34 Catherine Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Three storey, three bay, brick terraced house in the Georgian style part of a group of four houses facing north west onto Catherine Street. 16 pane sliding sash windows to ground floor with painted stone cills and painted rendered jambs. Slightly taller 16 pane sashes of similar detail to first floor. Smaller twelve pane sashes to second floor. Fanlit door to south west in a rendered concave recess. It is flanked by fluted Doric columns supported on unusual circular bosses. The entablature breaks forward from the door over the columns. The fine astragals of the fanlight are in a cobweb pattern. Two curving concrete steps lead up to the door. Two small windows aligning with those above light the basement. The roof is natural slate. The downpipe of rectangular section in cast iron. There is a brick chimney with six pots to each end of the ridge.

To the rear is a wide slot allowing a twelve pane sliding sash to light the basement. Elevation is three windows wide, one set is dropped to light the stair landings. The courtyard is flanked by walls of a similar brick (though that to the Ulster Bank has recently been rebuilt). The original two storey coach house is intact to the rear with segmental coach arch and three small windows with curving brick arches. This building is also brick with a natural slate roof

Historical information

Building is part of terrace with 1828 plaque at one end (see HB02/12/023). It is shown on 1831 Ordnance Survey Map with stable to rear. The 1858 Griffiths Valuation lists the occupant as Mr George Proctor. Girvan in the U A H S Buildings of North Derry states that ‘the building was formerly the Reformed Presbyterian Manse’ though in 1858 a Reverend Nathan McC Brown was living two doors up in number 30. The landlord of both properties was Mr Frederick McCausland. The occupant relates that the basement of the building was used as a night club for the R A F during the Second World War and that there were murals on the walls discovered during renovations (now removed). It was ‘Morelli’s Presto Bar’ during the late 60s and early 70s when a ‘large protruding oriel window, filled with gaudy coloured glass panes’ (Girvan) replaced the ground floor windows. The next occupant Mr Coyle reinstated the windows and used the building as a playschool. The present owners who bought the building in 1986 have completely renovated the building taking care to replace fittings in an appropriate manner where possible. The ground floor is now medical consulting rooms, the first floor,offices and the second a flat.

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
Griffiths Valuation 1858

Secondary Sources
D Girvan, 'The Buildings of north Derry' UAHS 1975 p14
Owner, (1997)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

One of the best preserved of Limavady’s town houses in the Georgian style. Its quality raises the architectural appearance of Catherine Street. Its interior retains much of the original detail. It has an unusual roof structure in both the main building and coach house. It forms part of an imposing group of four buildings