895 with entrance gate to Cranmore House in background

You can see the house on Bowgate Street c. 1895 with entrance gate to Cranmore House in background

Donor

Terri Mullen's dormer style house

Bowgate Street

By Averil Staunton

Continuing towards the Main Street, passing the entrance to Cranmore House on Bowgate Street on your left you will see a terraced four bay two storey townhouse c. 1856 with two dormer attic openings at roof level. The structure has a fine cut-stone doorcase with plain glass fan light and retains timber sash windows.

Originally, according to Terri Mullen, Solicitor, who now owns the property, it was once a stand alone house surrounded by gardens.   There is evidence of this from the blocked up windows inside part of the house and there is no longer any light at the stairs return which has a wonderful mahogony bannister.   There are six beautiful marble fireplaces within and a nice stained-glass window.

Previous owners

This house was built by a James O’Malley of Newport pre 1856, with its original owner being John W. Fair.    A Dr. Hawkshaw of Westport married a member of the Daly Family and operated his medical practice from the house.

According to Bridie Mulloy, author of Itichy Feet and Thirsty Work  who, toghether with her husband Tony, lived in the house, it was owned by a well known Mathilda Brown at some stage.   She  in turn left the house to Miss Ann Morris who, after becoming bankrupt, leased the house first to the Ulster Bank and then the Bank of Ireland for a short period.  

No 06 on the BDC Town Heritage Walk.

 

This page was added by Averil Staunton on 13/12/2010.
Comments about this page

Yes John you are correct, Dr Hawkshaw was an uncle of my late mother Mary Browne nee Hawkshaw, Mary Gibbons nee Daly was a neighbour of ours at Shop St Westport Great to see all that is being done to record the history of Ballinrobe

By Michael Browne
On 24/07/2011

I looked at the Townhouse section, where you talk about Dr.Hawkshaw marrying one of the Dalys and then the house being occupied by somebody called Browne. This is interesting, because in Shop Street in Westport there were two shops, Gibbons and Browns, side by side (now Westport travel and O'Brien's respectively). The Browns are related to the Hawkshaws (how I'm not quite sure, but it's pretty close I believe), while Mary Daly from Ballinrobe married Michael J. Gibbons- so you have the same three families linked in both towns, if the Browns are the same family.

By Dr. John Mulloy, Westport
On 19/05/2011
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