No. 12 London Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Late-Georgian mid-terrace three-bay three-storey smooth-rendered townhouse with large shop window opening on ground floor, built c.1800. Rectangular on plan with large projecting three-storey rear return. Principal elevation faces south overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard to the south side of London Street, built as part of a terrace row of three similar houses of this type lining the north side of London Street, set on the edge of the pavement, within the Cathedral Quarter of the Historic Walled City. Slated pitched roof to main house and rear return.

Principal elevation (SW) is of smooth-rendered painted finish with a large timber shop window opening on ground floor to the right side of a recessed semicircular-arch headed entrance doorway, two-steps up with a raised-and-fielded six-panel timber door with plain architrave surround, cornice and plain fanlight above, circular timber plaque above door opening with modern 'coat-of-arms' in centre and words inscribed 'Ring House' either side; all windows are square-headed with painted exposed box-frames and wide moulded surrounds on painted sill course to first and second floors, three 6/6 timber sliding sash windows on first and second floors (diminished). Stepped cornice detail to eaves with cast-iron half-round guttering on out-and-up support brackets and circular cast-iron downpipe.

North West and South East sides are abutted by adjoining properties No.10 (HB01/19/087B) and No.14 London Street (HB01/19/088A). As No.14 is lower, gable of No.12 London Street rises above, unpainted render and brick to chimney with single small casement window close to front.

No access could be obtained to the rear of building at time of survey.

Pitched slate roof has black clay ridge tiles to main roof and rear return. Red brick chimney stack with three circular buff clay pots rising from east side, centred on ridge.

Materials:
Roof Slated
RWG Cast Iron (S)
Walling Render
Windows Timber Sliding Sash

Setting:

Located on the north east side of London Street just off Bishop Street Within, overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard to the south side, situated along a terrace row and built around the same time as two other similar house types alongside Darcus and Cathedral Cottages, all within the Cathedral Quarter of the Historic Walled City.

Historical information

The buildings on London Street, extending from Bishop Street to New Gate, predominantly date from the late-Georgian and Victorian periods but the street itself likely dates from the laying out of the walled city in the early-17th century. Both Nicholas Pynnar’s plan (1618-19) and Thomas Raven’s maps of Londonderry (1622; 1625) depicted a street in the southeast quadrant of the new city extending off from Queen’s Street (Bishop Street) that occupied the exact current layout of London Street. These early maps were intended as proposals with many of the buildings depicted on them not being constructed until later. The plans did accurately reproduce the current geometric pattern of the city, suggesting that side streets such as Pump Street, Castle Street and London Street were also laid out in the early-17th century. London Street is divided by Pump Street into two sections (a west end and east end). From the 18th to mid-19th centuries the east end was known as Widow’s Lane and then Widow’s Row. The west end (originally unnamed) was known as Cross Lane in 1734, Church Lane in c. 1780 and Post Office Lane in 1799. The west end of the street was renamed London Street in 1811 in honour of the City of London companies who had founded the city as part of the Plantation of Ulster (Calley, p. 247).

Hume states that London Street ‘had originally a residential air similar to neighbouring Pump Street and Ferryquay Street [noting that] three doctors resided in it in 1832 and the buildings were generally substantial. The red brick here … points to a great deal of rebuilding in the nineteenth century.’ Even after the city’s merchant and professional characters began to move out of the walled city towards the new terraced streets in Edenballymore in the mid-19th century, Pump Street retained its residential character (Hume, p. 13).

No. 12 London Street, a three-storey three-bay Georgian house, was constructed in the late-Georgian period in c. 1800. The Townland Valuations designated nos 8-12 London Street class 1b- (slate roofed buildings of medium age that were slightly decayed, but still in good repair) and noted that all three buildings were 18 feet in width, 26 feet in depth and 32 feet in height. In 1832 No. 12 London Street was valued at £22 10s. 5d., possessed a cellar and was occupied by a Mr. Welsh. The contemporary Townland Valuation map for Londonderry (1834) depicted No. 12 London Street as a rectangular-shaped structure possessing a three-storey rear return (that it shares with the adjoining No. 10).

Griffith’s Valuation (1856) records that nos 8-12 London Street was leased by Sir. Robert A. Ferguson (1796-1860), who was M.P. for Londonderry from 1831 and Lord Lieutenant of Co. Londonderry from 1840, both of which posts he held until his death in 1860. The valuer noted that No. 12 London Street had been lowered in value to £15 and was occupied by a Mr. Thomas Andrews in 1856. Andrews continued to reside on London Street until 1868 when Hugh McLaughlin and Robert McCullough, plumbers, gasfitters and bell hangers, took possession of the site. The 1899 Valuation Map for Londonderry suggests that No. 12 London Street was not used as a private dwelling but was solely utilised as premises for the plumbing business. Hugh McMahon took over the property by 1901 and continued to operate a plumbing business from the site until his death in 1954. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) records that ownership of nos 8-12 London Street had passed to Captain F. J. Montgomery and that the value of No. 12 was increased to £25 by the 1930s. The value of the property stood at £33 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72).

London Street had fallen into a state of poor repair and dilapidation by the 1970s but Calley states that ‘it was from here that moves towards historic preservation within the city was partially inspired and launched; in 1975 the street featured in the European Architectural Heritage Year celebrations’ (Calley, p. 247). No. 12 London Street was included in the Historic City Conservation Area in 1977. A modern shopfront has been installed to its ground floor and during the Second Survey the building continued to be utilised for commercial purposes.

References

Primary Sources
1. Pynnar’s plan of the Walled City (1618-19)
2. Thomas Raven’s plans of Londonderry (1622; 1625)
3. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830)
4. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853)
5. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/14 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873)
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/547E – Townland Valuations (1832)
7. PRONI VAL/1/D/5/9B- Townland Valuation Map (1834)
8. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16D – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11A-11ZD – Annual Revisions (1860-1897)
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/1A-1B – Annual Revisions (1898-1929)
11. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
12. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
13. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)
14. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
15. Foyle Civic Trust – Living City Project (London Street – including 1899 Valuation Map of Londonderry)

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. Ó Baoill, R., ‘Island city: The archaeology of Derry – Londonderry’ Belfast: Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2013.
4. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003.
5. ‘Londonderry Historic City Conservation Area Booklet’ Department of the Environment, 1977.
6. ‘A Design Guide for the Historic City Conservation Area’ Department of the Environment, 2012.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Late-Georgian mid-terrace three-bay three-storey rendered townhouse, set on the north east side of London Street overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Church yard to the south side. Built c.1800, as part of a terrace row similar houses of this type. Rectangular on plan with large projecting rear return to the north side. Externally the modern roller shutter to the front facade detracts from the historic proportions and character. It is therefore not the best example of its type and does not meet the criteria for listing. It has group value with its neighbours on London Street and the adjacent Pump Street, and is located within the Historic Walled City Conservation Area which provides the appropriate level of protection.