16 THE DIAMOND

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Victorian three storey four bay Italianate-style stucco building set on a painted plinth with a projecting rear return shared with No.15 The Diamond. Built c.1850, situated on the North West corner of the Diamond. Principal elevation faces east onto the Diamond, overlooking the 'War Memorial', and set within the Historic Walled City. Natural slate to main pitched roof and rear return, low parapet wall to front elevation above deep projecting cornice at eaves.

Principal elevation (east) has rustication on ground floor, chamfered quoins to either end on ground and first floors, moulded pilasters to second floor level. Three bays on ground floor, two large shop front openings left of entrance doorway, bays are square-headed with hood mould, keystone to the centre of each bay and foliated label-stops; square-headed windows on first floor on continuous moulded sill-course projecting at each bay supported by decorative corbel brackets, decorative cast-iron balcony railings above on each bay, painted moulded string-course cornicing and frieze to window heads between bays, angle roll detail to either side of window reveals with small crocketed capitals; deep projecting cornicing between first and second floor levels, segmental arched headed windows to second floor with hood mould and keystone to the centre of each bay, moulded shoulder-course cornicing and frieze with decorative guilloche detail painted in contrasting colour between window bays, windows are 1/1 timber sliding sash on first and second floors; deep projecting salient cornice supported on decorative modillions, decorative cast-iron railings to low parapet above.

North and south elevations are adjoined to neighbouring properties No. 15 (HB01/19/022A) and No. 17 The Diamond.

West elevation to the rear is of rough-cast rendered unpainted finish, with a slated pitched roof to large rear return shared with neighbouring property No.15 The Diamond, uPVC windows to rear return and uPVC rainwater goods.

Materials:
Roof: Natural Slate
Rainwater goods: uPVC (W)
Walling; Stucco
Windows: Timber sliding sash (E) uPVC (W)

Setting:
Located on the west side of The Diamond, overlooking the War Memorial at the core of the ascribed formal grid plan with the original gridlines of the main four thoroughfares intact leading to each City Gate, the 'civic quarter' to the south end and the merchant town area to the North end, set within the Historic City Walls.

Historical information

No. 16 The Diamond, a three-storey four-bay Italianate building located at the northern corner of The Diamond, was constructed prior to 1856. Hume states that The Diamond ‘accommodated some of the highest valued buildings in the town and was a major shopping centre. [In the mid-19th century] the rebuilding taking place elsewhere inside the walls during this period was also taking place in The Diamond’ (Hume, p. 4). No. 16 The Diamond, along with the adjoining No. 15 (HB01/19/022A), can first be identified with certainty in Griffith’s Valuation (1856) which valued the building at £70. The valuer noted that No. 16 was utilised as a house and stores that were leased by Archibald McCorkell to a Mr. Henry J. Walker, a local grain and seed merchant whose family resided at the site since the 1830s (a Mrs. Walker was recorded as occupant in 1831 – Foyle Civic Trust).

The contemporary Corporation Plan of Londonderry (1857) depicted the building as a rectangular-shaped building possessing a rear return (originally shared with No. 15 The Diamond but now replaced with a modern return). Henry J. Walker acquired the adjoining property at No. 15 The Diamond in 1861, converting the ground floor of the neighbouring building into a shop for his grain and seed business. Walker vacated No. 15 in 1870 but continued to occupy No. 16 The Diamond until c. 1890 when the building was briefly taken over by the City of Derry Meat Supply Co.

In 1898 Nos 15-16 The Diamond were acquired by John B. Mullin who converted the pair into The Diamond Temperance Hotel. The hotel, which also included a public café and restaurant, occupied all of No. 16 and extended into the upper two floors of No. 15; the ground floor of the three-bay building was utilised as a laundry (Derry Almanac). The Diamond Temperance Hotel continued to operate from the premises on The Diamond until c. 1924 when No. 16 was acquired by Florence O’Sullivan who converted the ground and first floor of the building into an auction house and the second floor into two self-contained apartments (UTD). Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) the total rateable value of No. 16 The Diamond was increased to £103 10s. (including part of No. 15). O’Sullivan’s auction house vacated the premises in 1970 and by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the value of the building had been further increased to £112.

In 1970 the First Survey described Nos 15-16 The Diamond as ‘three-storey buildings with stucco finish to walls’ whilst Rowan, writing in 1979, described No. 15 as ‘a nice Victorian stucco block in an Italianate style’ (Rowan, p. 394). No. 16 The Diamond was listed in 1979. The three floors of the building have been fully converted for commercial and office use, unfortunately resulting in the loss of its original round-headed doorway. Early-20th century photographs show that the building also originally possessed three single-bay ground floor windows, as well as urn-shaped finials to its roof (all of these features have been lost – Foyle Civic Trust). The exterior of the building was repaired in 1992, following a bomb explosion that shattered the glazing and inflicted minor structural damage to the façade (NIEA HB Records). During the Second Survey the ground floor of No. 16 The Diamond was occupied by a florists whilst the upper floors continued to be utilised as offices.

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnanec Survey Map (1830)
2. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853)
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/157/1/11-15 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873-1910)
4. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16C – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11A-ZD – Annual Revisions (1860-1898)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/5B-C – Annual Revisions (1898-1929)
7. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935)
8. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
9. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)
10. Derry Almanac (1905-1908)
11. First Survey Record – HB01/19/022 (1970)
12. First Survey Image – HB01/19/022 (1975)
13. NIEA HB Records – HB01/19/022B
14. Foyle Civic Trust: Living City Project (The Diamond)

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.

Online Resources
1. Digital Atlas of Derry – Londonderry - http://www.ria.ie/digitalatlasderry (includes Londonderry Corporation Map – 1857)

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

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

Evaluation

A three-storey Victorian Italianate-style stucco building built prior to 1856, set on the west side of The Diamond facing east overlooking the War Memorial at the centre. Substantial alterations have been carried out internally resulting in the loss of historic fabric and detailing, however sufficient detailing and ornamentation to the exterior remains to regard this building as special. In 1898 this building and its neighbour (No.15) were converted into The Diamond Temperance Hotel which operated for a quarter of a century. Together No’s 15 & 16 have group value and as they are two of the historic buildings which remain in The Diamond area they are of particular value and interest.

General comments

Previously HB01/19/022