Allied Irish Bank

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Four-bay three-storey over basement with attic dormer bank building of ashlar limestone, set in a terrace, remodelled 1923 with arch headed doorway and windows to ground floor and square headed windows above with balustraded parapet concealing a gable-ended roof. The property is set on the East side of Shipquay Street.

The front elevation faces West onto Shipquay Street. Front doorcase set within balustraded balconette supported by console brackets with keystone semi-circular arch containing fanlight and modern timber panelled double doors. Ground floor sill course with rusticated limestone. Smooth ashlar limestone below to basement and above to first and second floors. Ground floor replacement timber semi-circular keystone arch headed windows with square headed double height window panels above with corbelled brackets supporting entablatures with the individual window bays seperated by apron panels set within. The outer panels have small carved plaques. First floor windows are 6/1 timber sliding sash and second floor windows are 3/1 timber sliding sash. Heavy dentilled cornice above with balustraded bays to parapet and datestone in central panel. Two timber clad dormers to roof with replacement uPVC windows.

North Elevation abutted by no. 11 Shipquay Street (HB01/19/026B).

South elevation abutted by modern shopping centre building.

East elevation not accessible

Setting:
Set North east of The Diamond, on the east side of Shipquay Street, facing west with balustrades to basement level, and abutted by adjacent buildings with shopping centre close to rear.

Materials:
Roof: Natural Slate
Rainwater goods: Cast Iron - square downpipes
Walling; Brick
Windows: Replacement timber - ground floor / Timber sliding sash - first & second floor /
uPVC - dormers

Historical information

The datestone at No. 9 Shipquay Street, a three-storey four-bay bank building, suggests that the building was constructed in 1923, but Calley is correct when he states that ‘it would appear that this may have been more of a rebuilding than an entirely new structure as the façade is not dissimilar to that which preceded it' (Calley, p. 389). A three-storey four-bay building has stood on the current site of No. 9 Shipquay Street since at least the mid-19th century; Griffith’s Valuation records that the site was occupied by a branch of the Bank of Ireland (managed by James T. Mackey) in 1856. A drawing of Shipquay Street (dated c. 1860) shows that the bank was a simple unadorned Georgian-style building at that time. Photographs of No. 9 Shipquay Street (dating from c. 1890-1900) show that the four-bay bank underwent a substantial redecoration in the mid-to-late-19th century when a balustraded wall was added to the exterior, pediments were added to the windows, a new entrance installed, and a gable (Dutch in appearance) was added to the roof (Foyle Civic Trust – Shipquay Street).

The Bank of Ireland occupied No. 9 Shipquay Street between c. 1856 and the 1890s when a Dr Thomas McLaughlin M.D. took possession of the building. McLaughlin continued to operate from the premises until 1923 when the site was acquired by the Munster & Leinster Bank Ltd. The Irish Builder records that No. 9 Shipquay Street underwent alterations and additions between 1922 and 1923 which resulted in its current appearance. The alteration work was carried out to the design of F.& J. McCardle (the partnership’s first contract, according to the Dictionary of Irish Architects) with the building work being undertaken by the local firm of Robert Colhoun. The Natural Stone Database notes that the McCardle’s employed Portland Limestone in the alteration of the building (Irish Builder, p. 554; p. 217; DIA; NSD).

The alteration of the building did not radically change its former character; the most significant changes were the rustication of the ground floor, the relocation of the main entrance (a bay further up Shipquay Street) and the construction of a balustraded balcony over the entrance. Calley states that, along with the Bank of Ireland at No. 15 Strand Road (see HB01/21/025), the Munster & Leinster Bank at No. 9 Shipquay Street was one of the last classically inspired banks to be erected in the city’ (Calley, p. 405).

Upon its completion, the Munster & Leinster Bank at No. 9 Shipquay Street was valued at £207. The value of the building was increased to £265 under the First Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) In 1966 the former Munster & Leinster Bank was merged with the Provincial Bank of Ireland and the Royal Bank of Ireland to form Allied Irish Banks Ltd. Following the merger, the value of the building was raised to £291 under the Second Revaluation (1956-72) and Allied Irish Banks continued to occupy the bank premises at No. 9 Shipquay Street for a further three decades. In 1970 the UAHS guide for Londonderry described the Shipquay Street bank as ‘a typical building of its time, with over-elaborate moulding and decoration given a so-called ‘modern twist.’ No. 9 Shipquay Street was listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that a renovation of the building was carried out in 1989 when the roof was reslated, the façade restored and the original woodwork and metalwork repainted. Allied Irish Banks had vacated the premises by 1998 and since c. 2005 the building has been occupied by a local solicitors firm (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853)
2. PRONI VAL/12/B/157/1/11-15 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873)
3. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16C – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/1B – Annual Revisions (1911-1929)
5. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935)
6. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
7. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)
8. Irish Builder (12 Aug 1922; 24 Mar 1923)
9. First Survey Record – HB01/19/026 (1970)
10. First Survey Image – HB01/19/026 (1977)
11. NIEA HB Records – HB01/19/026
12. Foyle Civic Trust Living City Project – Shipquay Street

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. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/
2. Natural Stone Database - http://www.stonedatabase.com//stone_types.cfm?stc=45

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A four-bay three-storey over basement with attic dormer former bank building, No. 9 Shipquay Street is finely detailed and much of the historic fabric, style and character remain. Extensively altered to designs of F & J McArdle in 1923 resulting in its current external appearance, No. 9 possesses good quality internal detailling which indicates an early 18th Century origin. It is well proportioned and is an important building within the Conservation area. The plan is unusual and intact but the difficult junction with the modern shopping complex to the side and rear detracts from the overall setting.

General comments

Additional listing criteria apply - R - Age, S - Authenticity & T - Historic Importance