The Alexander Arms Hotel

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Three storey smooth rendered and painted hotel building four windows wide. Double pile slate roof with flat roof bridging the internal valley. Cast iron guttering and downpipe.Windows are PVC with central transom set in raised architrave. Stone cills, painted, with modern decorative metal upstand. Entrance door at top of three tiled steps flanked by tuscan columns supporting a semi-circular pediment above. Centre of pediment has much smaller undecorated semi-circular window to lobby beyond. One window at ground floor is located to the north east of the entrance, two are located to the south west.

The hotel faces south east onto Main Street. To the north east is an arch through the ground floor of number 36. To the south west number 32 is of exactly the same width and height and is also rendered.

The arch reveals number 36 to be brick built upon a basalt coursing which rises to 1.2 metres from ground level. The hotel may have been similar but is now rendered. Part of the north east gable projects to the rear one metre beyond number 36. It is unrendered above ground level with bricked up windows and chimney on the apex of the rear pile. A flat roofed kitchen extension projects for two levels and is rendered. The rear elevation is also rendered with little order to the windows.

Behind the hotel is an interesting stable block which runs continuously behind No. 32, 34, 36 and 38 Main Street. Built of brick and a storey and a half in height, it presents an arch flanked by a door and circular windows to the courtyard of No. 34 with a further three circular windows above and a door which projects up through the eaves forming a dormer.

Historical information

Building indicated on 1831 Ordnance Survey Map. Stable indicated on 1848 map. First labelling as hotel on 1907 map. Lugged architraves are usually associated with early buildings so building probably dates from 1730s - 50s contemporaneous with Streeve House (HB02/12/006) which has similar architraves. Flat roof between piles added 16 years ago (1981) and in need of replacement according to owner. Present owner bought hotel ten years ago. Exterior renovations carried out in 1992. Historic Buildings slide shows brick facade in 1973: this was rendered shortly afterwards. The building is not officially registered as a hotel as it has less than the required number of bedrooms, it is registered as bed and breakfast accommodation. The Art Nouveau decoration and stained glass would be consistent with conversion to a hotel at the end of the last century.

References:
Primary Sources:
OS Map 'Newtown Limavady' enlarged from 1st Edition Map (1831) PRONI: Val 2D/5/4 & T2933/4/126
OS Map 'Newtown Limavady' (1848 revision with notes of 1858 valuation) PRONI: 058/120/1/1 & T2933/3/140
OS Map ' Town of Limavady' (1895) PRONI:Val 2D/5/4 & 293/4/261
OS Map ' Town of Limavady' (1907) PRONI:058/120/2/3

Secondary Sources

Owner (1997)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

An early Georgian building heavily altered by subsequent renovations but retaining some details of note which add to the historical character of Limavady. In particular, the entrance door, the stained glass vestibule and the early lugged architraves around entrance hall doors.Too much historic detail and character has been lost for listing to be justified.