21 Pump Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Late-Georgian mid-terraced four-storey two-bay rendered townhouse on a slightly projecting plinth with a large projecting rear return. Built pre 1830 as a pair with adjoining property No.19 Pump Street (HB01/19/091A). Principal elevation faces south-east onto Pump Street overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral (HB01/19/001) and Churchyard to the south, set within the Cathedral Quarter Area of the Historic Walled City. Natural slate to main pitched roof and rear return, low parapet wall to front elevation, no chimney stacks.

Principal elevation (SE) is painted lined render to ground floor level and smooth-rendered unpainted finish to upper floors, with continuous painted sill-course to first floor windows; all window openings are square-headed on masonry sills. Ground floor level has a single tripartite timber window consisting of a central 6/6 timber sliding sash flanked by a 2/2 sash to each side, with an iron railing attached to the wall in front of it and which rises half-way up the height of the window. The tripartite window is positioned to the left of a recessed semicircular arch-headed opening to entrance doorway, two-steps up from sloping pavement, spanning the width and shared with the neighbouring entrance doorway; painted stone surround to doorway with keystone arch, cornice and small fanlight with glazing bars above a six-panel painted timber door. There are two 6/6 timber sliding sashes to first and second floor levels, and two diminished 6/3 timber sliding sashes to third floor level in line with those below.

North-east and south-west sides are adjoined to neighbouring properties No.19 and No.23 Pump Street (HB01/19/091A & HB01/19/090A).

North-west elevation to the rear is of four storeys with a four-storey rear return to left side, opening onto rear yard that is shared with No.18 London Street. A metal fire escape stair, clad in corrugated polycarbonate, spans between the side of the return and the rear (NE) elevation to No.18 London Street (the final exit is via the latter), although it stops short of the main building to leave an open well of approximately 1m deep. The four storey return is gabled, with clipped eaves, unpainted smooth rendered walling and top-hung multi-paned single glazed timber casement windows, which diminish in height from bottom to top and uPVC rainwater goods. A small wall-head dormer projects from the SW slope of the return. Windows that open on to the escape stair and the well beyond from No. 19 Pump Street are top-hung casements, some uPVC and some timber, informally arranged and of various size; doors are plain flush, painted.

Natural slate finish to main pitched roof and rear return. uPVC hopper and circular downpipe to the front elevation.

Materials:
Roof Natural slate
RWG uPVC
Walling Render
Windows Timber Sliding Sash (SE); Timber casement (NW)

Setting:
Located on the west side on the upper section of Pump Street overlooking St. Columb's Cathedral and Churchyard to the south end. Rear opens on to yard shared with No.18 London Street, which is red brick and retains some multi-paned sliding sash windows; the remainder of the yard is enclosed by a mix of brick and concrete block walls, some painted. Yard is hardscaped with a mix of concrete hard-standing, paving slabs and slate chippings. No.21 & No.19 Pump Street built as a pair within a long a terrace row stepping down the hill, situated within the Cathedral Quarter Area and within 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. 21 Pump Street, a four-storey two-bay dwelling, was constructed prior to 1830 along with the adjoining No. 19 (HB01/19/091A). The Townland Valuations (1832) note that the property was occupied by a George Franks, a local solicitor, and was described as a 1b- class building (that is a slated building of medium age that had deteriorated and was not in perfect repair). The valuer measured No. 21 Pump Street at 15ft in width, 23ft in depth and 40ft in height and set the total rateable value of the building at £41 and 5 shillings. The Townland Valuation Town Plan (1834) depicted nos 19-21 Pump Street along their current layouts, as rectangular-shaped buildings that possessed two small square outbuildings to rear (now demolished).

By Griffith’s Valuation (1856) nos 19-21 Pump Street were both owned by George Franks who also held nos 14-16 London Street and used them as offices (HB01/19/092; 093). The 1857 Londonderry Corporation map and 1899 Valuation Map both record that the rear yard of No. 21 Pump Street was accessed by the coach arch at No. 16 London Street (now blocked up). The valuer noted that George Franks continued to reside at No. 21 Pump Street in the 1850s and that the building had been decreased in value to £28. Following Franks’ death in 1869 the occupants of No. 21 Pump Street changed with great frequency. In 1873 a Dr. Joseph Byrne occupied the site, residing there until 1888. The Valuation Map of 1899 records that the building continued to be utilised as a private dwelling at the turn of the 20th century. The contemporary census of Ireland notes that the building was occupied by Ritchie Gallagher, a sewing machine agent, in 1901. The census building return described No. 21 Pump Street as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of ten rooms and possessed a stable as its sole outbuilding to rear. Whilst the adjoining No. 19 was converted into offices and self-contained apartments, No. 21 Pump Street remained in use as a private dwelling until the 1960s. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) ownership of the building had passed to Frederick James Simmons, a local estate agent who resided at Crawford Square. The valuer noted that No. 21 Pump Street had been decreased in value to £26. In 1967 Albert Corscaden took over ownership of the building and converted it into six self-contained flats. The total rateable value of No. 21 Pump Street stood at £62 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72).

Pump Street was included in the Historic City Conservation Area in 1977. During the Second Survey No. 21 Pump Street continues to be subdivided into a number of self-contained apartments.

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.

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

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

Evaluation

Well proportioned late-Georgian mid-terraced four-storey two-bay rendered townhouse built pre 1830 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.19 Pump Street (HB01/19/091A) 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, despite being subdivided into flats. External detailing remains such as timber sliding sash windows and a tripartite window.