23 Pump Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Late-Georgian mid-terrace four-storey two-bay rendered townhouse on a slightly projecting plinth with a lean-to extension to the rear. Built c.1840s, as a pair with No. 22 London Street (HB01/19/090B) adjacent, situated within a terrace row of similar houses of this type. Principal elevation faces south-east onto Pump Street, directly overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard, all set within the Cathedral Quarter Area of the Historic Walled City. Natural slate to main pitched roof, low parapet wall to front elevation spanning the width of both properties; large rendered chimney stack rising from gable end on South side has four circular buff clay pots.

Principal elevation facing south-east has smooth-rendered unpainted finish on upper floors and painted finish on ground floor level. All window openings are square-headed on masonry sills, window bays are paired on upper floors with 6/6 timber sliding sashes to first and second floors, and diminished 3/3 timber sliding sashes to third floor level; ground floor level has a tripartite timber window consisting of a 6/6 timber sliding sash flanked on each side with 2/2 timber sliding sashes without horns to the right of a recessed square-headed opening to entrance doorway, two-steps up projecting out onto the sloping pavement, door has plain painted timber architrave surround with a semicircular fanlight with glazing bars above a raised-and-fielded painted six-panel painted timber door.

North-east side is adjoined to neighbouring property No.21 Pump Street (HB01/19/091B).

South-west side is abutted by neighbouring property No.22 London Street, which sits on the corner of Pump Street and London Street.

North-west elevation to the rear is four-storeys tall and is abutted by a four-storey extension on the right side with a lean-to slate roof. Unpainted rendered finish to rear elevation topped by a small red brick chimney stack with two circular terracotta clay pots positioned to the right side. Full access was not possible to the rear at time of survey.

Natural slate finish to main pitched roof and rear extension. uPVC rainwater goods throughout.

Materials:
Roof Natural slate
RWG uPVC
Walling Render
Windows Timber Sliding Sash

Setting:
Built as part of a pair along with 22 London Street (HB01/19/090B) the building is located on the West side of Pump Street overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard to the South end. No.23 Pump Street is a mid-terraced building of single pile with principal elevation facing onto Pump Street, situated within a terrace row stepping down the hill towards the river, set within the Cathedral Quarter Area of the Historic City Conservation Area.

Historical information

Pump Street, extending from Ferryquay Street towards St. Columb’s Cathedral, is predominantly characterised by its late-Georgian buildings 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 Gracious Street (Ferryquay Street) that occupied the exact current layout of Pump Street. These early maps were intended as proposals with many of the buildings depicted on them not being constructed until later. However the plans did accurately reproduce the current geometric pattern of the city, suggesting that side streets such as London Street, Castle Street and Pump Street were also laid out in the early-17th century. Pump Street was first named on Francis Nevill’s 1690 plan of the siege of Derry (but Calley states that the street was named after the town’s pump in c. 1630). The map, which is very accurate in its depiction of Londonderry’s streets and buildings (such as the Cathedral, Magazine and Market House) shows that buildings had been constructed on both sides of Pump Street by the late-17th century.

No traces of Plantation houses have been found within the city walls. The earliest building on Pump Street is the Convent of Mercy (HB01/19/067A) which was built in 1780 as the King’s Arms Hotel (OSM, p. 118). Pump Street was largely redeveloped in the late-Georgian period with many of its current buildings dating from c. 1800. Until recent decades Pump Street was predominantly domestic in character and during the 19th century many merchants operated their businesses from their homes leading one commentator to describe Pump Street as ‘a fine street [that] was the haunt of doctors, dentists, nuns, newspapers, lady tailors and others’ (Calley, p. 311). 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 and ‘by 1856 therefore it was still a street in which the nobility and gentry resided’ (Hume, pp 9-10).

No. 23 Pump Street and No. 22 London Street were constructed between 1832 and 1848. What appears to be a single four-storey four-bay structure was actually constructed as a pair of two-bay dwellings with entrances on both streets. The Townland Valuation Town Plan depicted a single building on the corner site of Pump Street and London Street in 1834. This building was described by the Townland Valuation (1832) as a 1B- structure (that is a slated building of medium age that had deteriorated and was not in perfect repair) that measured 30ft in width, 20ft in depth and only 19.6ft in height (the adjoining nos 19-21 Pump Street measured 40ft). The building that occupied the corner site in the 1830s was only half the size of the current building (which is also approximately 40ft in height). The earlier building was demolished in c. 1840 and replaced by the pair of four-storey two-bay buildings. The adjoining No. 20 London Street was also constructed at this time.

No. 23 Pump Street and No. 22 London Street first appeared on the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1848-49 which depicted the pair along their current layouts (No. 23 Pump Street is larger than its neighbour). Griffith’s Valuation (1856) recorded that nos 20-22 London Street and No. 23 Pump Street were leased by William Huffington, a local solicitor and magistrate. The valuer noted that No. 23 Pump Street was originally valued at £18 and that No. 22 London Street was valued at £14. A Mrs. Margaret Bond occupied No. 23 Pump Street until c. 1900 whilst the house on London Street was occupied by a number of tenants during the same period. The 1899 Valuation map of Londonderry recorded that both buildings continued to be utilised as private dwellings and that No. 22 London Street had access to the adjoining No. 20 (which was utilised as office premises). In 1901 No. 23 Pump Street was occupied by Solomon T. Darcus, a local house and land agent, and was described as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of ten rooms. In the same year the adjoining No. 22 London Street was occupied by John Goss, a retired Royal Irish Constabulary Inspector, and was described as a 1st class dwelling that possessed eight rooms.

By the 1930s No. 23 Pump Street and No. 22 London Street were owned by a Mr. John Burns. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) recorded that No. 23 Pump Street was divided into a number of self-contained apartments in 1954 when ownership of the property passed to the Corscaden family. The Corscaden’s also acquired the lease for No. 22 London Street from John Burns and maintained the building as a private dwelling until the 1966 when it was also converted into apartments. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the total rateable value of No. 23 Pump Street and No. 22 London Street stood at £66 and 10 shillings.

Pump Street and London Street were included in the Historic City Conservation Area in 1977. During the Second Survey the pair of buildings continued to be subdivided into apartments (Foyle Civic Trust).

References

Primary Sources
1. Pynnar’s plan of the Walled City (1618-19)
2. Thomas Raven’s plans of Londonderry (1622; 1625)
3. Franic Nevill’s plan of the Siege of Derry (1690)
4. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830)
5. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853)
6. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/14 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873-1910)
7. PRONI VAL/1/B/547E – Townland Valuations (1832)
8. PRONI VAL/1/D/5/9B – Townland Valuation Town Plan (1834)
9. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16D – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11A-11ZD – Annual Revisions (1860-1897)
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/1A-1B – Annual Revisions (1898-1929)
12. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
13. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
14. Ordnance Survey Memoir of Parish of Templemore (1837)
15. PRONI Wills Catalogue (3 Dec 1869)
16. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)
17. Derry Almanac (1876-1953)
18. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
19. Foyle Civic Trust: Living City Project (Pump 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 – including Londonderry Corporaton Map (1857).
2. Hume, J., ‘Derry beyond the walls: Social and economic aspects of the growth of Derry 1825-1850’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002.
3. Lacey, B., ‘Siege city: The story of Derry and Londonderry’ Belfast: The Blackstaff Press, 1990.
4. Ó Baoill, R., ‘Island city: The archaeology of Derry – Londonderry’ Belfast: Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2013.
5. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003.
6. ‘Londonderry Historic City Conservation Area Booklet’ Department of the Environment, 1977.
7. ‘A Design Guide for the Historic City Conservation Area’ Department of the Environment, 2012.

Online Resources
1. Digital Atlas of Derry (including 1848-49 Ordnance Survey Town Plan) –
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

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

Evaluation

Well proportioned late-Georgian mid-terraced four-storey two-bay rendered townhouse built c.1840 located on the West side of Pump Street overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral (HB01/19/001) and Derry Cathedral Primary School (HB01/19/66) to the South West. The principal entrance faces South East onto Pump Street. This house and No.22 London Street (HB01/19/090B) adjacent were built as a pair and as such they have group value. This is one of the few terraces retaining its residential character within the Cathedral Quarter Area of the Historic Walled City. External detailing remains such as timber sliding sash windows and a tripartite window onto Pump Street.