Former fire station

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small, compact, two storey red brick gabled fire station of 1891 of domestic appearance and proportions. The property is set on the east side of Hawkin Street, right next to the city walls at New Gate.

The asymmetric front elevation faces roughly W. Slightly to the left of centre of the ground floor is a pedestrian doorway with metal sheeted door and boarded over segmental headed fanlight. Two steps to doorway. The arch of the doorway has a flush sandstone keystone and ‘haunch’ stones (the other front openings have similar stones). To the left of the doorway is a segmental headed window with timber sash frame in typical 1890s / Edwardian style with many small square panes to the upper sash and a plain light to the lower one. The lower sash now has the some recent applied lettering (‘Fountain Area Partnership’). A sizeable portion of the stone window sill has broken off. To the right of the doorway is a much broader but squatter segmental headed window, with mullioned and transomed frame all set within a large segmental headed recess with red sandstone label moulding over.

The left hand side of the elevation rises into a large gable with a raised brick and moulded sandstone courses to the verge and across the gable itself simulating a tie beam. Raised brick ‘kneelers’ with decorative sandstone brackets also. Below the level of the ‘beam’ is a pair of segmental headed window openings with windows as ground floor left. Above the ‘beam’ level (near the gable apex) is a small five-sided (but ‘triangular’ in general form) sandstone panel with a crest moulding therein. [The crest has oak leaves within it and obiviously relates to the City of Londonderry or the County.]

The right hand half of the front elevation is much lower, being roughly one and a half storey in height. Just above the level of the label moulding are two small square moulded sandstone panels with moulded date ‘1891’ split between the two. Between these and set at a slightly higher level is a larger rectangular sandstone panel with the inscription ‘Fire Brigade’. Directly above this there rises a small gable (much smaller than the previous one) with raised brick and moulded sandstone verge and long kneelers with brackets as previous. Within this gable is a sandstone panel with the arms of the City of Londonderry thereon. Label moulding above panel.

The N elevation faces right into the outer face of the city walls with only a small yard separating both. To the centre-right of the ground floor there is a small segmental-headed window opening with plain sash frame. To the centre-right on the upper floor there is a segmental-headed window opening with margin-paned sash frame. To the right hand edge of this elevation a tall brick wall spans between the building and the city walls (enclosing the yard). The wall has a single segmental-headed pedestrian doorway (presently boarded up). There appears to have been a lean-to structure to the ‘inner’ (i.e. E) side of this wall at some point.

The S (gabled) elevation is partly abutted to the ground floor by a neighbouring single storey flat-roofed building, which appears to house an electricity sub station. To the ground floor of the gable internal evidence suggests there is a doorway (with double door) to centre left with a segmental headed window with 2/2 sash frame, (vertical glazing bars), to the right. To the first floor there are two windows as ground floor. The gable itself has a raised verge not unlike the front gables (but without sandstone) with a semicircular recess to the apex. Brick ‘kneelers’.

The rear elevation is roughly one and a half storey to the left hand side, where there is a large ground floor window, as right hand side to front but without label moulding, keystone etc. To the right of this there is a full-height projecting gable with a single storey timber constructed lean-to, covering the whole of the ground floor level, and a flat arch sash window to the centre of the first floor (2/2- vertical glazing bars). The gable of this bay looks as though it has been reconstructed fairly recently. To right of this the rest of the elevation consists of another (larger) gable with raised brick verge. To the left and right hand edges of the rear elevation there are raised brick ‘pilasters’.

The façade is wholly in red brick (with exception of the aforementioned sandstone portions to front). Projecting base to front capped with bevelled sandstone. The gabled roof is slated with clay ridge tiles two relatively tall brick chimneystacks to N end with another to gable to the S. These stacks have projecting bevelled bases, ‘cornicing’ and rendered coping. The lean-to has a felted roof. Metal rw goods.

To the NE corner of the small yard there is a small single storey flat-roofed shed in concrete brick with a three-light window to its S face. There is presumably a doorway to the W face but this face could not be seen in its entirety, this could not be confirmed.

Historical information

`This fire station was built in 1891 by the City Corporation [?to designs by John Guy Ferguson] and staffed by three permanent firemen* and a number of auxiliaries. Initially the fire appliance was mounted on a hand-drawn cart, but this was replaced with a new motor fire engine (the ‘Fire King’) in 1908 after the firemen complained that they were usually too exhausted and in no condition to start fire fighting after pulling the cart to the fire. The Fire King was the first motor fire engine in Ireland and one of the first blazes it attended after its arrival was the fire at the Guild Hall in April 1908. The appliance was housed in an integral garage within the building which still largely survives. This explains the steps down from the hall to the lower larger room to the south at road level. The room now with segmental window and built up wall , originally had double glazed doors onto the street.

During WWII the Londonderry Fire Brigade was incorporated into the National Fire Service who established posts all over the city. After 1945 the Western Fire Authority took over responsibility for fire fighting in the city and the brigade moved to old factory premises at the Waterside end of Craigavon Bridge. In 1950 the Western Fire Authority was replaced by the Northern Ireland Fire Authority and in 1961 the brigade moved to purpose-built premises on Northland Road.

This original station was latterly used as an office by a community group but is now vacant.

*The firemen are believed to have lived in near by houses belonging to the Fire Brigade [?in Fountain Street].

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/12E/157/1/1-31 Valuation plans of Londonderry, 1873-1910
2 PRONI VAL/12E/157/3/1-3 Valuation plans of Londonderry, 1873-1909
3 PRONI VAL/12B/32/11w Annual valuation revision book, Londonderry East Ward, 1890s
4 PRONI VAL/3G/125/1/1-14 Valuation plans of Londonderry, (First general revaluation of Northern Ireland), 1935-54

Secondary sources
1 Information supplied the Northern Ireland Fire Authority (April 2003)

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

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Small, compact, two storey red brick gabled fire station of 1891 of domestic appearance and proportions. The City of Londonderry’s original fire station, this building is still largely original condition.