Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/19/087 A

Address :
No. 8 London Street Londonderry Co. Londonderry BT48 6RQ

Townland:
Londonderry

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House - Terrace

Former Use
House - Terrace

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
36-8NW

IG Ref:
C4341 1656

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Late-Georgian mid-terrace three-bay three-storey smooth-rendered townhouse, built c.1800. Rectangular on plan with large projecting three-storey rear return. Principal elevation faces south west overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard to the south side of London Street, together with No.10, built as pair of a terrace houses of similar type lining the north east side of London Street, set on the edge of the pavement, within the Cathedral Quarter of the Historic Walled City. Slated pitched roof to main house and rear return. Principal elevation (SW) is of smooth-rendered painted finish, all windows are square-headed with painted exposed box-frames on painted sill course to first and second floors, two 6/6 timber sliding sashes on ground floor, left of the entrance door, three 6/6 sliding sashes on first and second floor levels, those to 2nd floor level are diminished; slightly recessed semicircular-arch headed entrance doorway with a raised-and-fielded six-panel timber door with plain architrave surround and plain fanlight above; large decorative painted iron structural tie to wall above windows on first floor level. Stepped cornice detail to eaves with cast-iron half-round guttering on out-and-up support brackets and circular cast-iron downpipe. North East and South West sides are abutted by adjoining properties No.6 and No.10 London Street (HB01/19/086B & HB01/19/87B). No access could be obtained to the rear of building at time of survey. Pitched slate roof has black clay ridge tiles to main roof and rear return. Red brick chimney stack with three circular buff clay pots rising from west side, centred on ridge. Materials: Roof Slated RWG Cast Iron Walling Render Windows Timber Sliding Sash Setting: Located on the north east side of London Street just off Bishop Street Within, overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard to the south side, situated along a terrace row of similar house types alongside Darcus and Cathedral Cottages, all within the Cathedral Quarter of the Historic Walled City.

Architects

Historical Information

The buildings on London Street, extending from Bishop Street to New Gate, predominantly date from the late-Georgian and Victorian periods but the street itself likely dates from the laying out of the walled city in the early-17th century. Both Nicholas Pynnar’s plan (1618-19) and Thomas Raven’s maps of Londonderry (1622; 1625) depicted a street in the southeast quadrant of the new city extending off from Queen’s Street (Bishop Street) that occupied the exact current layout of London Street. These early maps were intended as proposals with many of the buildings depicted on them not being constructed until later. However the plans did accurately reproduce the current geometric pattern of the city, suggesting that side streets such as Pump Street, Castle Street and London Street were also laid out in the early-17th century. London Street is divided by Pump Street into two sections (a west end and east end). From the 18th to mid-19th centuries the east end was known as Widow’s Lane and then Widow’s Row. The west end (originally unnamed) was known as Cross Lane in 1734, Church Lane in c. 1780 and Post Office Lane in 1799. The west end of the street was renamed London Street in 1811 in honour of the City of London companies who had founded the city as part of the Plantation of Ulster (Calley, p. 247). Hume states that London Street ‘had originally a residential air similar to neighbouring Pump Street and Ferryquay Street [noting that] three doctors resided in it in 1832 and the buildings were generally substantial. The red brick here … points to a great deal of rebuilding in the nineteenth century.’ Even after the city’s merchant and professional characters began to move out of the walled city towards the new terraced streets in Edenballymore in the mid-19th century, Pump Street retained its residential character (Hume, p. 13). No. 8 London Street, a three-storey three-bay Georgian house, was constructed in the late-Georgian period in c. 1800. The Townland Valuations suggest that nos 8-12 London Street were likely constructed at the same time. The valuer designated the buildings class 1b- (a slate roofed building of medium age that was slightly decayed, but still in good repair) and noted that all three buildings were 18 feet in width, 26 feet in depth and 32 feet in height. In 1832 No. 8 London Street was valued at £29 13s. 4d., possessed a cellar and was occupied by a Mrs. Warren. The contemporary Townland Valuation map for Londonderry (1834) depicted No. 8 London Street as a rectangular-shaped structure, suggesting that it possessed a rear return (now replaced by a modern return). Griffith’s Valuation (1856) records that nos 8-12 London Street was leased by Sir. Robert A. Ferguson (1796-1860), who was M.P. for Londonderry from 1831 and Lord Lieutenant of Co. Londonderry from 1840, both of which posts he held until his death in 1860. The valuer noted that No. 8 London Street had been lowered in value to £17 and was occupied by John McIntire, a local solicitor, in 1856. The McIntire family vacated the house in 1879 and over the following two decades No. 8 London Street was briefly occupied by a number of tenants until 1897 when Susan Anne Wood took possession of the house converted part of the building into a Laundry. The laundry continued to possess its rectangular-shaped layout on the 1899 Valuation Map which also depicted a water tank and small outbuilding to its rear (both now demolished). The 1901 census building return described Wood’s laundry as a 1st class building that consisted of seven rooms, its sole outbuilding was utilised as a wash house. The 1909 Derry Almanac advertised the laundry as the London Street Public Laundry ‘the best laundry in the city for family washing.’ Susan Wood continued to operate from No. 8 London Street until 1929 when the house was occupied by John Nichol. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) records that ownership of nos 8-12 London Street had passed to Captain F. J. Montgomery and that the value of No. 8 was increased to £24. The owner and value of the house had not changed by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) which recorded a Mr. Robert Rosborough as occupant between 1960 and 1972. London Street had fallen into a state of poor repair and dilapidation by the 1970s but Calley states that ‘it was from here that moves towards historic preservation within the city was partially inspired and launched; in 1975 the street featured in the European Architectural Heritage Year celebrations’ (Calley, p. 247). No. 8 London Street was included in the Historic City Conservation Area in 1977. The Foyle Civic Trust records that the building had been converted into self-contained apartments by at least 2012. During the Second Survey the building was also occupied as premises for a cosmetic surgery (Foyle Civic Trust). References Primary Sources 1. Pynnar’s plan of the Walled City (1618-19) 2. Thomas Raven’s plans of Londonderry (1622; 1625) 3. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830) 4. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853) 5. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/14 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873) 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/547E – Townland Valuations (1832) 7. PRONI VAL/1/D/5/9B- Townland Valuation Map (1834) 8. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16D – Griffith’s Valuation (1856) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11A-11ZD – Annual Revisions (1860-1897) 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/1A-1B – Annual Revisions (1898-1929) 11. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 12. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 13. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918) 14. Derry Almanac (1909) 15. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 16. Foyle Civic Trust – Living City Project (London Street – including 1899 Valuation Map of Londonderry) Secondary Sources 1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013. 2. Hume, J., ‘Derry beyond the walls: Social and economic aspects of the growth of Derry 1825-1850’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002. 3. Ó Baoill, R., ‘Island city: The archaeology of Derry – Londonderry’ Belfast: Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2013. 4. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. 5. ‘Londonderry Historic City Conservation Area Booklet’ Department of the Environment, 1977. 6. ‘A Design Guide for the Historic City Conservation Area’ Department of the Environment, 2012.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Late-Georgian mid-terrace three-bay three-storey rendered townhouse, set on the north east side of London Street overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Church yard to the south side. Built c.1800, as part of a terrace row similar houses of this type. Rectangular on plan with large projecting rear return to the north side. Despite the front facade retaining historic detailing, there is little internal historic detailing remaining and it is therefore not the best example of its type and does not meet the criteria for listing. It has group value with its neighbours on London Street and the adjacent Pump Street, and is located within the Historic Walled City Conservation Area which provides the appropriate level of protection.

General Comments

Date of Survey

10 June 2014