Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/22/009 F

Address :
Aberfoyle House MI Block University of Ulster Magee Campus Northland Road Derry Co. Londonderry BT48 7JL

Townland:
Edenballymore

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
25/05/1976 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
University/ College Building

Former Use
University/ College Building

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
36/4NW

IG Ref:
C4334 1775

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Detached symmetrical three-bay two-storey over basement stucco-fronted Italianate former house, built c.1845 and originally known as Richmond House, remodeled c.1870, with cast-iron verandah and two-storey with attic return. Cruciform on plan facing east and located on an elevated site on the west side of Strand Road to the centre of Magee University Campus accessed via a steep winding avenue opening onto Strand Road via gate pillars and gate lodge, built c.1845. Hipped natural slate roofs with roll-moulded lead ridges and valleys and rendered profiled chimney-stacks. Moulded cast-iron guttering to overhanging eaves supported on paired brackets and discharging to cast-iron downpipes. Painted ruled-and-lined rendered walling with projecting plinth course, continuous cornice over the ground floor and moulded string course over the first floor windows. Original single-pane timber sash windows throughout with slender ogee horns and some historic glass. Windows are set in segmental-headed window openings to the first floor with recessed apron panels, square-headed to the ground floor on continuous sill course. Symmetrical three-bay two-storey front elevation has a pair of full-height three-sided canted bay windows flanking the central entrance bay. Shouldered door opening with moulded architrave surround and keystone housing original double-leaf woodgrained doors with diamond-faced panels. Doors open onto a sandstone step and concrete platform supporting an elaborate cast-iron verandah (roof covering missing) and four concrete steps flanked by low sandstone plinth walls and copings. South side elevation is three bays wide with partially exposed basement level. To the left of this elevation is a full-height three-sided canted projecting bay window and a ground floor over basement canted bay window to the right. The rear elevation is abutted by a four-bay two-storey with attic rendered return. Pitched natural slate roof with roll-moulded black clay ridge tiles, rendered chimney-stacks and lead-lined bonneted dormers with round-arched windows. A large chimney-stack rises from the rear (W) gable of the return with a pair of diminutive round-headed windows openings at attic level. The ground floor of the return opens onto a sunken paved area with rubblestone retaining wall to the north and modern concrete retaining wall to the west. North side elevation as per south elevation with large projecting bay to the right and no bay window to the left. Materials: Roof Natural slate RWG Cast-iron Walling Ruled-and-lined render Windows Original timber sash Setting. Located on an elevated site within Magee University Campus accessed via a long winding bitmac avenue through the mature former grounds opening onto Strand Road to the southeast via pair of rock-faced concrete block screen walls each having original sandstone ashlar pillars (moved during renovations), that to the south having an original cast-iron hinge in the form of a fist. Adjacent to the entrance is the former gate lodge to Aberfoyle House, built c.1845. Square on plan facing north abutted to east and west by modern extensions (2000-2001). The external fabric to the original gate lodge has been largely replaced, including render and windows and the entrance has been moved to the adjoining extension. However, it's pyramidal roof form with diagonally-set chimney stack remain. To the northeast sits a gate screen further along Strand Road, with impressive square ashlar sandstone pillars having pyramidal caps flanked by rubble stone walling on S-plan with sandstone coping. This belonged to the original Aberfoyle House, renamed Talbot House in 1929 by Sir. Basil McFarland, when he purchased Richmond House (the present Aberfoyle House) and assigned its new name. The former is now demolished along with it's gate-lodge, however the gate screen is within the Magee Campus.

Architects

Historical Information

Aberfoyle House, a two-storey Italianate mansion located on an elevated position overlooking the Strand Road, was constructed in 1845 and underwent a major extension in 1879 that gave the building its current layout. Aberfoyle House was originally known as ‘Richmond’ and was constructed for David Watt of Watt & Co., a local Distillery which had been established on Abbey Street in 1834 and continued to operate from the Bogside until 1920. The Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1848-49 depicted Richmond House as a square-shaped building that possessed a gate lodge located at the entrance on the Strand Road (the gate lodge had also been constructed in c. 1845). The detailed c. 1873-1910 Annual Revisions Town Plan records that, prior to the extension of 1879, Richmond House possessed only two bay windows (the ground floor bay window located on the south elevation and the two-storey bay at the north-east corner of the building). The Annual Revisions noted that David Watt leased the site from a Mr. Millar and that the mansion and gate lodge were originally valued at £58. Dean described Richmond’s gate lodge on the Strand Road as ‘a two roomed cube with a high eaves line to the pyramidal roof which rises to a slender diagonally-set chimney stack broaching off a square base.’ The original carriage gates (which have been removed) were of cast iron and were held in place by hinges in the shape of fists’ (Dean, p. 120). David Watt continued to reside at Richmond House until his death in 1876. The house was then purchased by Bartholomew McCorkell of William McCorkell & Co., a local shipping firm based on the Strand Road that provided passage for emigrants between Ireland and America (UTD). McCorkell constructed the gate lodge at the Northland Road entrance to the site (HB01/22/009I) and also carried out an extensive alteration to the building that included the alteration of the original façade with the installation of two bay windows and the construction of the two-storey extension to the west side of the mansion, resulting in the building’s current cruciform layout. The value of Richmond House was subsequently increased to £110 whilst the gate lodge on the Strand Road was individually valued at £2. Malley states that Bartholomew McCorkell resided at Richmond until his death in 1887. The house remained with the McCorkell family and in 1895 passed to Bartholomew’s daughter Elizabeth McCorkell who had married Robert Corscaden of Boomhall. The 1911 census described Richmond as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of 30 rooms and possessed two stable and a store amongst its outbuildings (located at the coach house on the Northland Road). Upon Robert Corscaden’s death in 1904 Richmond passed to his widow Elizabeth who continued to reside there until her own death in 1922. In that year her nephew Herbert Collum, a Lieutenant-Colonel, took possession of Richmond. Malley states that upon Collum’s death in 1929 Richmond was sold to Sir. Basil McFarland, a local magistrate and baronet, who resided in the neighbouring mansion. McFarland’s dwelling on the Strand Road (located to the north-west side of Richmond) was a two-storey sandstone square-shaped dwelling that had been erected between 1856 and 1860 to designs by Londonderry’s County Surveyor Stewart Gordon (d. 1860). The property was originally known as ‘Aberfoyle’ but, upon acquiring Richmond in 1929, McFarland changed the name of Richmond to Aberfoyle (the original Aberfoyle House was renamed ‘Talbot House’). The newly named Aberfoyle House was occupied by Sir. Basil McFarland during the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which set the total rateable value of the house and its two gate lodges at £175. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the value of the house and its lodges had been decreased to £160. In 1970 the UAHS guide for Derry described Aberfoyle House as ‘a two-storey large residence standing in its own grounds, which makes a handsome contribution to the Strand Road area’ (UAHS guide, p. 50). Sir. Basil McFarland continued to reside at Aberfoyle House until his death in 1986. The former gentleman’s mansion was sold to Derry City Council in 1990 and was listed in the same year. The building was acquired by the University of Ulster in 1998 and converted into modern classroom and seminar facilities for Magee’s Faculty of Social Sciences. The former gate lodge on the Strand Road had fallen into a state of disrepair by 2000 when it was restored. A photograph (dated c. 1980) records that the gate lodge originally consisted of the central single-storey block with a single-storey range extending from its west gable. Dean states that the gate lodge continued to be occupied as a private dwelling until at least 1993. The renovation of the lodge, which was carried out in 2000-01, resulted in the loss of most original features and the construction of the modern two and single-storey extensions to the west and east sides of the building. Since September 2001 the former gate lodge has been used as a Holistic Health Centre (The Gate Lodge website). Aberfoyle House and its former gate lodge were included in the Magee Conservation Area in 2006. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830) 2. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853) 3. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873-1910) 4. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16A – Griffith’s Valuation (1857) 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11B-ZA – Annual Revisions (1862-1897) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/2A-2F – Annual Revisions (1898-1931) 7. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 8. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 9. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918) 10. PRONI Wills Catalogue (22 Apr 1876; 6 Jan 1887; 21 Dec 1904; 28 Dec 1922) 11. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 12. First Survey Record – HB01/22/007 (1970) 13. NIEA HB Records – HB01/22/007 (Missing) Secondary Sources 1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013. 2. Dean, J. A. K., ‘The gate lodges of Ulster: A gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994. 3. Ferguson, W. S; Rowan, A. J; Tracey, J. J., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in and near the city of Derry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1970. 4. Lacey, B., ‘Siege city: The story of Derry and Londonderry’ Belfast: The Black Staff Press, 1990. 5. Malley, A., ‘The history of Aberfoyle House’ in ‘The Foyle Civic Trust: Issue 8’ Derry: Foyle Civic Trust, 2001. 6. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. 7. ‘A design guide for the Magee Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 2010. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie 2. Digital Atlas of Derry – http://www.ria.ie/digitalatlasderry (including the Ordnance Survey Town Plan: 1848-49) 3. The Gate Lodge website - http://thegatelodge.com

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance U. Historic Associations X. Local Interest Z. Rarity R. Age

Evaluation

Detached symmetrical three-bay two-storey over basement stucco-fronted Italianate former house, originally known as Richmond House and built c.1845 for David Watt, local distiller. Located on a steeply sloping site, now encompassed within the grounds of University of Ulster and used as offices and seminar rooms. This early Victorian mansion underwent extensive remodelling c.1876 giving its current Italianate appearance and two-storey with attic return; carried out for Bartholomew McCorkell, who shipped emigrants between Ireland and America. The exterior displays an orderly symmetry and simple detailing, enhanced by the elaborate cast-iron verandah and dwarf walls to the front. Conversely the interior exhibits a wealth of decorative plaster and joinery detailing more commonly reserved for civic buildings of the time; of particular note is the unusual fretwork balustrade to the imperial staircase. Gate lodges mark the two original entrances, one southeast at Strand Road that has been substantially modernised and extended and another at Northland Road (HB01.22.009I). To the northeast sits a gate screen further along Strand Road, with impressive square ashlar sandstone pillars having pyramidal caps flanked by rubble stone walling on S-plan with sandstone coping; it belonged to the original Aberfoyle House, now demolished and is incorporated within the university campus. Aberfoyle House forms part of a wealth of nineteenth-century structures dispersed throughout the campus (HB01/22/009A-E inclusive and G & I) that contribute significant interest to the Magee Conservation Area.

General Comments

This building was previously numbered HB01.22.007 as it was not part of the University of Ulster at the time of listing; it has now been re-numbered as HB01.22.009F (previously HB01/22/009G) as part of the overall Magee Campus. HB01/22/009G TO BE TRANSFERRED AS Dummy Record.

Date of Survey

27 May 2014