Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/21/008

Address :
18 Queen Street Londonderry County Londonderry BT48 7EF

Townland:
Edenballymore

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Survey 2:
B1

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

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:

Former Use
Rectories/ Manses etc

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
36-4SW

IG Ref:
C4329 1716

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

Detached two-storey three bay by three bay, ruled and lined rendered former manse built 1861, with round-headed windows on the ground floor and segmental-headed windows on first floor, all windows have chamfered slightly blocked rendered surrounds. Deep overhanging eaves with slated hipped roof. The principal West symmetrical elevation to Queen Street has a central inverted breakfront with a large round-headed entrance doorway and flanked by coupled windows on the ground floor and three segmental-headed windows on the first floor. The North elevation faces onto Patrick Street with similar fenestration to that of Queen’s Street elevation, with square-headed windows to the central bay on ground and first floor, with inscribed 1861 rendered date shield between windows. First floor, leftmost window has raised cill level, original cill intact with partial build up to new cill level. East elevation is of rough-cast render abutted by a high red brick boundary wall attached to adjacent property, east side contains a single storey extension with slated catslide roof on ground floor and a small single timber sliding sash window on a painted concrete sill to left side of elevation on first floor level and a square uPVC downpipe to right side. South elevation overlooks former church building contains a coupled semicircular arched headed window on ground floor and a segmental arched headed window on first floor; south elevation has catslide slate roof to a two-storey rear extension with a semicircular arched headed window on ground and first floor, extension is abutted by a single storey flat roof entrance porch accessed via Queen's Street. Materials: Roof: Natural Slate Rainwater goods: Cast Iron Walling: Render Windows: Timber Sliding Sash (Replacements)

Architects

Historical Information

No. 18 Queen Street, a two-storey mid-Victorian detached house, was constructed in 1861, as the manse to the adjoining former Congregational Church on the corner of Great James Street and Queen Street. The church had been erected in 1856-58 as part of the early-Victorian development of the Clarendon Street area which also saw the laying out of Great James Street and Queen Street. O’Hagan’s 1847 plan of Londonderry and the second edition Ordnance Survey map of the area (1853) show that by the mid-nineteenth century only the western side of Queen Street had been developed. The laying out of Queen Street, as well as the adjoining Great James Street (c. 1833) and Clarendon Street (c. 1856), was necessitated by a remarkable period of growth in the economy and population of Londonderry that occurred in the mid-nineteenth century. John Hume notes that during the period 1825-1850 ‘reconstruction of the city’s buildings [within the city walls] took place alongside the development for the first time of housing outside the walls at Bogside and Edenballymore’ (Hume, p. 147). The date-stone on the manse notes that the building was constructed in 1861, over two decades after the initial development of the area; in contrast to surrounding dwellings, the majority of which are neat three-storey Georgian-style townhouses, the architect incorporated Italianate features into his design of No. 18 Queen Street. The Annual Revisions first recorded the building in 1862 shortly after its completion; in that year the value of the new manse was set at £30, the valuer noting that the building possessed a single outbuilding and was a Freehold (administered by the trustees of the church). The manse on Queen Street became home to the minster of the Congregational Church (also known as the Independent Chapel). The first minister to reside there was the Rev. Robert Sewell, who had previously dwelt at No. 16 Clarendon Street (HB01/22/022F); Sewell lived at the manse until 1885. The Congregational Church continued to meet until 1929; during that period only the Rev. Robert Sewell and the Rev. Alexander Bell lived at the manse. The Rev. Bell took over ministry of the Congregational Church in 1885, however, in 1910, Bell vacated the site when the church trustees leased the former manse out to private tenants. In 1910 a Mr. John G. McVicker occupied the site; the valuer noted that the manse’s only outbuilding was demolished in this year, reducing the total value of the site to £27. The 1911 census noted that John G. Vicker was a merchant tailor and described his home as a large 1st class dwelling that consisted of ten main rooms. Despite leasing out its former manse to alleviate financial pressure, the Congregational Church vacated its house of worship by 1929 when the building was taken over by Londonderry Third Presbyterian Church and converted into a church hall and caretakers house. The value of the former manse was increased to £38 under the First Revaluation which also recorded that ownership of the building had passed to Londonderry Third Presbyterian by 1935. No. 18 Queen Street continued to be utilised as a private dwelling until 1965 when the ground floor of the building was converted into offices and the first floor became a private apartment; the total value of No. 18 was increased to £73 as a result. The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society described No. 18 Queen Street as ‘a fine two-storey detached rendered house with well defined roof overhang, giving the house character. The windows are arranged in pairs on the ground floor and are round-headed, while those on the first floor are single and segmental-headed’ (UAHS Guide, p. 51). In 1978 the Department of the Environment designated the mid-nineteenth century terraces and buildings of Great James Street, Queen Street and Clarendon Street as a Conservation Area ‘being an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’ (Londonderry Clarendon Street Conservation Area Booklet). No. 18 Queen Street was subsequently listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that general repairs were carried out in 1996 including the re-slating of the roof. Few of the mid-Victorian townhouses along Queen Street are now occupied as residential dwellings; the majority of the three-storey buildings were converted into offices for local dentist, solicitors and accountancy firms in the late-20th century. No. 18 Queen Street currently houses the offices of a local opticians firm. Writing in 2013, Calley described the building as ‘a freestanding former manse … it is a fine structure with the simplicity of a Nash Italianate farmhouse … a most satisfactory building and well looked after’ (Calley, pp 330-331). 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/2/B/5/16G – Griffith’s Valuation (1856) 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11B-ZA – Annual Revisions (1862-1897) 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/2C-2F – Annual Revisions (1898-1931) 6. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/4 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935) 7. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/13-14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 8. O’Hagan’s plan of Londonderry (1847) 9. Ulster Town Directories (1843-1918) 10. Census of Ireland (1911) 11. First Survey Record – HB01/21/008 (1970) 12. First Survey Image – HB01/21/008 (No Date) 13. NIEA HB Records – HB01/21/008 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. Hume, J., ‘Derry beyond the walls: Social and economic aspects of the growth of Derry 1825-1850’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002. 4. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. 5. ‘Londonderry Clarendon Street Conservation Area Booklet’ Department of the Environment, 1978. 6. ‘Design Guide for Clarendon Street Conservation Area’ Department of the Environment, 2012. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Detached two-storey three bay, ruled and lined rendered, former manse built 1861, in a simple Nash Italianate-style, turning the corner at the junction of Queen Street and Patrick Street. Despite alterations to the internal layout, the interior has considerable interesting elements remaining. Mannered, self contained, and distinctive, it has a significant presence set amongst Georgian style three storey buildings in the surrounding streets, and opposite the polychromatic City Factory (HB01/21/007), all contained within the Clarendon Street Conservation Area. Set behind a low rendered wall that bounds the site perimeter and adds further character.

General Comments

Date of Survey

12 February 2014