Fallers

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Three-bay three-storey mid-terrace commercial building. Built c.1904. Ground floor timber glazed shopfront; redbrick to first and second floors with regular fenestration and rendered dressings with moulded horizontal string-courses and sill-courses; deep projecting salient cornice and balustraded parapet.

Shop-front faces west onto Strand Road with east elevation overlooking Victoria Market. First floor windows are round-headed with second floor windows segmental-headed.

Flat roof with modern membrane covering, with cement-rendered chimney-stack to south and six terracotta pots; U-PVC hopper and downpipe to rear elevation.

Walls are smooth painted cement-rendered to rear. (E).

Shop-front flanked by plaster corinthian pilasters; polished red granite plinth to finely framed plate-glass windows; canvas canopy and gold lettered glass-faced fascia sign writing.

Inset decorative carved timber entrance door to principal elevation, with moulded stop-chamfer and large etched patterned glass panel; combination wood and brass lever handle with decorative rectangular fanlight and timber soffit above.

North and south elevations abutted by adjoining buildings No.10 and No.14. East elevation having irregular fenestration with replacement 1/1 painted timber casement windows.

Setting:
Mid terrace on Strand Road, 0.1km north of the city wall, set on the east side of Strand Road with Victoria Market (car park) to the rear.

Materials:
Roof Flat / Membrane
RWG Cast Iron
Walling Brick / render
Windows Timber Casements

Historical information

No. 12 Strand Road, a three-storey redbrick commercial building, was constructed in the early-Edwardian period; the building, along with the adjoining nos 4-18 Strand Road were constructed by 1904. The commercial premises were built to the west of Victoria Market and incorporates the former entrance arch which creates a break in the terrace (see HB01/21/028). Nos 4-18 Strand Road terrace first appeared in the Annual Revisions in 1904; in that year the valuer noted that the terrace was owned by Londonderry City Council and that No. 12 was occupied by William Faller and valued at £47.

William Faller, a German immigrant formerly known as ‘Wilheim’ Faller was a clock maker who arrived in Londonderry in 1878 and established his first shop in Ferryquay Street in 1883. The history on Faller’s website records that Wilheim (who changed his name to William) ‘sold and serviced clocks and pocket watches both European and American, as well as watch chains and general jewellery [and sold] his clocks throughout the counties of Derry and Donegal using the rail network.’ In 1902 William Faller acquired a ground lease for the current plot on the Strand Road and personally designed the new ‘purpose built jewellery store, complete with high ceilings to allow plenty of natural light to enter.’ The cost of construction was £970 and including the installation of interior fittings; the current mahogany counters and cabinets are original and were made in Moville in Co. Donegal (Faller’s Jewellers website).

Under the First Revaluation (1935) the total rateable value of No. 12 Strand Road was increased to £71. William Faller died in 1940 at which time the commercial premises passed to his son Stephen; by the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the value of the building was increased to £108. In 1983 the firm celebrated the centenary of Faller’s first shop on Ferryquay Street; in that year the shop increased the size of it premises (originally two bays) by expanding into the adjoining bay; this bay originally was an arch and passageway to Victoria Market (Faller’s website).

No. 12 Strand Road was listed in 1984 and was the only commercial building along the row that was listed, predominantly due to the retention of its original Edwardian shopfront. Calley described nos 4-18 Strand Road as a ‘rather splendid and lengthy commercial terrace … three-storey of red brick with rendered dressings and solid parapets. The ground floors are a variety of shopfronts mostly poorly done with good Corinthian pilasters separating them.’ Calley noted the distinctiveness of No. 12 stating that the roof of the terrace included ‘a deep projecting cornice beneath a solid brick parapet divided by rendered piers, except intriguingly part of No. 12 which has a balustrade parapet; further, No. 12 Strand Road was unique amongst its neighbours as it possessed ‘finely framed plate-glass windows, a canvas canopy, gold lettered fascia signage [and] an intact interior with good plasterwork and timber fittings’ (Calley, p. 417-418).

The Victorian landmark known as ‘The Golden Teapot’ on the exterior of No. 12 Strand Road was originally installed outside of a grocers store in Waterloo Place in 1866; the teapot remained there until 1963 when the building was demolished. The teapot briefly resided outside a shop on Clooney Terrace until 1974 when it was purchased by the Faller family who intended to restore and reinstate the item outside their store; however, it was not until the 130th anniversary of the opening of Faller’s first store in 2013 that the teapot was reinstalled. The device issues steam from its spout every hour and enhances the character of the Edwardian store.

Faller’s Jewellery store has continued to operate from the premises at No. 12 Strand Road for approximately 110 years; the preservation of the Edwardian shopfront and interior, dating from c. 1902-1904, has maintained the original character of the building which is one of the city’s most striking commercial structures.

Setting:

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/2D-2F – Annual Revisions (1898-1931)
2. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/4 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935)
3. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
4. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918)
5. First Survey Record – HB01/19/027 (No Date)
6. First Survey Image – HB01/21/027 (No Date)
7. NIEA HB Records – HB01/21/027

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. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003.

Online Resources
1. Faller’s Jeweller’s website - http://www.faller.com/pages/history.php
2. The Golden Teapot website - http://www.golden-teapot.com/

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

Three-bay three-storey early Edwardian commercial terrace, constructed by 1904. Exhibits much of its original historic fabric and character with fine intact interior, and only minor internal alterations. Notable as a fine building, its traditional shopfront is arguably the best historic shopfriont remaining in the city. As well as being a good example of commercial architecture, it is also of significant social interest as a local family business in existence for 131 years, the latter 110 of which being in this building.