Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/09/006 I

Address :
15 Bond's Hill Londonderry Co. Londonderry BT47 6DW

Townland:
Clooney

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Survey 2:
B2

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

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House - Terrace

Former Use
Office - Terrace

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:
C4412 1648

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A mid-terrace four-bay two-storey (with attic) rendered early-Victorian house, built c.1840s (Architect unknown). Rectangular plan form facing west. Smooth render to front and rear elevations. Part of a terrace of sixteen buildings of varying styles which line the east side of Bond’s Hill stepping up the hill. (HB01/09/006 B-R). Pitched natural slate roof with rendered chimney stacks to both sides, Chimney stack to left (North) on party wall with No. 16 (HB01/09/006J) has four buff clay pots. Chimney stack to right (south) is a double width stack shared with No.12-14 (HB01/09/006H). Slightly projecting rendered eaves with half-round cast iron guttering on drive through brackets discharging to downpipe on No.14. Window openings are plain square-headed 6/6 timber sliding sash with convex horns on painted stone sills in contrasting colour unless otherwise noted. Front (west) elevation is smooth rendered with painted finish. Four-panelled timber door right of centre with single-pane overlight set within a square-headed opening. Door is flanked to left by two windows and to right by a single window. First floor has four windows vertically aligned with the ground floor windows below, with the one above the door slightly offset to right. The north side is fully abutted by No.16 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006J). Rear (east) elevation is unpainted cement render finish with irregularly placed timber casement windows. The attic walling has been raised to the rear and has three equally spaced windows. The south side is abutted by No.12-14 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006H). Setting: Part of a terrace of sixteen buildings of varying styles which line the east side of Bond’s Hill stepping up the hill. (HB01/09/006 B-R). The rear yard has some stone and rendered walling and a small semi-derelict outbuilding. Materials: Roof : Natural Slate RWGs: Half round Cast Iron Walling: Painted Render Windows: Timber Sliding Sash Doors : 4 Panel painted timber front door

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Bond’s Hill was laid out in c.1839 in order to provide access to Ebrington Barracks (which had been constructed between 1839 and 1841) and was one of the first streets to be developed on the Waterside District of Londonderry during the 19th century. The current site of Bond’s Hill remained undeveloped in the 1830s with no buildings depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey map. Hume states that prior to 1841 the Waterside consisted of a single street and possessed 105 houses. The area was slow to develop due to the steepness of its hills and as a result of expensive tolls that were imposed on carts and pedestrians crossing the city’s wooden bridge. Hume states that the construction of the barracks and the setting up of industrial establishments initiated the rapid development of the Waterside and drew people into the city from the rural hinterland east of the Foyle. In 1849 the Londonderry Standard described the change in the area in the following terms: ‘The Waterside, which from being some 20 years since, little more than a small street, has now become a place of considerable importance having a distillery, two large mills for the manufacture of oatmeal and a third about to be erected’ (Hume, pp 32-34). Calley states that Bond’s Hill was named after the owners of Clooney House, a late-18th century house which stood at the top of the hill (now demolished and replaced with terraced housing). The street was first depicted on the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1848-49 which records that a number of houses (including a church on the current site of the Former Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter’s) Church – see HB01/09/010) had already been constructed along the route by that time. Nos 9-24 Bond’s Hill, a terrace of two and three-storey Victorian houses also known as Melrose Terrace, was constructed in stages between c. 1840 and 1891. Nos 9-17 Bond’s Hill were the first buildings to have been built on the street and can be seen on the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1848-49 (Calley, p. 59). No.15 Bond’s Hill, a two-storey four-bay house, was constructed between c.1839 and 1848-49. Griffith’s Valuation (1856) records that the building was originally utilised as an excise office and was valued at £3 (although the excise office was exempt from taxation). The valuer noted that the building was leased by James Murray, a local borough magistrate, and ceased to be utilised as an excise office by c.1870 when it was recorded as a private dwelling valued at £11. The Annual Revisions note that a large number of occupants resided at the house over the following five decades. The 1901 census notes that the house was inhabited by a Mrs. Isabella Parke and was described as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of 10 rooms and possessed a shed as its sole outbuilding. The contemporary Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1904-05) records that the building originally possessed a rear return although this has now been demolished. In 1911 the Census of Ireland noted that Joseph Shepherd, a local chemist, resided at the address. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) ownership of the house had passed to a Mr. Fitzgerald Galbraith who also resided at the site; the valuer increased the value of the house to £17 and 10 shillings at that time. A Major Alexander was recorded at owner of No. 15 Bond’s Hill by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) when a Mr. Walter Clements was occupant and the value of the house stood at £25. Nos 9-24 Bond’s Hill were listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that No.15 Bond’s Hill underwent an extensive renovation in 1987 which included the installation of cast iron rainwater goods, the installation of new 6/6 timber sliding sash windows to its front elevation, replacement of its entrance door and the reslating of its roof in natural slate (NIEA HB Records). Field inspection of the site, carried out as part of the Second Survey, has found that No.15 Bond’s Hill continues to be utilised as a private dwelling. 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 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873-1910) 4. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16H – Griffith’s Valuation (1856) 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/14A-14G – Annual Revisions (1860-1897) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/4C-4D – Annual Revisions (1898-1930) 7. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/13 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)) 8. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/18 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 9. Londonderry Standard (5 Jul 1849) 10. Ulster Town Directories (1843-1918) 11. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 12. First Survey Record – HB01/09/006B (No Date) 13. NIEA HB Records – HB01/09/006I 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. Thomas, A., ‘Irish Historic Town Atlas, No. 15: Derry – Londonderry’ Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 2005 - includes Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1904-05). Online Resources 1. Digital Atlas of Derry - http://www.ria.ie/digitalatlasderry - including Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1848-49)

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age X. Local Interest

Evaluation

An early-Victorian mid-terrace four-bay two-storey (with attic) rendered house, built c.1840 as an excise office and situated on the east side of Bond’s Hill. The house was renovated in 1987 with the loss of some historic fabric both internally and externally, however it retains its plain style and simple original proportions to the front elevation. Part of a terrace of sixteen buildings of varying styles, it has group value with Nos 9-14 & 16-21 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006B-H & J-O). Although altered, it is integral to the group value and interest of the terrace that, as a whole, is a good example of the type.

General Comments

Date of Survey

15 September 2014