Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/22/026 A

Address :
1 College Terrace Rock Road Londonderry County Londonderry BT48 7NZ

Townland:
Edenballymore

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
28/07/1980 00:00:00

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:
36-4NW

IG Ref:
C4354 1800

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Victorian end-of-terrace two-bay two-storey with attic redbrick townhouse. Built 1889-90. Rectangular on plan with north elevation slightly splayed, projecting two-storey rear return stepping down to single storey slated pitched roof extension. Principal elevation faces west onto College Terrace overlooking an urban tree-lined green, set at the back of the pavement with natural slate pitched roof capped with a coping stone at gable end, a brick chimneystack on the gable and a centrally placed wall dormer on front elevation. Built as part of a terrace row of thirteen houses of this type lining the east side of College Terrace. West elevation is set in Flemish brick bond with Victorian industrial brickwork dressing in contrasting black colour; dentilled brick cornice at eaves with black brick dressings below; two segmental arch-headed window openings on first floor and a single semicircular arch-headed window opening on dormer level, centred on elevation; full width traditional style shop window divided into forty-two individual panes with cornice and fascia above, flanked by console brackets on plain pilasters and stall riser on ground floor level positioned to the left of a semicircular arch-headed entrance door opening, one step up from pavement, with moulded timber architraves and cornice above a painted four-panel timber door with plain fanlight above. All openings have red and black brick voussoirs, continuous decorative brick stringcourse in contrasting colour on ground floor, first floor and below dormer level. First floor windows are 4/1 timber sliding sashes, and a small 4/2 sliding sash to half dormer above. South side is abutted by adjoining building No.2 College Terrace (HB01/22/026B). North gable elevation is of two storeys with attic level and brick chimneystack on apex of gable, on the edge of the pavement facing Rock Road, set in Flemish brick bond with stringcourse in contrasting black brick colour on ground and first floors and below dormer level. Traditional style shop window divided into multiple panes with cornice and fascia above, flanked by console brackets on plain pilasters and stall riser on ground floor level at right hand side. Segmental arch-headed narrow window opening with a 4/1 timber sliding sash on first floor above shop window to extreme right hand side of elevation, two small semicircular arch-headed window openings to extreme right and left of elevation with 4/2 timber sliding sashes to attic level above; all openings have red and black brick voussoirs. The North elevation wall continues as a single storey Flemish brick coursed wall to enclose the rear yard, with two openings, a timber panelled door which access the rear yard, and a wider opening with metal gate to the extreme left of the wall which gives access to the rear alleyway. East elevation to the rear is of smooth-painted rendered finish and is abutted by a two-storey rear return, cement rendered, stepping down to a single storey extension of cement rendered unpainted finish. The fenestration pattern is irregular, windows are square-headed with a single 1/1 timber sliding sash to ground and first floor at the north end, and a single 1/1 timber sliding sash at attic level positioned above rear return at the south end. Both rear returns have casement windows. The north face of the two-storey return has a timber door to the right hand side and two uPVC casement windows to the left side on ground floor level. The first floor has two uPVC casement windows which are not aligned with the ground floor windows. The east gable elevation is blank and is abutted by a single storey extension. The south elevation is blank. The north elevation of the single storey extension has a timber door to the left side and a timber casement window to the right. The north gable faces onto the rear alleyway. Pitched natural slate roof with terracotta clay ridge tiles to the main roof and rear return. Metal finial to apex of dormer. Large two-stage redbrick chimney stack rising from the north side has been rebuilt, centred on ridge with six clay pots. Cast-iron guttering and circular downpipes to the front and uPVC to the rear elevation. Setting: No.1 is the end-terrace house and is located on the corner of College Terrace and Rock Road. One of a terrace of thirteen houses lining the eastern side of College Terrace which is located close to the junction of Rock Road and Strand Road, on the north side of the city centre and on the eastern bank of the River Foyle. The terrace overlooks a low schist wall to the front which lines the western side of the street and forms the boundary with The University of Ulster at Magee College. There is a rear alleyway which runs the length of the terrace, allowing access from rear yards. Materials: Roof Natural Slate RWG Cast Iron (W) Upvc (E) Walling Brick Windows Timber Sliding Sash

Architects

Historical Information

College Terrace, a curving row of 13 two-and-a-half-storey redbrick dwellings located off the Rock Road, was laid out in 1889-90. The Rock Road had first been depicted on maps as early as 1689 but was not named until 1865. Calley states that the Rock Road was named after The Rock, a house and hamlet of smaller buildings that were located off the Strand Road. One of the earliest photographs of Derry (taken in c. 1872) depicted the hamlet as a small number of two-storey buildings located on the current site of Rock Terrace. The buildings are shown close to the banks of the Foyle with Magee College standing alone on the overlooking hill (Calley, p. 337; photograph in Byrne & McMahon, p. 2). The northern expansion of Londonderry had begun in the mid-19th century with the construction of Georgian-style terraces on Great James Street, Queen Street and Clarendon Street. The expansion of the city was facilitated by a period of economic growth and prosperity that endured from the 1860s until the end of the 19th century. With the development of the Magee College campus from the 1880s, new redbrick dwellings at College Terrace and the three-storey red brick houses of Clarence Avenue (HB01/22/006) were erected to provide accommodation for students and employees of the college (Mullin, p. 119; Rowan, p. 371). Magee University was opened in 1865 as a seminary for young men who wished to gain a career in the Presbyterian Ministry. The seminary was renamed the Presbyterian Theological College when it became a constituent college of the Royal University of Ireland in 1879. A spate of building activity followed in the three decades between 1881 and 1911. Three red brick professors’ houses were constructed by the university during this period to designs by Young & Mackenzie, W. A. Barker and Robinson & Davidson (see HB01/22/009B for full histories). The contemporary College Terrace was originally built by the Trustees of Magee College to provide accommodation for its employees (Dictionary of Irish Architects; NIEA HB Records). No. 1 College Terrace was constructed, along with the adjoining nos 1-13, in 1889-90. The Annual Revisions set the total rateable value of the house at £12 (higher than the rest of the terrace due to its larger size and the presence of a ground floor shop unit at the corner of Rock Road). College Terrace was originally constructed with the intention of accommodating the staff and students of Magee College but within one decade the majority of houses along the terrace had passed to occupants unassociated with the campus. The first occupant of No. 1 College Terrace was a Mr Charles F. Hurst but by 1911 the house had passed to Herbert Swan McCandless, a local merchant who operated his business from the ground floor shop unit. The 1911 census building return described the house as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of six rooms. McCandless continued to reside at No. 1 College Terrace until 1968. The value of the house had been increased to £23 under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) but this was further raised to £30 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72). The ground floor shop unit was not recorded by either the First or Second Revaluation suggesting that it may have fallen out of retail use and was utilised as a domestic room. Nos 1-13 College Terrace were listed in 1980. Since Magee’s incorporation into the University of Ulster in 1969, the majority of the houses along College Terrace have been converted from privately occupied houses to multiple occupancy accommodation for students attending the university. The Magee Conservation Area Design Guide records that ‘this change has come about as a response to the negative impact of the Strand Road bars and night clubs on the quality of residential life.’ The NIEA HB Records note that No. 1 College Terrace underwent a renovation in 1981 that included the repointing of its brickwork and the replacement of its original entrance door. The dwelling was converted into office premises in c. 2009 (NIEA HB Records). During the Second Survey the building was occupied by a local architect’s firm. College Terrace was incorporated into the Magee Conservation Area in 2006. The terrace, along with the Rock Road and part of Northland Road, was identified as a zone of distinct character within the Conservation Area. The ‘gentle bend’ of the terrace represents a departure from the earlier rectangular squares at Crawford Square (HB01/22/003; 004) and De Burgh Terrace (HB01/22/025). The guide states that ‘its overall composition and the pattern of the stepped eaves, attic dormers and chimneys combined with the overall high architectural quality of the terrace means that this street adds enormously to the quality and variety within the wider Magee Conservation Area.’ Calley offers further praise noting that College Terrace ‘competes with Palace Street for the accolade of most charming street in the city … the delight here is that the north side, which contains no buildings and borders the Magee campus, has a low Schist wall topped with plain iron rails, behind which is a collection of mature trees, giving what is a small space the feeling of an oasis’ (Magee Conservation Area guide; Calley, p. 126; NIEA HB Records). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11T-11ZD – Annual Revisions (1885-1897) 2. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/2A-F – Annual Revisions (1898-1931) 3. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 4. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/13 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 5. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 6. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918) 7. First Survey Record – HB01/22/026 (No Date) 8. First Survey Image – HB01/22/026 (No Date) 9. NIEA HB Records – HB01/22/026A Secondary Sources 1. Byrne, A; McMahon, S., ‘Derry in old photographs’ Dublin: Gill & Macmillan Ltd., 2003. 2. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013. 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. Mullin, T. H., Ulster’s Historic City: Derry – Londonderry’ Coleraine: Coleriane Bookshop, 1986. 5. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. 6. ‘Design Guide for Magee Conservation Area’ Department of the Environment, 2010. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A two-storey-with-attic end-of-terrace redbrick townhouse built 1889-90, located on the corner of College Terrace and Rock Road, one of a terrace of thirteen houses lining the eastern side of College Terrace which is located close to the junction of Rock Road and Strand Road, on the north side of the city centre and on the eastern bank of the River Foyle. The terrace faces west onto the boundary of The University of Ulster at Magee College. No.1 is slightly larger in size than the rest of the terrace due to the splayed north elevation onto Rock Road. A shop unit originally occupied the corner of No.1 on the ground floor and the traditional shop-front window opening still remains. No.1 is abutted by No.2 College Terrace (HB01/22/026B) on the south side. The front elevation is ornately finished with Victorian industrial brick dressings in contrasting colour, dentilled cornices at eaves level and stringcourses, however much original internal detailing has been removed resulting in the loss of some historic fabric. The rhythm of fenestration and detailing continues along the terrace. Nos.1-13 College Terrace (HB01/22/026 A-M) has group value and is a significant feature of the Magee Conservation Area.

General Comments

Additional listing criteria apply - R-Age & S-Authenticity

Date of Survey

16 April 2014