15 Chamberlain Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey three-bay house with dormer attic forming end of terrace, now vacant, built c.1884. Rectangular on plan with modern redbrick two-storey extension to rear. Pitched natural slate roof with projecting stone eaves and corbel brackets and half round cast iron guttering with cast iron down pipes.

Front (west) facade of square uncoursed sandstone facing west onto Chamberlain Street. Original four-panel timber entrance door with square-headed fanlight above and stone entablature supported by two carved sandstone corbels, an owl to one side and a phoenix to the other. Square headed timber 1/1 sliding sash windows with plate glass to ground and first floors with ashlar chamfered dressings, stepped quoins and mid window band, two slate clad dormers symmetrically positioned on roof above eaves level.

South gable rendered with raised render quoins. Single window to south gable at ground floor level with small coupled windows to attic level and large rendered centrally placed chimney to gable.

Rear (east) elevation rendered. Large 2/2 timber sliding sash window to rear at first floor level, and ground floor modern flush door.

Rear return of modern brick construction, with uPVC windows and rain water goods.

North elevation abutting adjacent terrace, no. 13, with redbrick chimney with six terracotta pots to party wall.

Setting:
End of terrace house, on the south side of Chamberlain Street, 0.1km north west of the City Walls, within a terrace of primarily brick dwellings and large yard to rear.

Roof: Natural Slate
Walling: Sandstone to front. Render to gable and rear
Windows: 1/1 timber sliding sash
Door: Four-panel timber
RWG: Cast iron

Historical information

Chamberlain Street, located to the immediate north-west of the city walls off William Street, was first depicted on the 1847 Plan of Londonderry which called the street ‘Chamberlain Place.’ The current terrace of two-storey redbrick dwellings (nos 5-36 Chamberlain Street) was constructed in stages and are essentially identical to each other, with the sole exception of No. 15.

A two-and-a-half-storey three-bay dwelling, No. 15 Chamberlain Street was constructed in 1884. The house replaced a former office building and sheds that were occupied by a Mr Philip Doherty but had fallen into a state of dilapidation by the 1880s. Doherty was a local stone mason and had utilised the offices and sheds on Chamberlain Street for his business since the 1860s (Griffith’s Valuation; UTD). In the early-1880s Chamberlain Street underwent a redevelopment which included the construction of the current terraces on the southern side of the street; No. 15 Chamberlain Street was erected as part of this redevelopment.

Doherty had formerly resided at a dwelling on Creggan Street in the 1850s, but moved to Chamberlain Street in 1884. A stone mason by trade, it is almost certain that Doherty was responsible for either the design or construction of the sandstone-faced house. The London archives of The Honourable The Irish Society hold the original agreement between Doherty and the Society (dated 1882) which granted Doherty permission to build on the site. Following the completion of Doherty’s house, the Annual Revisions set the value of No. 15 Chamberlain Street at £18 (significantly higher than the houses of the adjoining terrace). The c. 1873 Annual Revisions Town Plan for Londonderry included the proposed layout of the new dwelling; the map depicted the building along its current layout including the rear return (although the original has been replaced with a modern two-storey redbrick return).

The Annual Revisions continued to record Doherty as occupant up until 1929, but he had in fact vacated No. 15 Chamberlain Street by 1901. The census of 1911 noted that the house had passed to the McGettigan family (Neil McGettigan was a cattle dealer who operated the cattle yard at the end of Chamberlain Street) whilst the census building return described No. 15 Chamberlain Street as a 1st class dwelling (every other building along the street was 2nd class) that consisted of 10 rooms. The value of the dwelling was increased to £26 under the First Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1935) and further increased to £32 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72).

No. 15 Chamberlain Street was listed in 1979. The NIEA HB Records note that the building underwent conservation in 1984-86 when one of the chimneys was rebuilt, the roof was reslated in natural slate, the dormers repaired and the lead valleys to the roof renewed. Patton and Calley have both noted the pleasant nature of the façade; Calley stated that the house was ‘built in a robust manner with rock-faced random rubble and dressed chamfered surrounds [whilst] the entablature over the doorway is supported by a quizzical owl and phoenix corbels each emerging from particularly finely articulated fern leaves.’ (Calley, p. 86; Patton, p. 34).

References

Primary Sources

1. London Metropolitan Archives: CLA/049/DD/02/006/215 – Irish Society papers (1882-1884)
2. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/10 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873)
3. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16H – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11S-11X – Annual Revisions (1884-1897)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/5B-C – Annual Revisions (1898-1929)
6. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/11 – First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1935)
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/15 – Second General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
8. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918)
9. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
10. NIEA HB Records – HB01/21/019 (Missing)

Secondary Sources
1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013.
2. Ferguson, W. S; Rowan, A. J; Tracey, J. J., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in and near the city of Derry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1970.
3. Patton, M., ‘The bedside book of dormers and other delights: A pictorial guide to traditional architectural details in Ulster’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2011.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

Two-storey three-bay sandstone fronted house with dormer attic forming end of terrace, built c.1884. Well proportioned front facade with finely carved cornice brackets, original doorcase and timber sliding sash windows. Its robust good quality stone detailing set it apart as a significant building in this area.

General comments

Additional listing criteria apply - R-Age & S-Authenticity