18 Waterside

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three-storey rendered Georgian-style terraced house, three openings wide, rectangular on plan with a modern shop front to ground floor and accommodation above. Built c.1850 and located on the western side of Coleraine town, the building forms part of a terrace comprising similar buildings.

Pitched slate roof with blue/grey angled ridge-tiles; rendered chimney having multiple terracotta pots and abutting chimney of adjoining terrace; uPVC rainwater goods, with some cast-iron down pipes, mounted on in-stepped smooth-rendered eaves course (plain eaves to rear). Walling is unpainted roughcast with smooth unpainted render to rear. Replacement square-headed 1/1 timber sash windows, uPVC to rear, with projecting smooth-rendered reveals and sills. There are multiple abutments to the rear.

Principal elevation faces north and comprises three windows to the upper floors. 20th century vinyl fascia below with large modern glazed openings to shop-front and tiled surrounds; plain timber door to right having timber boarded transom over.

The east elevation is abutted by adjoining terrace (HB03/16/001R).

View of south (rear) elevation is largely obstructed by foliage to the south. Limited inspection shows uPVC windows to left over abutting slated lean-to return with 4/4 sash window with metal bars fixed. Single window to upper floor left; remaining elevation abutted by two-storey gabled and flat-roof return with a wide uPVC window to left above single-storey lean-to return; right-cheek has two sash windows to upper floor.

The west elevation is abutted by adjoining terrace (HB03/16/001T).

Setting
Located in an urban/residential
setting, the principal elevation directly fronts one of the main thoroughfares into Coleraine town centre via the nearby ‘Old Bridge’. Situated on the western banks of the River Bann to the west of the central Diamond the building forms part of a terrace comprising similar buildings. A related terrace is situated on the opposite side of the street, to the north (HB03/16/001A-J). Enclosed yard to the rear bounded by returns of neighbouring terraces to each side and by metal fencing to south.

Roof Slate
RWG uPVC
Walling Roughcast render
Windows Timber sash & uPVC

Historical information

Constructed as part of a phased terrace c.1846-54, the design of which was overseen by Samuel Angell, the buildings are first shown on the second edition OS map (1849-50). The terrace replaced a previous street, as shown on the first edition OS map (1830), which comprised buildings laid out to a similar pattern, with extensive outbuildings to the rear.

Under the ownership of Sir Hervey Bruce, this house and outbuildings were first occupied by John Ross in 1872 and valued at £21 in the General Revisions (1866-74). Griffith’s Valuation (1856) shows that prior to this a previous house existed on site, valued at £4 and noted as being ‘very old…’. The current property was added to the records in 1868. This indicates the building and the adjoining terrace to the west (HB03/16/001T) were constructed c.1866-68, although the other buildings of the terrace (HB03/16/001B-R) were completed more than a decade before (c.1854). In 1897 the premises and value were split with Charles Hamill, a saddler, occupying the ground floor shop and cellar and Annie Blair residing in the house above. In 1903 the premises were amalgamated into one unit and the value increased to £24, with Mary and Ellen McDermott taking over occupancy in 1916. The building outline has altered little since 1882 (Town Plan map) but field evidence shows that the rear return has been modified or remodelled in recent decades.

This area of Killowen Parish, now known as Waterside, was originally a suburb of Coleraine town and under the ownership of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers, one of the London Merchant Companies charged with developing and ‘planting’ the county of Londonderry during the early 17th century. The Company chose to lease out these lands, often to absentee landlords, which resulted in a general decline of the estate and a lack of house construction due to the uncertainty of tenures. The Company regained direct control of their proportion in 1840 when the lease had expired and a subsequent era of improvement followed which included substantial expenditure on buildings, infrastructure and education (Mullin; Rowan).

A new bridge of increased height was built c.1844, to replace a previous timber construction c.1735 and stabilising works were carried out to the western embankment of the river (OS Memoirs). During this time the street-level on the Killowen side was raised to correspond with that of the new bridge, which impacted upon the existing buildings. Reflecting the spirit of the times, it was deemed more appropriate to demolish and rebuild the entire area of Waterside, in order to create a more dignified entry into the Company’s estate from the main part of Coleraine to the east (Mullin).

The general layout of Waterside had already been established prior to redevelopment and therefore the terrace did not alter much on plan. However, the design, scale and style of the new buildings adhered to a strict architectural rigour, which had been established by the erection of the neighbouring Clothworkers’ Arms Hotel c.1846 (HB03/16/001A). The hotel marked the first stage of the new development and the demolition of the neighbouring houses commenced in 1847. According to Curl (1986) the houses on the southern terrace were erected first as a means of providing visual balance to the now isolated hotel opposite. A suitable corner terrace was designed by Samuel Angell, the Company’s surveyor in Ulster, to compliment his design of the hotel building and to line the almost processional approach into the Clothworkers’ Estate from Coleraine town, via the new bridge. Although designs for the remaining buildings were largely generated by other architects, each was strictly regulated by Angell and surveyor Stewart Gordon, to conform to the overall scheme. The terrace was completed c.1854, (excluding this building and that to the west c.1868), the Clothworkers’ Company claimed to have spent approximately £4,00 on the erection of houses in the Waterside area during this period (Mullin; Curl).

As Curl (1986) states, the plain, balanced and unembellished style of this terrace represents the conscious decision of the Clothworker’s Company to refrain from the excessive ornamentation, which was embraced by other London Companies during this period of widespread architectural improvement (Curl).

References

1. PRONI OS/6/1/11/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map (1830)
2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (1849-50)
3. PRONI OS/9/24/1/8 – Town Plan map (1882)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/11/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map (1904)
5. PRONI OS/6/1/11/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1921)
6. PRONI OS/10/5/7/7/3– Third Edition Ordnance Survey 25-Inch map (1949)
7. PRONI OS/11/13/13/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey 25-Inch Irish Grid map (1967-8)
8. PRONI VAL/1/B/57 – Townland Valuations (1830s)
9. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/3F – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
10. PRONI VAL/2/D/5/15 – Griffith’s Valuation Map (1859)
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9A- General Revisions (1859-65)
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9B- General Revisions (1866-74)
13. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9C- General Revisions (1875-84)
14. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9E- General Revisions (1885-92)
15. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9G- General Revisions (1893-99)
16. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9M- General Revisions (1900-12)
17. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9P- General Revisions (1913-31)
18. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/3 – First General Revaluations (1935)
19. Census Records (1901 & 1911)
20. HB File (HB03/16/001S)

Secondary Sources

1. Lewis, Samuel ‘A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’ S. Lewis & Co, London (1837)
2. Day, Angélique and McWilliams, Patrick (eds) ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs; The Parishes of Co. Londonderry (Vol. 33) XII 1829-30, 1832, 1834-6, Coleraine & Mouth of the Bann’ Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast (1993)
3. Mullin, Rev. T.H. ‘Coleraine in Modern Times’ Century Services Ltd. Belfast (1977)
4. Rowan, Alistair ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ Yale University Press, London (1979)
5. Curl, James. S. ‘The Londonderry Plantation 1609-1914’ Phillimore & Co, Chichester (1986)
6. Girvan, W.D. ‘List of Historic Buildings, Groups of Buildings & Areas of Architectural Importance in Coleraine & Portstewart’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, Belfast, (1973)
7. 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

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship
R. Age
U. Historic Associations

Evaluation

A three-storey building constituting part of a largely homogeneous, Georgian-style terrace. Constructed c1847-1854 to designs overseen by Samuel Angell and Stewart Gordon. The building is representative of the typical urban form of living accommodation over a shop, while the terrace is characterised by common design principles such as restrained detailing, rendered walling and tall narrow frontages having large regular fenestration patterns over shop fronts. The integrity of this character has been largely retained across the upper floors but incremental changes to the ground floor shops over the decades has resulted in the erosion of some historic fabric. This southern terrace remains important to the visual balance of Waterside as a whole, helping to define the character of one of the main approaches into Coleraine and presenting one of the only coherent street facades within the town. This area of Killowen Parish, now known as Waterside, was originally a suburb of Coleraine town and under the ownership of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers, one of the London Merchant Companies charged with developing and ‘planting’ the county of Londonderry during the early 17th century. Reflecting the spirit of the times, it was deemed more appropriate to demolish and rebuild the entire area of Waterside, in order to create a more dignified entry into the Company’s estate from the main part of Coleraine to the east. No. 18 is an important element within this overall redevelopment of Waterside and has group value with the other listed buildings in this terrace.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age and U - Historic Associations also apply.
Previously recorded as HB03/16/001