20 London Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Late-Georgian mid-terrace two-bay three-storey smooth-rendered painted townhouse, built c.1840. Principal elevation faces south west directly overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard which are on the south side of London Street, situated within a terrace row of similar houses of this type lining the north side of London Street, on the edge of the pavement, within the Cathedral Quarter of the Historic Walled City. Shallow slated pitched roof with black clay ridge tiles and single modern rooflight off-centre to left side.

Although the property has its own address, it has the appearance of the 'return' to No. 22 London Street (HB01/19/090B) which was constructed at the same time.

Principal elevation (south west) is of smooth-rendered painted finish, all windows have square-headed openings set within moulded window surrounds and masonry sills painted black, coupled 6/6 timber sliding sashes to ground floor, two no. 6/6 timber sliding sashes to first floor and two no. 6/3 timber sliding sashes to second floor level of diminished scale. FF and SF windows are aligned vertically. Slightly recessed entrance doorway with elliptical arched opening, six-panel replacement painted timber door and Adams-style fanlight above. Out-and-up angle brackets to cast-iron guttering with cast-iron downpipe.

North west and South east sides are abutted by adjoining properties No. 18 and No. 22 London Street (HB01/19/089 & HB01/19/090B).

North east elevation to the rear was not accessible at time of survey.

Pitched slate roof has black clay ridge tiles and single modern rooflight to left side. Cast-iron guttering and circular downpipe to front elevation.

Materials:
Roof : Natural Slate
RWG : Cast Iron (SW)
Walling : Render
Windows: Timber Sliding Sash

Setting:

Located on the north east side of London Street within the Cathedral Quarter of the Historic Walled City, directly overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and church yard to the south and City Walls and New Gate to the south east side, situated along a terrace row of similar house types.

Historical information

Pump Street, which connects to London Street, extends from Ferryquay Street towards St. Columb’s Cathedral, and 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. 20 London Street, a three-storey two-bay building was constructed between 1832 and 1848. The Townland Valuation Town Plan (1834) depicted a previous structure on the site in the 1830s, however the contemporary Townland Valuations (1832) note that this was smaller than the current building. The valuer described the previous building on the site as a 1d- class structure (that is an old and dilapidated slated building that was scarcely habitable) that measured 17.3ft in width by 14.3ft in depth and 20ft in height. The dwelling was valued at £4 and 12 shillings and was occupied by a Mr. Blundell in the 1830s. This earlier building was demolished in c. 1840 when it was replaced by No. 20 London Street. The adjoining No. 22 London Street and nos 19-21 Pump Street were also constructed at this time.

No. 20 London Street was first recorded on the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1848-49 which depicted it along its current layout. 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. 20 London Street was valued at £9 and lay unoccupied in the mid-19th century. The 1899 Valuation map of Londonderry records that the adjoining No. 22 London Street had access to No. 20 which was utilised as office premises. No. 20 London Street appears to have been utilised as shop or office premises throughout its early history as the building remained unoccupied under the 1901 Census of Ireland and possessed a ground floor shopfront until the 1970s. The Derry Almanac notes that in the 1890s No. 20 London Street was utilised as offices by John J. S. Barnhill, a local Civil Engineer who established an independent practice in 1891 and was appointed engineer to Derry Rural District Council in c. 1903 (DIA). In 1909 the building was occupied by a Mr. T. P. Ross who operated a tailors shop from the premises. No. 20 London Street was decreased in value to £8 by the end of the Annual Revisions in 1929 and was occupied by John Gurney, a local baker, between the 1920s and 1950s.

No. 20 London Street continued to possess a ground floor shopfront until at least 1975, however this has been removed and replaced with a simple window and door arrangement (Foyle Civic Trust). London Street was included in the Historic City Conservation Area in 1977. Calley, writing in 2013, described No. 20 London Street in the following terms: ‘Three-storey, two-bay, smooth-rendered early-19th century building … it has a shallow double-pitched slate roof. Heavy moulded window surrounds … Timber sash window, six-over-six on first floor windows and six-over-three on second floor … simple round-headed door bay. Six-panel door with slightly wagged segmental fan-light’ (Calley, p. 252).

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. Ordnance Survey Memoir of Parish of Templemore (1837)
13. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)
14. Derry Almanac (1876-1953)
15. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
16. 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. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http:// www.dia.ie/
2. Digital Atlas of Derry (including 1848-49 Ordnance Survey Town Plan) –
http:// www.ria.ie/digitalatlasderry

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Late-Georgian mid-terrace two-bay three-storey rendered townhouse, set on the north east side of London Street directly overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Church yard to the south side. Built c.1840s, situated within a terrace row of similar houses of this type. Detailing to the exterior front elevation remains largely unaltered and is consistent for its time and style. Together with its neighbours on London Street and the townhouses along Pump Street the building contributes to the Historic Walled City Conservation Area, however due to loss of historic fabric both internally and externally, insufficient architectural details remain for the building to be of special interest.