3 FOYLE ST.

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Victorian mid-terrace three-bay three-storey red brick commercial building with sandstone dressings and graphic display board to shop front on ground floor level at time of survey. Built c.1882. Rectangular on plan with a low stone parapet wall to natural slate pitched roof with large red brick chimney stacks rising from the south-east and north-west ends, the latter chimney shared with adjoining property No.5 Shipquay Place (HB01/19/043C). Principal elevation faces north-east onto Foyle Street, with the Guildhall to the north and overlooking the River Foyle to the north-east side. Similar in style to No's 19-21 Foyle Street (HB01/19/044D) lining the south-west side of Foyle Street and comparable to No's 1-5 Shipquay Place (HB01/19/043A-C).

Slate pitched roof set behind a low stone parapet wall with ironwork railings. Two large red brick chimney stacks, centred on ridge, with buff clay pots. Black clay ridge tiles, dentilled brick cornice to a large two-stage red brick chimney stack with seven buff clay pots on south-east side, north-west end chimney stack has four buff clay pots.

Principal elevation (NE) is of red brick laid in 'Flemish brick bond' on upper floors with stone dressings to window surrounds. There is a large stone shouldered flat-headed arched opening to shop front on ground floor to the right of a smaller arched entrance doorway divided by Corinthian pilasters with large carved stone capitals. The entrance opening and shop front have imitation shop front graphic display boards infill; stone cornice above ground floor with decorative carved acanthus leaf and palmette detail; semicircular arched headed windows on first floor with moulded stone architrave surround and angle roll detail to chamfered window reveals; continuous stone sill-course, stone string-course with vertical line carvings to the spring of the arch at window heads on first and second floor windows, continuous stone moulded sill-course with vertical lined carvings to second floor windows, segmental-arched headed openings to second floor windows with moulded stone architrave surrounds and keystones with leaf carvings; all windows are replacement 1/1 timber sliding sashes with horns; v-jointed chamfered corner quoin stones to either end of elevation; large-scale projecting stone cornice above second floor window bays has a crown moulding above a modillion band and a foot moulding below with vertical lined carved out markings, low stone parapet wall above with square stone end blocks to either side of guilloche open ironwork railings.

Nort-west and south-east sides are adjoined to neighbouring properties No.5 Shipquay Place (HB01/19/043C) and No.5 Foyle Street (HB01/19/044B).

South-west elevation to the rear is three-storeys of cement-rendered unpainted finish overlooking rear return and shared rear yard of No. 2 Shipquay Place (HB01/19/043B). uPVC rainwater goods to rear elevation. Full access to rear was not possible.

Materials:
Roof Natural Slate
RWG uPVC (S)
Walling Brick with stone dressings
Windows Timber Sliding Sash (N)

Setting:
Located on the south-west side of Foyle Street directly overlooking the River Foyle to the north-east and Guildhall and Shipquay Place to the north. Situated within a terraced row of generously scaled red brick and stone commercial buildings, set on the pavement to the south of the City Walls, set within the Historic City Conservation Area.

Historical information

No. 3 Foyle Street, a three-storey three-bay redbrick Victorian building located between 5-15 Foyle Street ('Commercial Buildings') (HB01/19/044B) and the stylistically similar No. 5 Shipquay Place (HB01/19/043C), was constructed in 1883.

Foyle Street was laid out in the 18th century on land that was reclaimed from the River Foyle (originally the north-eastern section of the city walls extended to the river banks). The 18th century maps of Londonderry show that the newly created street was divided into two sections, the western side was known as Brewery Lane whilst the eastern section was called East Walk; the street had gained its current name by at least 1831. Calley states that Foyle Street ‘developed into a commercial street throughout the 19th century with a few residential houses … the build-up of these businesses created a canyon of commerce and added greatly to the city’s atmosphere of industrial acumen’ (Calley, p. 203).

The northern section of Foyle Street underwent an extensive reconstruction in the late-19th century which resulted in the construction of a number of Victorian commercial buildings. The majority of the surviving buildings along Foyle Street were designed by one man. John Guy Ferguson (c. 1829-1901), a local civil engineer and surveyor, was one of Londonderry’s most prominent architects and was responsible for the design of many of the city’s most important civil, ecclesiastical and commercial buildings in the late-19th century. The Listing File records that Ferguson was responsible for the design of nos 3-29 Foyle Street (HB01/19/044A-H) as well as nos 1-5 Shipquay Place (HB01/19/043A-C), all of which were constructed between 1882 and 1883 and were treated as a single composition. The centrepiece of the project was the Commercial Buildings at nos 5-15 Foyle Street (HB01/19/044B) which was constructed for William Mitchell, a local merchant. Ferguson flanked the sandstone and granite Commercial Buildings with three-storey red brick blocks that possessed retail units at their ground floors and office or storage space above. The construction of nos 1-5 Shipquay Place and the erection of a large return to the rear of nos 19-21 Foyle Street (HB01/19/044D) created an enclosed space to the rear of the Commercial Buildings which was accessible by a coach arch. The UAHS guide for Londonderry recorded that Joseph Ballantine of the Strand Road was contacted to construct the Commercial Buildings and it is highly likely that he also built the adjoining structures (DIA; UTD).

The Annual Revisions note that No. 3 Foyle Street was completed by 1883. The valuer notes that the building was originally utilised as a shop with a billiards room in one of the floors above. The site was operated by a Mr. John Porter who leased the building, which was valued at £55, from The Honourable The Irish Society. The Annual Revisions record that Porter continued to occupy the site until the 1930s. By the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) No. 3 Foyle Street had been purchased outright by John J. Madden, a local tobacconist, who converted the upper floors of the building into stores while maintaining the shop its ground floor. The valuer increased the value of the property to £69 at that time. The Madden family continued to operate from No. 3 Foyle Street until at least the 1970s. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the value of the building stood at £150.

No. 3 Foyle Street was incorporated into the Historic City Conservation Area in 1977 and was listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that the building was damaged in a fire in 1978. The First Survey Image (1977) records that nos 5-17 Foyle Street were completely gutted by the blaze but it appears that No. 3 escaped the worst of the damage. The listed buildings on Foyle Street received light damage to their façade as the result of a bomb that exploded on 15th January 1992 (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources
1. Volunteer map of Londonderry (1780)
2. Porter’s plan of Londonderry (1799)
3. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/11 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873-1910)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11A-11ZD – Annual Revisions (1860-1897)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/1A-1B – Annual Revisions (1897-1929)
6. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/13 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
8. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1943)
9. First Survey Record – HB01/19/044 (1970)
10. First Survey Image – HB01/19/044 (1977)
11. NIEA HB Records – HB01/19/044A

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.
4. ‘A design guide for the Historic City Conservation Area Londonderry’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 2012.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/
2. Digital Atlas of Derry - http://www.ria.ie/digitalatlasderry

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

Victorian mid-terrace three-bay three-storey red brick commercial building with stone dressings, built c.1882 to designs by John Guy Ferguson and located within a row of commercial buildings on the south-west side of Foyle Street, overlooking the River Foyle to the east and the Guildhall to the north. Ferguson was responsible for the design of Nos 3-29 Foyle Street (HB01/19/044A-H) as well as Nos 1-5 Shipquay Place (HB01/19/043A-C), all of which were constructed between 1882 and 1883. This is a distinctive and elaborately decorated building which retains much original detailing and character externally, with a fine setting within close proximity of the City Walls at Shipquay Gate. This range of commercial buildings has group value and the Historic City Conservation Area is enriched by its presence.