Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/19/070

Address :
Gaol Tower Bishop Street Londonderry County Londonderry BT48 6PW

Townland:
Londonderry

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Survey 2:
B1

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

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Tower

Former Use
Tower

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
36/8NW

IG Ref:
C4323 1636

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Octagonal castellated and machicolated stone tower, of local 'Schist' and 'Barony Glen' sandstone, with arrow slit detail and narrow windows on a 'Schist' stone plinth. Constructed in 1819-24, it is located in the Fountain area, immediately outside the City Walls with the west elevation facing out onto Bishop Street Without overlooking the City Walls and Bishop's Gate to the north side. Primary stone is of local 'Derry Schist' with a secondary stone of 'Barony Glen' (Dungiven) sandstone. Replacement entrance wall to east face is of un-coursed local stone, 'Claudy Schist'. Ashlar sandstone Irish-style castellated parapets to tower with blind arrow slit openings with moulded ashlar sandstone machicolations and ashlar sandstone quoins to the corners of tower. Principal elevation faces east overlooking the Fountain Housing development; entrance wall has been rebuilt containing a vertically sheeted timber door with decorative cast-iron iron strap hinges, recessed within a deep square-headed reveal; rectangular polished granite memorial plaque with gilded inscription 'Dedicated to the memory of all those who died in the 1st and 2nd World Wars and more recent conflicts' to the right side of doorway. West elevation faces onto Bishop Street Without having two blind arrow slit openings, one above a Gothic-arched window opening with stone hood mould, one above a square-headed window opening on upper level; three square-headed window openings to right side with stone hood moulds; single blind arrow slit opening above; two sets of paired narrow blind slit openings to the left side, openings are staggered to the west side of the tower with chamfered surrounds; all windows are timber with multiple small plain glazed panes having external cast-iron vertical glazing bars . North and south sides are of the same characteristics with no openings, each side is abutted by a high red brick boundary wall with concrete coping stone. All replacement stone is of 'Giffnock' sandstone with evidence of replacement sections also in red brick. Materials: Roof: Not visible Walling Schist and Sandstone Windows Timber Setting: Located on the east side of Bishop Street Without, adjacent to the Historic City Walls overlooking Bishop's Gate which is to the immediate north. The tower is accessed from a public green space within the Fountain Estate housing development, situated just outside the City Walls and on the boundary line of the Historic City Conservation Area.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The Gaol Tower on Bishop Street, an octagonal castellated and machicolated tower located within the Fountain Housing Estate, was constructed in 1819-24 and is the last surviving remnant of the Londonderry County and City Gaol which was demolished in 1971. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1837) record that, following the establishment of the walled city in the early-17th century, the first gaol in Londonderry was established on the corner of Butcher Street and The Diamond (where No. 2 Butcher Street now stands). Prior to the Siege of Derry a new gaol was built over the Ferryquay Gate in 1676. It was this gate that the thirteen apprentice boys slammed shut in the face of the Earl of Antrim on 7th December 1688 which effectively marked the beginning of the siege which did not lift until 28th July 1689. The gaol remained above Ferryquay Gate until January 1791 when a third jailhouse was opened outside the walls on the current site of the Gaol Tower on Bishop Street. The third gaol is believed to be the same building that continued to stand until the 1970s but was subject to an extensive remodelling in 1819-24. The 1791 building was designed by Edward Miller, who went on to design gaols at Lifford and Omagh, whilst G. Vaughan Sampson stated ‘the architecture is of the castle style, mixed with gothic' (Sampson, p. 284; DIA). The building was first depicted on Porter’s 1799 plan of Londonderry which depicted it as a T-shaped structure that did not possess its two side wings or its distinctive towers at that time. During the period of the 1798 Rebellion Theobald Wolfe Tone, the leader of the United Irishmen, was famously imprisoned at Londonderry Gaol. Having been captured attempting to land a French Fleet in County Donegal, Tone was held in the city while being marched from Lough Swilly to his trial in Dublin. Having been sentenced to death by hanging, Tone committed suicide in Provost’s Prison in Dublin and died on 19th November 1798. Two weeks before his death, Tone had written a letter to the local army commander from ‘Derry Prison’ that ended ‘I address myself to your lordship as a man of honour and a soldier; … and I claim the rights and privileges of a prisoner of war … I am, my lord, with great respect, your lordship’s most obedient servant. T. W. Tone.’ In 1799 an inspection of the gaol gave the following report: ‘This is a new gaol and makes a very handsome appearance. I found it exceedingly clean and regular … I can truly say that I have never been in so well governed a prison. Twelve criminals and three debtors were in custody the 1st of January, 1799’ (Cavanagh, pp 19-20). Londonderry’s gaol underwent an extensive remodelling between 1819 and 1824 that was carried out by Henry, Mullins & McMahon, Dublin-based builders who the Dictionary of Irish Architects describes as ‘the leading building contractors in Ireland in the first three decades of the nineteenth century’ and who also designed Londonderry’s Court House (HB01/19/002) and the Governor Walker Memorial on the city walls. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs note that the firm were contracted to extend and remodel the gaol building that faced onto Bishop Street whilst adding a new cell block to the rear along a standard panoptic plan. The current Gaol Tower on Bishop Street was constructed at this time as the original façade of the gaol was extended on both sides, all construction work was carried out utilising locally-quarried Derry Schist and Barony Glen Sandstone. The memoir writer described the completed prison in the following terms: ‘The gaol … is too capacious for a district in which crime is competitively rare. The length of the front is 242 feet, and the entire building (yards included) is 400 feet in depth. Part of the front is built of Dungiven sandstone, part is coated with cement. The expenses of its erection, which had been originally estimated at £27,000, amounted to £33,718 (Irish currency). The entire gaol contains 179 single cells, 26 work and day rooms, and 20 yards. Apart from the main building there is a hospital [and Governor’s House].’ The remodelled gaol was reopened on 16th August 1824 as Londonderry County and City Gaol. Under the Townland Valuation the gaol was valued at £666 14 shillings (OSM, p. 116; DIA; NSD). The value of the gaol was lowered to £500 under Griffith’s Valuation. During its history Londonderry County and City Gaol held prisoners that included petty criminal, evicted tenants (most of which were from County Donegal and were evicted during the late-19th century Land War), and Republican politicians and gunmen, the most prominent of whom was Eamon De Valera who was imprisoned in Derry Gaol in 1924 (after violating an order forbidding him entry to Northern Ireland). Following the Partition of Ireland Londonderry County & City Gaol was administered by the newly established Ministry of Home Affairs. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) increased the value of the gaol to £750. Cavanagh states that the only mass escape attempt in the gaol’s history took place during the Second World War when Republican agitators were interned there. In March 1943 over 20 internees escaped by digging a tunnel from the rear of the prison, emerging in the back garden of a house in Harding Street. Following the end of the war, and the release of all internees, the Londonderry County & City Gaol held only a small number of prisoners. The gaol was finally closed on 31st March 1953. For a number of years the former prison was utilised as a depot by the Civil Defence (Cavanagh). The depot and warehouse was valued at £640 under the Second Revaluation (1956-72). In 1970 the UAHS guide for Londonderry described the facade of the gaol on Bishop Street ‘with its long horizontal emphasis, [as] an excellent piece of street architecture’ (UAHS guide, pp 37-38). In order to make way for the development of the Fountain Housing Estate, the Londonderry County & City Gaol was completely demolished in 1971 apart from a single tower. The surviving Gaol Tower is the one that was located at the north-east corner of the prison. Photographs of the tower (dating from c. 1971) show that a castellated gateway was situated to the north-east side of the tower whilst a similar gateway was located to the side of the south-western tower. The First Survey Image (1971) shows that the tower was originally incorporated into the design of an adjoining apartment block. The Gaol Tower was listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that the adjoining flats were demolished in 2001 (NIEA HB Records). During the Second Survey the former Gaol Tower was utilised as a small museum (known as the Heritage Tower). This museum possesses artefacts and memorabilia from the First and Second World Wars (Londonderry Sentinel). References Primary Sources 1. Porter’s map of Londonderry (1799) 2. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830) 3. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853) 4. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/19 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873-1910) 5. PRONI VAL/1/B/547E – Townland Valuations (1832) 6. PRONI VAL/1/D/5/9B- Townland Valuation Map (1834) 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16D – Griffith’s Valuation (1856) 8. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 9. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 10. Sampson’s Statistical Survey of the County of Londonderry (1802) 11. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Londonderry (1837) 12. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918) 13. First Survey Record – HB01/19/070 (1970) 14. First Survey Image – HB01/19/070 (1971) 15. NIEA HB Records – HB01/19/070 16. Londonderry Sentinel (1 Jul 2010) Secondary Sources 1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013. 2. Cavanagh, C. M., ‘Derry Jail’ Londonderry: Guildhall Press, 1990. 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. Hume, J., ‘Derry beyond the walls: Social and economic aspects of the growth of Derry 1825-1850’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002. 5. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. Online Resources: 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/ 2. Natural Stone Database - http://www.stonedatabase.com//buildings.cfm?bk=1950

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Gaol Tower is located on the east side of Bishop Street Without, to the immediate south of the Derry Historic City Walls at Bishop's Gate. The octagonal castellated and machicolated stone tower survives in isolation as the only remaining structure of the former Londonderry County and City Gaol which was demolished in 1971. The gaol was built in 1791 and was the third to be built in the city. The tower itself was added to the gaol during an extensive remodelling between 1819-1824 which was carried out by the leading building contractors in Ireland at the time, Henry, Mullins & McMahon. It has significant local and historic interest in relation to its past as part of the gaol and is a rare architectural remnant of the social history of the city from that time. The locality is enhanced by its historic character.

General Comments

Date of Survey

10 June 2014