14 BOND'S HILL

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Three mid-terrace three-bay two-storey with attic rendered early-Victorian houses, built c.1840s (Architect unknown). Rectangular plan form facing west. Smooth painted rendered finish to all three houses 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).

Replacement natural slate roof with cement rendered chimney stacks with clay pots which rise centrally from the ridge to the party wall between Nos.12/13 & 13/14. Slightly projecting rendered eaves with half-round cast aluminium guttering on drive through brackets discharging to cast aluminium downpipes on the west elevation.

Front (west) elevation of No. 12.
Front (west) elevation is smooth cement rendered with painted finish. Single tripartite (2/2:6/6:2/2) timber sliding sash window left of centre flanked to far left by the main entrance door and to far right by the entry accessing the rear of No.11 (formerly noted as ‘11a’). The main entrance door is a replacement four-panelled door set between a pair of columns supporting an entablature below a small ‘basket-handle’ arched opening with radial fanlight. Entry door (11a) has a four-panelled door with single pane overlight set within a square-headed opening. First floor has three square-headed 6/6 timber sliding sash windows (not aligned with the ground floor openings). The roof has two modern conservation type rooflights and two modern pitched roof dormers finished in painted render with 3/3 timber sliding sash windows.

Front (west) elevation of No 13.
This former house is set higher than No.12 to the right, however is level with No14 to the left. Similar materials and detailing to that of No.12. Main entrance door right of centre (similar to that of No.12) is flanked to left by a single tripartite (2/2:6/6:2/2) timber sliding sash window and to right by a gated entrance (former carriageway). First floor has three square-headed 6/6 timber sliding sash windows (not aligned with the ground floor openings). The roof has a single modern conservation type rooflight to far left and two modern pitched roof dormers finished in painted render with 3/3 timber sliding sash windows.

Front (west) elevation of No. 14.
This former house is set level with No13 to the left. Similar materials and detailing to that of Nos 12&13. Main entrance door far right comprising a pair of fluted columns with Ionic Order capitals supporting a dentilled frieze below a radial fanlight. Two 6/6 timber sliding sash windows to left of door with three 6/6 timber sliding sash windows to first floor directly over ground floor openings. The roof has two modern pitched roof dormers finished in painted render with 3/3 timber sliding sash windows.

The north side of No.14 is abutted by No.15 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006 I).

The rear elevation to the back of the main house (E) is finished in cement render finish with regularly placed window openings lighting the upper floor corridors. A Lean-to roof to the ground floor is a later addition running the length of the rear elevation and butting against a three storey return to the south east. All windows are replacement timber casements with top hung openings.

The south side of No.12 is abutted by No.11A Bond’s Hill (formerly HB01/09/006 E).

Rear (east) elevation of No. 12.
The rear elevation is abutted to right by a three-storey hip-roofed modern extension (also partly abuts No.13) of little interest; exposed section to left comprises a square-headed timber door to far left (accessing the entry) and a window to far right. First floor has two windows and the attic level has a single pitched roof wall-headed dormer aligned over first floor left window. All windows to rear elevation are casements.

Rear (east) elevations of Nos 13 & 14
The rear elevations of Nos 13 & 14 have been altered and are now treated as a single entity. The rear elevation is abutted to left by a three-storey hip-roofed modern extension (also partly abuts No.12) of little interest. The entire ground floor to the right is abutted by a modern lean-to extension of little interest. Fenestration to exposed upper floors has been altered and comprises a group of four evenly spaced windows to each floor and a paired window to far right to each floor (that to second floor is taller and breaks the eaves line with a pitched roof over). A stainless steel flue rises above eaves level to the left of the paired windows.

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).

Materials:
Roof : Natural Slate
RWGs: Half round cast aluminium gutters and round cast aluminium downpipes
Walling: Painted Render
Windows: Timber
Doors : Replacement painted timber doors. Metalwork gate to entrance between No.12 and 13.

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 were 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. 12 Bond’s Hill, a two-and-a-half-storey two-bay house, was constructed between c. 1839 and 1848-49. Griffith’s Valuation (1856) records that the house was valued at £12 and was initially leased by James Murray, a local borough magistrate, to a Mr. James Glenn. The Annual Revisions note that Glenn continued to reside at the address until his death in c. 1877 when his widow (or daughter) Catherine Glenn took possession of the site. In 1897 the house had been purchased outright by Alexander Selfridge, a local magistrate and retired hotel proprietor (UTD). The 1901 census described No. 12 Bond’s Hill as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of eight 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 and that its rear yard was accessed by the coach arch at No. 13 Bond’s Hill. Alexander Selfridge continued to reside at No. 12 Bond’s Hill until his death in 1933 (PRONI Wills) at which time a Ms Isabella Sharpe took possession of the site. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) notes that Sharpe purchased the house outright in 1945 and that the building had been increased in value to £21. Sharpe continued to reside at the address by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the value of No. 12 Bond’s Hill stood at £25.

No. 13 Bond’s Hill, a two-and-a-half-storey two-bay house, was constructed between c. 1839 and 1848-49. Griffith’s Valuation (1856) records that the house was valued at £11 and was leased by James Murray, a local borough magistrate. The first recorded occupant of the house was a Mr. William O’Bryan who resided at the address until c. 1863. The occupants of the house changed with frequency over the following decades and in 1897 the house (along with the adjoining No. 12) was purchased outright by Alexander Selfridge, a local magistrate and retired hotel proprietor. Selfridge resided at No. 12 Bond’s Hill and leased out No. 13 to Andrew Browne, a local clerk. The 1901 census described the house as a 2nd class dwelling which consisted of seven 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 and a coach arch that provided access to the rear year (now filled in). The occupants of No. 13 Bond’s Hill continued to change with frequency until 1938 when a Mr. John Daniel Armstrong occupied the house. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) ownership of the house had passed to Isabella Sharpe (occupant of the adjoining No. 12) and the value of the building had been increased to £19. Armstrong continued to reside at the address by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the value stood at £22.

No. 14 Bond’s Hill, a two-and-a-half-storey two-bay house, was constructed between c.1839 and 1848-49. Griffith’s Valuation (1856) records that the house was valued at £10 and 10 shillings and was leased by James Murray, a local borough magistrate. The first recorded occupant of the house was Anne McLeod who also operated the excise office at the adjoining No. 15 Bond’s Hill. McLeod remained at the address until c.1860 when the house was occupied by Edward Lee. The occupants of the house changed with frequency over the following decades. In 1901 the house was inhabited by Mary Glenn, an elderly housekeeper. In that year the census building return described her house as a second class dwelling which consisted of seven 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. The occupants of No.14 Bond’s Hill continued to change with frequency until 1944 when a Mr. David Elder took possession of the site. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) ownership of the building, which had been increased in value to £14, had passed to a Ms. Sarah Anderson. Elder and Anderson continued to be recorded as occupant and owner by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the value stood at £19 and 10 shillings.

Nos 9-24 Bond’s Hill were listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that Nos 12-14 Bond’s Hill underwent an extensive renovation in 1992 which converted the former private dwellings into a single property consisting of six self-contained apartments. The conversion included the construction of a three-storey extension to the rear of nos 12 and 13 Bond’s Hill, the installation of cast iron rainwater goods, the replacement of the sliding sash windows and the addition of a Doric doorcase (in imitation of the original doorcase at No. 14). The conversion of No. 14 Bond’s Hill included the reslating of its roof in natural slate. During the Second Survey nos 12-14 Bond’s Hill continued to be utilised as a shared hostel, operated by the Simon Community (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 – 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. PRONI Wills Catalogue (14 Nov 1933)
13. First Survey Record – HB01/09/006B (No Date)
14. NIEA HB Records – HB01/09/006F-H

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
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Three early-Victorian mid-terrace three-bay two-storey rendered houses, built c.1840 and situated on the east side of Bond’s Hill. The three properties underwent an extensive renovation in 1992 which converted the former private dwellings into a single property consisting of six self-contained apartments. The interior layout was substantially altered with the loss of a large amount of historic fabric and detailing. Externally, dormer windows have been inserted to the front roof slope, it has been extended to the rear and the fenestration to the rear has been substantially altered. Despite this, it retains its plain style and simple proportions to its front elevation and its historic use as three former dwellings is still evident in its fenestration. Part of a terrace of sixteen buildings of varying styles, it has group value with Nos 9-11 & 15-21 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006B-D & I-O). Although substantially altered, it is integral to the group value and interest of the terrace that, as a whole, is a good example of the type.