19 BOND'S HILL

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A mid-terrace two-bay two-storey with attic, ruled and lined rendered late-Victorian house, built c.1890 as a terrace of three similar dwellings (Nos18-20 (HB01/09/006 L-N)) which filled a gap in the overall terrace of sixteen buildings at Bond's Hill between Nos 9-17 (constructed in c.1839-49) and Nos 21-24 (c.1865). Rectangular plan form facing west and fronting directly onto the pavement of Bond’s Hill with two-storey return to the rear (east).

Pitched fibre cement roof with (rebuilt) brick stretcher bond chimney with red clay pots to left (north) on party wall with No. 20 (HB01/09/006N). Projecting eaves with timber fascia on projecting modillions (3 to each side of dormer) and supporting ogee cast iron gutter discharging to cast iron down pipes to both sides of elevation. Projecting string course detail runs below modillions. Segmental-arched 2/2 (vertically divided) timber sliding sash windows unless otherwise noted.

Front (west) elevation is painted ruled & lined rendered with chamfered plinth detail and cill course to first floor windows. Entrance door to right with single window to left. Two windows to first floor (not aligned with ground floor openings and of a narrower proportion) surmounted by a single centrally placed wall-head pitched roof dormer with a round-arched 2/2 (horizontally divided) timber sliding sash window. The apex of the dormer gable has barge boards with stopped chamfer detail and collar tie. Ground and first floor openings have moulded stucco architrave detail and projecting keystone to centre of arch. Main entrance has a pair of two-panelled timber doors with opening half leaves with single pane overlight set in a segmental-arched opening. Front door is three steps up from street level with terrazzo tiles to first step which forms a landing flanked by two projecting low wing walls with rendered rounded top; white marble to top two steps. Opening terminates at base in square blocks at plinth which is slightly projecting and in contrasting colour.

North gable is fully abutted by No. 20 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006N).

Rear (east) elevation is finished in painted cement render and is abutted to left by a two-storey pitched roof return at half landing level and to right by a modern single-storey uPVC lean-to conservatory. Exposed section has a diminutive square-headed 2/2 timber sliding sash window above return to left and to right there is a square-headed 6/6 timber sliding sash window to first floor surmounted by a wall-head pitched roof dormer with a square-headed 1/1 timber sliding sash window.

The rear return east gable is abutted by a single-storey mono-pitch corrugated metal and plastic roofed out-building of little interest; exposed section has two square-headed timber casement windows to first floor.
North cheek is abutted by the modern conservatory (which in-fills part of the yard); exposed section has a single timber casement window to first floor far right.
South cheek is blank.

South gable is fully abutted by No. 18 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006 L).

Setting:
One of a terrace of sixteen houses (HB01/09/006 B-R) located on the east side of Bond’s Hill with most properties fronting onto the pavement. Small enclosed yard to rear with a small enclosed garden beyond at an elevated level.

Roof Fibre cement
RWGs Cast Iron
Walling Rendered
Windows Timber

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 HB01/09/006A) 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 18-20 Bond’s Hill, a terrace of two-and-a-half-storey two-bay dwellings, were built in 1890-91 filling a gap between nos 9-17 (constructed in c. 1839-49) and nos 21-24 (c. 1865). The Annual Revisions note that the three buildings were leased by William Drysdale, a local shipping clerk and musician who resided at the adjoining No. 21. Drysdale initially leased No. 19 Bond’s Hill, which was valued at £13, to Isaac May, a commercial traveller. In 1901 the Census of Ireland described the house as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of six rooms and possessed a shed as its sole outbuilding. The contemporary Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1904-05) depicted the building along its current layout and recorded that the single-storey rear return is an original feature of the house. The valuation sources note that a Mr. Robert Cooke took possession of the house in c.1929 and continued to reside at the site until the 1940s. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) increased the value of No. 19 Bond’s Hill to £21 and noted that a Mr. John McClafferty purchased the house outright in 1952. McClafferty remained at the address until at least the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the value of the house stood at £24.

Nos 9-24 Bond’s Hill were listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that No. 19 Bond’s Hill underwent an extensive renovation in 1992 which included the renewing of its guttering, the repairing of its roof and the renewing of its sliding sash windows (NIEA HB Records). Field inspection of No. 19 Bond’s Hill, carried out as part of the Second Survey, has found that the building 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/12/B/32/14A-14G – Annual Revisions (1860-1897)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/4C-4D – Annual Revisions (1898-1930)
6. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/13 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57))
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/18 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
8. Londonderry Standard (5 Jul 1849)
9. Ulster Town Directories (1843-1918)
10. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
11. First Survey Record – HB01/09/006B (No Date)
12. NIEA HB Records – HB01/09/006M

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
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A mid-terrace two-bay two-storey with attic, ruled and lined rendered late-Victorian house, built c.1890 as a terrace of three similar dwellings (Nos18-20 (HB01/09/006 L-N)) which filled a gap in the overall terrace of sixteen buildings at Bond's Hill between Nos 9-17 (constructed in c.1839-49) and Nos 21-24 (c.1865).
Bond’s Hill was laid out in c.1839 to provide access to Ebrington Barracks (HB01/09/002A-II) which was constructed between 1839 and 1841. The terrace properties were constructed along the east side of the street over a fifty year period resulting in a terrace which displays the progression of design and detailing through the Victorian period.
Its original character and robust detailing survive. Part of an overall terrace of sixteen buildings of varying styles, it has group value with Nos 9-18 & 20-21 Bond’s Hill (HB01/09/006B-L & N-O) and it is a good example of its type.