Londonderry Arms Hotel

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey, three-bay building in a classical style, with a plainer five-bay annex to one side. Main entrance faces east.

Entrance elevation of main block is symmetrical and consists of a recessed entrance bay flanked by gabled outer bays. Roofs of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; tall chimney pots visible from stacks at rear of roof. Walls smooth cement rendered with channelled rustication to the ground floor below a platband, projecting plinth, and rusticated quoins to extremities of the end bays; gables of outer bays are surmounted by broken pediments.
Windows to first floor of outer bays are rectangular timber sliding sash, 6 over 6 with horns, each set in a moulded surround surmounted by a triangular pediment on consoles; cill formed by the moulded cornice of a three-panelled apron linked to the corniced frieze of the ground floor window below. Windows to ground floor of outer bays are tripartite, rectangular timber sliding sash, comprising a central light 6 over 6 with horns, flanked by narrow sidelights, 2 over 2 with horns; both windows contain some panes of Crown glass; plain mullions; projecting cill.
Window to first floor of entrance bay is a pair of coupled timber sashes, 4 over 4 with horns.
Much of the façade to both floors is covered with creeper.
Main entrance is recessed in a three-centre arch, and comprises a pair of rectangular timber glazed and panelled doors with narrow two-pane sidelights in a narrow pilastered surround surmounted by a moulded frieze with decorative glazing bars to the fanlight. In front of the entrance painted stone Tuscan columns rise to support a plain open porch; timber tongued and grooved sheeting to underside of porch roof.

The annex to the north is two-storey and five windows wide with a central entrance: roof slated as previous; two chimneys, at the extremities, the one to the right common with an adjoining property; cement rendered with plain block cornice; no pots. Wall smooth cement rendered, painted white with a black-painted plinth-like band along the base, and a plain projecting eaves course; timber eaves board; cast iron gutter and downpipes.
Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 8 over 8 with horns, to the ground floor, and 6 over 6 with horns, to the first floor, all with exposed frames, set in plain reveals with projecting stone or concrete cills; some panes to ground floor windows are glazed with Crown glass. Modern scrolling wrought iron grilles are fixed to the ground floor cills.
Entrance is a rectangular timber 4-panelled door surmounted by a plain rectangular fanlight set in a moulded timber frame, recessed between plain rendered pilasters with moulded bases (the one to the left fractured) and ornamental plasterwork brackets carrying a moulded cornice.
Much of the upper part of the façade of the annex is covered with creeper.

South elevation: side wall of gabled end bay is one window wide; roof slated as previous; chimney to left, smooth cement rendered with plain block cornice; one original octagonal stoneware pot, and one tall circular pot of ornamental design. Wall smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with moulded plinth; moulded cornice returning from base of entrance front gable pediment.
Windows are rectangular timber, sliding sash, 6 over 6 without horns, in recessed frames, set in plain reveals with projecting stone cills. PVC downpipe.
Returning forward to the left is a short east wall of a gabled rear block; short return wall is smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with rusticated quoins to left-hand extremity; moulded plinth and moulded cornice. PVC downpipe and soil pipe, painted.
Gabled block extends to the left to a lower wing: roofs slated as previous; oversailing eaves with timber barge boards and tongued and grooved sheeted soffits to gabled portion; flat roof to wing with asphalt covering on timber fascia. Walls rendered with a dry dash of mixed black and white pebbles and other chippings, with a smooth cement rendered base, moulded to part of the gabled portion. Gabled portion also has smooth cement rendered platband and rusticated quoins to right-hand extremity and to left-hand side now isolated within the mass of walling.
Windows are mainly rectangular timber sliding sash 6 over 6 with horns, in recessed frames; those to gabled portion have smooth cement rendered square moulded surrounds; those to wing are in plan reveals. Ground floor windows have modern scrolling wrought iron grilles attached to cills.
First floor of wing has a tripartite window as previous to entrance front, but with plain glazing and set in plain reveals. Ground floor has two doorways, rectangular timber; ledged double doors to right, panelled door to left where wing steps down.
Above wing and set back is a later attic storey, flat-roofed with asphalt over a timber fascia; walls smooth cement rendered; two windows, rectangular timber sliding sash, 10 over 10 with horns, set in plain reveals.

Rear elevation: roofs of main front block slated as previous; original rear wall obscured by later extensions which have rendered walling, smooth to attic, and dry dashed to lower storeys.

SETTING: The building stands in the main street of the village, at one end of a terrace, facing the main street but with two small balustraded front enclosures to each side of the main entrance porch and along part of the south elevation; balustrading described below.
The extreme rear of the building backs on to a gabled corner building on High Street, with rendered walls and slated roofs, which is a separate property.

BALUSTRADING: Stone balustrading, a later replacement for the original plain iron railings, flanks the porch and returns at the north end to the front of the main block and also returns back along part of the south side; comprises shaped balusters on a low painted stone plinth, which carry a broad painted stone coping.

Historical information

Built in 1848 by Lady Londonderry as a hotel; the annex to the north added later, after 1857, as it does not appear until the OS map of 1903. Inherited by the Marchioness of Londonderry's great grandson Sir Winston Churchill in 1921; taken over by the O'Neill family in 1947.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 25.
2. OS Map 1903, Co Antrim 25 (first appearance of annex to north).

Secondary Sources
1. UAHS, Glens of Antrim (Belfast, 1971), pp 19 and 21.
2. M. McSparran, C. Dallat and J. Irvine, Oh Maybe it was Yesterday (Glens of Antrim Historical Society, 1980), p 16.
3. C.E.B. Brett, Buildings of County Antrim (UAHS, Belfast, 1996), p 257.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a mid-19th century building in a distinctively proportioned classical style of some local historical interest, which forms part of an important group along with other buildings in the terrace.