31 Aberfoyle Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Late-Victorian Edwardian mid-terrace two-bay two-storey with attic level red brick townhouse with polychromatic brick dressings, built c.1906 to designs by the architect W.A. Barker. Rectangular on plan with projecting rear return. Principal elevation faces east onto Strand Road, set behind a painted low brick wall. Built as part of a terrace row of seventeen similar houses of this type lining the west side of Strand Road. Natural slated pitched roof with a two-stage polychromatic brick chimney stack rising from the north side.

Principal elevation (east) is of Flemish brick bond with yellow brick dressings, projecting brick cornice at eaves; canted single storey bay to ground floor level at right side, all in yellow brick, continuous sill course to first floor windows painted in contrasting colours 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. 1/1 timber sliding sashes to canted bay and first floor, 2/2 timber sliding sash window to dormer level. Segmental arch-headed opening to entrance doorway, three steps up from the pavement with a painted four-panel fielded timber door with plain fanlight above.

North and South sides are abutted by adjoining buildings No.29 & 33 Aberfoyle Terrace (HB01/22/014N & HB01/22/014P).

West elevation to the rear is two-storeys, abutted by a two-storey rear return built at half-landing height stepping down to a single storey extension spanning the length of the rear yard abutting rear boundary wall.

Pitched slate roof has black clay ridge tiles to main roof, dormer and rear return. Large polychromatic brick chimney rising from the north side, centred on ridge with circular clay pots. Cast-iron guttering and downpipe to front elevation.

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. It is within the Magee Conservation Area. The River Foyle is located to the east.

Materials:
Roof: Natural Slate
RWG : Cast-iron
Walling : Brick
Windows : Timber Sliding Sash (E)

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. 31 Aberfoyle Terrace was constructed in 1906, as part of the third phase in the laying out of the row, and was originally formed the end terrace building until nos 33-35 were built in 1911. The building, along with the adjoining nos 7-33 Aberfoyle Terrace, is a two-and-a-half-storey two-bay house possessing a bay window at ground floor and a dormer window to its roof. The Annual Revisions record that No. 31 Aberfoyle Terrace was originally valued at £16 10 shillings and was first occupied by Philip McLaughlin, a sorting clerk and telegraphist in Derry’s General Post Office. The 1911 census building return described McLaughlin’s house as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of 11 rooms. By the 1930s the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) recorded that McLaughlin had vacated the house which had been increased in value to £23. In 1940 No. 31 Aberfoyle Terrace was occupied by a Mr William J. Braithwaite who continued to reside there until at least the 1970s. The Second Revaluation (1956-72) records that the McFarland estate retained ownership of the house throughout this period and also noted that the value of No. 31 Aberfoyle Terrace remained at £23 by 1972.

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 No. 31 Aberfoyle Terrace underwent a restoration in 1985 that involved the reslating of its roof in natural slate, the installation of cast iron rainwater goods and installation of new sliding sash windows to its ground floor (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 – HB01/22/014O

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
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

Mid-terrace two-storey with attic level red brick townhouse with yellow brick dressings located on the west side of Strand Road overlooking the River Foyle close to the University of Ulster. No.31 was completed in 1906, part of the third phase of a terrace row of seventeen terraced houses built over two decades from 1891-1911, 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. No.31 is a fine example of a terraced dwelling of its time which retains historic character to the front facade, particularly in the use of different colours of brick. 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.