Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/19/011

Address :
Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall 13 Society Street Londonderry County Londonderry BT48 6PJ

Townland:
LONDONDERRY

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
26/02/1979 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Hall

Former Use
Hall

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:
C4331 1664

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Owner Category

Orange Order

Exterior Description And Setting

Three-storey Scottish Baronial-style sandstone hall with square tower to the South-West corner, built 1873-1877 and 1937,with square headed windows to ground and first floors, segmental headed to second floor, with crow stepped gables and solid crennelated parapet above, slated hipped roof behind. The property is set on the corner of Magazine Street Upper and Society Street. Principal elevation seven-bays wide faces South onto Society Street with symmetrical fenestration and recessed entrance doors to each end. Walls are uncoursed rock-faced sandstone with ashlar sandstone to doors and windows. The large mullioned windows are mostly triple lancets with pointed arches on the first floor and trefoil on the second, three of which are oriels, with shoulder moulds and label stops. Crenellated balconette to central bay above ground floor window, with date stone 1936. The square tower to the West side is embellished with corner turrets, one with lead conical roof and decorative finial. Circular ashlar sandstone plaque to South East below parapet. West elevation overlooking the City Walls is also uncoursed rock-faced Barony Glen sandstone with ashlar dressings. Five-bays wide with oriel window to central bay second floor, with South end bay slightly recessed. Ashlar band below first floor sill level with four quatrefoil vents, corner turrets with lead conical roof and decorative finials. Circular ashlar sandstone plaque above oriel window. North elevation overlooking car-park and First Derry Presbyterian Church beyond (HB01/19/015A) of smooth render with a mix of triple lancet sandstone windows and modern casement windows, set behind high red-brick boundary wall. East elevation overlooking Seige Memorial Garden of smooth render and upper section of square tower in uncoursed rock-faced sandstone is without fenestration. Setting: Located at the junction of Magazine Street Upper and Society Street, principal elevation facing south west onto Society Street and secondary elevation North West onto Magazine Street Upper and City Walls just beyond. Neighboured by First Derry Presbyterian Church to the North East (HB 01/19/015A). Materials: Roof : Natural Slate RWG : Cast Iron Walling: Sandstone / Reconstituted Stone / Smooth render Windows: Stained leaded glass/ Metal framed casements within sandstone mullions

Architects

Ferguson, John Guy

Historical Information

The Apprentice Boy’s Memorial Hall, a three-storey Scots Baronial hall located at the corner of Upper Magazine Street and Society Street, was constructed in two phases; the elevation facing onto Upper Magazine was erected in 1873-77 whilst the remainder of the building on Society Street was built in 1935-37. The Apprentice Boys of Derry Club was formed in 1814. The organisation was established to commemorate the original 13 Apprentices who had shut the city gates during the Siege of Derry (1689) and to ‘maintain the spirit of liberty displayed by the Apprentice Boys against oppression … [perpetuating] that spirit of liberty … by keeping alive the memory of the Brave 13 and the heroic sacrifices of the besieged within the Walls’ (Apprentice Boys website). Since its inception, the Apprentice Boys of Derry has led the annual siege celebrations. The club was responsible for the campaign to construct Walker’s Monument on Royal Bastion (1826-28 - see HB01/19/013) and, throughout the mid-19th century, the Apprentice Boys became increasingly popular to working-class Protestants. Lacey records that the movement and its parades [grew] in strength, as the expansion of the railway network allowed large numbers of supporters from other parts of the province to travel to the city on the various anniversary days’ (OSM, pp 119-120; Lacey: Siege City, p. 201). The Apprentice Boy’s Memorial Hall was constructed as a result of the movements increasing popularity. The first hall was erected between 1873 and 1877 to designs by John Guy Ferguson (d. 1901). A local architect, Ferguson had been appointed architect to the Church of Ireland diocese of Derry and Raphoe in 1868, and was a prominent member of the club, serving as Governor of the Apprentice Boy’s during the 1870s. Ferguson designed the three-storey elevation on Upper Magazine Street and the first bay on Society Street (later incorporated into the extension of 1935-37). The hall, which was designed in a mixture of the Tudor Revival and Scots Baronial styles, was erected by the local building firm of McClelland & Co. And was built using locally-quarried sandstone. Construction of the memorial hall commenced in 1873 but its completion was delayed a number of years due to funding problems; in 1874 the Annual Revisions noted that the building ‘may not be finished for years.’ The Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall was eventually completed and inaugurated in August 1877 at a final cost of £3,250 (Irish Builder pp 246-262; DIA; NSD). The Annual Revisions set the total rateable value of the memorial hall at £50 in 1878, noting that the hall would be used for lectures, reading rooms and rooms for the various local lodges. The hall originally possessed a fourth-storey tower at the corner of Upper Magazine Street and Society Street, but this was demolished and relocated in the 1930s to make way for the Society Street extension. The Irish Builder records that, following John Guy Ferguson’s death in 1901, the plaque to his memory was installed within the vestibule of the hall in 1902 (Irish Builder, p. 638). Ferguson’s hall continued to be valued at £50 for over 50 years until the Apprentice Boy’s Memorial Hall was extended in 1935-37. The seven bay extension (and a new fourth-storey tower on Society Street) was designed by Robinson & Davidson, a local partnership between James M. C. Robinson and John Adam Davidson. The Dictionary of Irish Architects notes that Robinson & Davidson carried out much work for Presbyterian churches and local authorities and that the extension to the Apprentice Boy’s Memorial Hall was one of the largest contracts undertaken by the firm (which was dissolved in the 1950s). The extension work was begun in 1935, completed in 1937 and cost £30,000. The newly extended Apprentice Boy’s Memorial Hall was dedicated to the memory of those who died during the First World War (Foyle Civic Trust; DIA). The value of the hall was subsequently increased to £230 under the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1936-57). This was further raised to £560 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72). The Apprentice Boy’s Memorial Hall was included in the Historic City Conservation Area in 1977 and was listed in 1979. The adjoining Siege Memorial Garden was officially opened in 1992, the centrepiece is a restored statue of Governor Walker which stood at the top of the Walker Monument until the memorial pillar was destroyed in a bomb blast in 1973. The hall continues to be utilised as the headquarters of the Apprentice Boys of Derry Club and is one of the most recognisable landmarks within the walled city. The hall currently consists of private lodge and meeting rooms, leisure facilities, a museum and a large assembly hall. Lacey states that ‘although membership of the organisation is restricted to Protestant males, in recent years the Apprentice Boys have begun to open their activities to wider participation. Their aim in doing so is to move on from the controversies of the past, to promote greater civic harmony and to encourage an unbiased appreciation of the actual historical events of 1688-89’ (Lacey: Discover Derry, p. 126). A major renovation was carried out in 2014-5 which involved repair works to the roof, rainwater goods, stonework and internal alterations; NIEA HB Records). 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/157/1/14 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873) 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11J-11ZD – Annual Revisions (1870-1897) 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/5A-5C – Annual Revisions (1898-1929) 6. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 7. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 8. Ordnance Survey Memoir of Parish of Templemore (1837) 9. Irish Builder (1 Sept 1877; 27 Feb 1901) 10. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918) 11. First Survey Record – HB01/19/011 (1970) 12. First Survey Image – HB01/19/011 (1975) 13. NIEA HB Records – HB01/19/011 (Missing) 14. Foyle Civic Trust – Living City Project (Society Street) Secondary Sources 1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013. 2. 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. 3. Lacey, B., ‘Siege city: The story of Derry and Londonderry’ Belfast: The Blackstaff Press, 1990. 4. Lacey, B., ‘’Discover Derry’ Londonderry: The Guildhall Press, 2011. 5. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. 6. ‘Londonderry Historic City Conservation Area Booklet’ Department of the Environment, 1977. 7. ‘A Design Guide for the Historic City Conservation Area’ Department of the Environment, 2012. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie 2. Natural Stone Database - http://www.stonedatabase.com/ 3. Apprentice Boys of Derry Club website - http://www.apprenticeboys.co.uk

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance R. Age S. Authenticity

Evaluation

Located at the junction of Magazine Street Upper and Society Street, the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall is a three-storey Scottish Baronial-style sandstone hall with square tower to the South-West corner, the Magazine Street portion built 1873-1877 to the designs of John Guy Ferguson, and Society Street portion forming an extension to designs of Robinson & Davidson. The original plan form is largely intact and despite internal alterations, some original features survive. It is of very significant historical and social interest as the commemoration to the Apprentices who had shut the city gates during the Siege of Derry (1689), and a manifestation of this enthusiasm and community spirit. Its prominent highly detailed facade makes it one of the most important buildings within the Historic Walled City, further enriched by its setting that overlooks the City Walls to the West.

General Comments

Date of Survey

24 February 2014