AQW 19692/11-15

Mr Barry McElduff
Sinn Féin
West Tyrone

Tabled Date: 11/02/2013
Answered On Date: 22/02/2013
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of the Environment (i) to list the buildings, monuments or structures in County Tyrone which are under public care; (ii) to detail the annual budget allocated to maintaining these structures; and (iii) to outline the criteria for inclusion on this list.

Answer:

Details of each element of your question are laid out in the attached Annexes, and provide the current overview of information held by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), within this Department, in respect buildings, monuments or structures that are described and managed as historic monuments in County Tyrone.

The NIEA holds primary records for those historic monuments that it owns or manages in the County. These are often described as ‘State Care Monuments’. NIEA also has details about ownership of sites, not in its ownership or management, but which have been protected as Scheduled Monuments. Some of these are in the ownership of local councils, and in that context they could be described as being in public care. A list of all State Care Monuments managed by the Department of the Environment, and an indicative list of Scheduled Monuments in the ownership of local councils in Tyrone, is attached at Annex 1. There are likely to be many more historic monuments in the county that are owned or managed by other government departments, agencies or the local authorities. However, unless these sites have special statutory protections, we cannot say how many, overall, are in public care. Further, as we do not have the full extent of other departments’ or agencies’ landholdings, we cannot give a definitive list of, for example, those historic monuments that are on land presently used by Forrest Service or local schools.

Costs associated with the maintenance of these sites are usually allocated according to conservation and maintenance need; there is no fixed budget for sites in County Tyrone, and the conservation and maintenance need is considered against the other sites across the North. Routine costs associated with the management of State Care Monuments are usually split between two functional units in the NIEA. Over the past three years, an average of approximately £13k has been spent on the routine management (litter collection, maintenance of boundaries), spread across the 44 State Care Monuments in Tyrone. Not every site has required expenditure, and the condition of the sites is monitored by staff through routine site inspection. During the current financial year we have undertaken conservation work, through our craft workforce, at Benburb Castle, Castle Caulfield, Newtownstewart Castle and Mountjoy Castle. The works at these sites variously related to increasing public access, addressing health and safety concerns, and establishing future conservation needs.

At present there is no active programme of selection of sites to be brought into public ownership and presentation. Non-statutory criteria for the identification of sites for special statutory protection as Scheduled Monuments have been published as Annex B of Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage. Attached to Annex 2 of this letter is an overview of the process by which some of our most important monuments have come into State care. As you will see, over the past 140 years or so, this department has accumulated a significant number of historic monuments for a wide variety of reasons.

Looking forward, I have asked officials to progress the development of proposals for the future presentation of one of the most important historic monuments in the North of Ireland: Tullaghoge Fort. Work is currently under way to complete a significant transfer of land at Tullaghoge from the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development to the Department of the Environment. In partnership with the local council, we are looking forward to presenting this hidden jewel to the wider public. This site has the potential to be a key ‘heritage hub’ in Mid-Ulster, and is of great significant in the history of these islands. The lands involved comprise a mix of open pasture and historic woodland, as well as the Fort itself. Planning is at an early stage, but there is an obvious need at this site for improved visitor infrastructure. I have been advised by officials that emerging findings from a new feasibility assessment of the site should become available in April 2013.

Annex 1

State Care Monuments in County Tyrone

Name	Townland	Sites and Monuments Record Number	Irish Grid Reference
Balix Lower Court Tomb: The White Rocks	Balix Lower	TYR 006:006	H48369635
Ballywholan Dual Court Tomb: Carnagat	Ballywholan	TYR 065:002	H56974702
Ballywholan Portal Tomb: Carnfadrig	Ballywholan	TYR 065:003	H55554899
Beaghmore Stone Circles, Cairns and Alignments	Beaghmore	TYR 020:004	H68468424
Berrysfort Standing Stone	Berrysfort	TYR 016:046	H27198382
Churchtown Wedge Tomb: Todd's Den	Churchtown	TYR 016:017	H26858567
Churchtown Portal Tomb: Druid's Altar	Churchtown	TYR 016:018	H26658530
Clogher Hillfort: Rathmore	Clogher Demesne	TYR 058:033	H53875133
Copney Stone Circles	Copney	TYR 027:033	H599780
Cregganconroe Court Tomb	Cregganconroe	TYR 037:012	H66227575
Creggandevesky Court Tomb	Creggandevesky	TYR 037:014	H64607500
Damhcloy Megalithic Structure	Crockatanty	TYR 019:019	H59558806
Glenknock or Cloghogle Portal Tomb: Druid's Altar	Glenknock or Cloghohogle	TYR 017:009	H41098796
Grange Standing Stone	Grange	TYR 039:020	H83177477
Grange Standing Stone Pair	Grange	TYR 039:021	H83077514
Killucan Wedge Tomb: Carnanbane	Killucan	TYR 028:006	H68337924
Killucan Long Cairn: Killucan	Killucan	TYR 028:008	H68488012
Knockmany Passage Tomb: Annia's Cove	Knockmany	TYR 059:001	H54695590
Lisky Court Tomb: Giant's Grave	Lisky	TYR 010:006	H35719051
Tattykeel Standing Stone	Tattykeel	TYR 029:022	H74807738
Ardboe Cross and Abbey	Farsnagh; Sessia	TYR 040:003,5	H96677566
Donaghmore Cross	Donaghmore	TYR 046:011	H76886538
Drumgormal Bivallate Rath	Drumgormal	TYR 047:006	H87356984
Dungororan Rath	Dungororan	TYR 046:016	H73876932
Errigal Keerogue Cross and Church	Gort	TYR 059:006	H58545705
Killyliss Rath	Killyliss	TYR 054:004	H75706055
Tullaghoge Fort	Ballymully Glebe	TYR 038:016	H82507430
Harry Avery's Castle	Upper Or New Deerpark	TYR 017:012	H39148522
Magheraglass Church	Magheraglass	TYR 038:001	H74377677
Mountjoy Castle	Magheralamfield, Mountjoy	TYR 047:002	H90116869
Benburb or Wingfield's Castle	Benburb	TYR 061:002	H81475199
Castle Caulfield	Lisnamonaghan, Castlecaufield	TYR 054:001	H75516259
Derryloran Church	Glebe	TYR 038:019	H80427680
Moy Gates and Screen	Moy	TYR 062:009	H85105606
Newtownstewart Castle	Newtownstewart	TYR 017:047	H40208583
Reaskcor Tree-Ring	Reaskcor	TYR 054:002	H74906160
Reaskmore Penal Altar Site	Reaskmore	TYR 054:029	H75405865
Relignaman Women's Graveyard	Carrickmore	TYR 036:022	H60647222
Roughan Castle	Roughan	TYR 046:002	H82316826
Carricknahaltora	Ballywholan	TYR 065:001	H57804547

Indicative List of Scheduled Monuments in Council Ownership

Council	SMR No.	Site Name	Type	Townland	Grid Ref.
Cookstown D.C.	TYR 039:044	Glebe or Ballyclog Old Church	Church and Graveyard	Glebe	H8660073690
Cookstown D.C.	TYR 029:003	-	Platform Rath	Gortalowry	H8086077370
Cookstown D.C.	TYR 038:047	-	Bronze Age Settlement and Ring Ditch	Loughry	H8139374989
Dungannon & South Tyrone B.C.	TYR 054:017	Dungannon Castle or O’Neill’s Castle	Castle and House	Drumcoo (Dungannon)	H7990062620
Dungannon & South Tyrone B.C.	TYR 060:012	Carnteel Church	Medieval Parish Church and Graveyard, also site of 13th century battle	Carnteel	H6943054600
Dungannon & South Tyrone B.C.	TYR 060:016	Aghaloo Church	Medieval Church and Graveyard	Rousky	H6633054930
Omagh D.C.	TYR 033:011	Holywell Church	Church, Graveyard and Carved Stone	Lackagh	H3132074250
Omagh D.C.	TYR 050:021	-	Church	Dromore	H3490062750
Omagh D.C.	TYR 051:035	-	Church ruins and Graveyard	Castletown	H4447061430
Omagh D.C.	TYR 026:002	Cappagh Church or Old Church	Church and Graveyard	Dunmullan	H4493080210
Omagh D.C.	TYR 043:036	-	Church and Graveyard	Drumragh (Caldwell)	H4568069800
Strabane D.C.	TYR 005:500	Strabane Canal	Canal	Various	C3594003910
Strabane D.C.	TYR 016:016	Castlederg Castle	Fortified House and Bawn	Castlesessagh	H2605084420
Strabane D.C.	TYR 009:004	Ernaide	Monastery, Church, Graveyard and Cross-carved Stone	Urney Glebe	H3034094910
Strabane D.C.	TYR 017:011	Pigeon Hill	Castle Site (Mound and Foundation)	Croshballinree	H4037085770
Strabane D.C.	TYR 018:012	Corick Abbey	Fransciscan Abbey and Graveyard	Corickmore	H4519088170

Annex 2

Overview of how buildings, monuments or structures are brought into public care as State Care Monuments

A State Care Monument is a site of archaeological interest under the management of the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland), as per Articles 13 to 18 of the Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. This management can be by virtue of direct ownership or lease of a site or through guardianship, whereby the owner retains tenure but site management is under the control of the Department for public benefit.

There are 189 individual and groups of State Care Monuments in Northern Ireland, of which 40 are located in County Tyrone.

The first monuments were acquired by the State after the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869 when a number of ecclesiastical structures in a ruinous state but worthy of preservation were place under Government protection in 1880. Subsequently, the majority of State Care Monuments in Northern Ireland have been placed under State management or ownership by virtue of a succession of historic monuments legislation, from Ancient Monuments Protection Act, 1882 through to the current Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. These acquisitions have been through purchase, gift, lease or guardianship agreements.

A significant number of monuments were acquired as a result of major administrative change in the early 1970’s. As the county councils were abolished, 44 monuments were statutorily transferred from the county councils to State ownership by the Historic Monument (Transfer) Order (Northern Ireland) 1973. Most of these sites lacked a defined boundary and had no public access arrangements at the time of the transfer and have posed considerable issues to the Department of the Environment and its predecessors since their acquisition. County Tyrone contained a disproportionately high number of such monuments with 20 of the 44 transferred monuments located within the county.

The criteria for future acquisition have not been revisited for some time. Earlier criteria for acquisition of additional State Care Monuments has been discussed, and agreed, in several policy papers presented to the Historic Monuments Council the most recent of which was presented to the Environment and Heritage Service Board in 1998 and were identified as:

Quality – the significance, interest and complexity of the site.

Period – all of the major archaeological and historical epochs require representation. Some periods have fewer monuments, so rarity becomes a factor.

Type – clearly the collection of sites in State Care should contain representatives of most known types of historic monuments. Again, rarity can be a factor.

Geographical spread – we endeavour to maintain a roughly even geographical spread of state Care Monuments throughout Northern Ireland. This is not easy to achieve because some areas have few monuments while others have a wealth of known remains. There are distinct concentrations of some types of monuments in Northern Ireland, with distributions determined by historic, environmental and other reasons.

The Protocol for the Care of the Government Historic Estate, published in 2012 by the Department of the Environment, is currently being rolled out and Departments are required to provide a list of all their heritage assets by June 2013.