5 Aberfoyle Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Late-Victorian mid-terrace three-bay two-storey with attic level smooth-rendered painted townhouse, built c. 1892 to designs by the architect W.A. Barker. The remainder of the terrace built in stages over a period of two decades and completed in 1911. rectangular on plan with projecting rear return. Principal elevation faces East onto Strand Road, set behind modern painted railings enclosing a concrete paved forecourt. Built as part of a terrace row of seventeen similar houses of this type lining the west side of Strand Road. Slated pitched roof with a small modern velux roof light to the east side and a two-stage yellow brick chimney stack rising from the north side, shared with No.3.

Principal elevation (E) is of smooth-rendered painted finish (differing from majority of terrace which is of polychromatic brick), slightly projecting rendered tapered cornice at eaves; canted single storey bay to ground floor level with hipped roof, continuous painted sill course to first floor windows spanning the width of the elevation; segmental arch-headed window openings to canted bay and first floor windows, round-headed opening to wall-headed gable dormer window with painted apex fascia board. 2/2 timber sliding sashes to canted bay and first floor windows and a small 2/2 timber sliding sash to dormer window. Segmental arch-headed opening to entrance doorway, three steps up from the pavement with plain architrave surround and moulded cornice over a painted four-panel fielded timber door with plain fanlight above.

North and South sides are abutted by adjoining buildings No.3 & 7 Aberfoyle Terrace (HB01/22/014A & HB01/22/014C).

West elevation to the rear is three-storeys of cement rendered unpainted finished with a two-storey cement rendered unpainted rear return built at half-landing height, rear return is abutted by extension spanning between the rear of No's 3 & 5 Aberfoyle, connecting both buildings. No access to rear yard.

Pitched slate roof has terracotta clay ridge tiles to main roof, dormer and rear return. Large yellow brick chimney stack rising from the north side and shared with No.3, centred on ridge with circular clay pots. Cast-iron guttering and circular downpipe to front.

Setting:
Aberfoyle Terrace is located on the western side of Strand Road, situated to the immediate north of Derry city centre. Magee College (University of Ulster) is located at high level to the immediate rear (west) of the terrace. No.5 is the second house in the terrace, at the north end. It is within the Magee Conservation Area. The River Foyle is located to the east.

Materials:
Roof : Natural Slate
RWG: Cast Iron
Walling : Smooth-render
Windows : Timber Sliding Sash

Historical information

Aberfoyle Terrace, a terrace of seventeen red brick houses located along the Strand Road, was erected in stages over a period of two decades. The UAHS guide for Derry suggests that the terrace was constructed in c. 1902 but the first dwelling on the row was actually constructed in 1891 with the final houses being completed in 1911. The northern expansion of Londonderry had been initiated in the mid-19th century by the construction of Georgian-style terraces on Great James Street, Queen Street and Clarendon Street. These were followed by the residential terraces of Crawford Square (HB01/22/003; 004) and De Burgh Terrace (HB01/22/025). By the end of the 19th century the northern expansion of the city had reached the campus of Magee University (HB01/22/009) which had been incorporated into the Royal University of Ireland in 1879. The development of the university campus was accompanied by the erection of new red brick terraces at Clarence Avenue (HB01/22/006), College Terrace (HB01/22/026) and Aberfoyle Terrace.

The Annual Revisions note that nos 3-35 Aberfoyle Terrace were constructed on land belonging to John McFarland, a local magistrate and engineer who resided at Aberfoyle House on the hill overlooking Strand Road (HB01/22/007). The terrace was designed by William A. Barker (1851-1898), a local architect and engineer who was involved in the development of the university area in the 1890s. Barker was also responsible for the design of Florence Terrace (HB01/22/008) on the Northland Road, a Professor’s House within Magee Campus and ‘was associated with the layout of Foyle College grounds for building purposes’ (HB01/22/016). Barker was responsible for the standard design of the houses on Aberfoyle Terrace but by the time of his death in 1898 only half of the current terrace had been completed (DIA; UAHS, p. 50). The Annual Revisions note that the terrace was originally known as Templemore Terrace but the name was changed to Aberfoyle in c. 1903, the name derived from Aberfoyle House directly above the Strand Road.

No. 5 Aberfoyle Terrace was constructed in 1892. The building is a two-and-a-half-storey structure (in contrast to the three-storey No. 3), but differs from nos 7-33 Aberfoyle Terrace in that the building is wider and possesses three windows on its first storey. The Annual Revisions record that No. 5 Aberfoyle Terrace was originally valued at £15. The valuer noted that the first occupant of the building was a Miss Mary McLoughlin but by 1911 the house had passed to Thomas J. Conn, a local Insurance Superintendant. The 1911 Census described No. 5 Aberfoyle Terrace as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of ten rooms. The McFarland estate retained ownership of the terrace until at least the 1970s. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland notes that by the 1940s the house was occupied by a Mr Dominic Lynch and had been increased in value to £27. Lynch continued to reside at the house until 1965 when the adjoining medical surgery acquired the building. The ground floor of No. 5 Aberfoyle Terrace was converted into additional space for the medical practice whilst its upper floors were converted into a number of self-contained flats. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the joint value of nos 3-5 Aberfoyle Terrace had been increased to £107.

In 1970 the UAHS guide for Derry described nos 3-35 Aberfoyle Terrace as ‘a pleasing terrace of two-storey houses with half dormers, each house with a ground floor half-hexagonal bay window in yellow brick. The whole terrace is in red brick with brick reveals, and dressings in yellow brick. The end houses (No. 3 and No. 35) are a little higher than the rest’ (UAHS guide, p. 50). Nos 3-35 Aberfoyle Terrace were listed in 1979 and were incorporated into the Magee Conservation Area in 2006. The NIEA HB Records note that a single-storey extension (utilised as a waiting area) was added to the rear of nos 3-5 Aberfoyle Terrace in 1990 (NIEA HB Records).

The Conservation Guide for the area identified Aberfoyle Terrace as one of five zones of distinct character within the Magee Conservation Area. The guide noted that the terrace was ‘quite disconnected’ from the rest of the Conservation Area and appears isolated on the Strand Road: ‘The ambiance surrounding Aberfoyle Terrace has changed out of all recognition from the days when it was home to families and would have looked onto a somewhat different Strand Road. Today the terrace overlooks heavy flows of fast moving traffic on the four lane Strand Road’ (Magee Conservation Area Design Guide).

References

Primary Sources
1. OS Town Plan Londonderry (1908)
2.PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11T – Annual Revisions (1885-1891)
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/2A-F – Annual Revisions (1898-1931)
4. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/10 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
5. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
6. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
7. Ulster Town Directories (1980-1918)
8. First Survey Record – HB01/22/014 (1970)
9. First Survey Image – HB01/22/014 (No Date)
10. NIEA HB Records – HB01/22/014B

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. ‘Design Guide for Magee Conservation Area’ Department of the Environment, 2010.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/

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
T. Historic Importance
V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

Two storey with attic level mid-terrace, located on the west side of Strand Road overlooking the River Foyle close to the University of Ulster. No.5 was completed in 1892, with the remainder of the terrace of seventeen built in stages over a period of two decades and completed in 1911, to designs by the architect W.A. Barker (1851-1898), a local architect and engineer who was involved in the development of the university area in the 1890s. Like No.3 it is rendered and painted, in contrast to the rest of the terrace which is brick. No.5 lacks the detail and ornamentation to the front facade of the rest of the terrace, however its simplicity bridges the gap between the moulded detailing of No.3 and the start of the brick houses at No.7. No's 3-35 Aberfoyle Terrace (HB01/22/014A-Q) have group value and the Magee Conservation Area is enhanced by their Late-Victorian and Edwardian detailing and form.