Survey Data
Reg No
40815021
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
House
In Use As
House
Date
1875 - 1885
Coordinates
234663, 431657
Date Recorded
13/10/2008
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
End-of-terrace three-bay three-storey over basement house with attic level, built 1880, having projecting two-storey box bay window to the south-east elevation with gabled-fronted half-dormer over, central projecting single-bay single-storey entrance porch to the south-west elevation flanked to either side by single-storey box bay windows, and with gable-fronted half-dormer opening to the north-west end of the south-west elevation. Modern single-storey addition to the north-west. One of a terrace of five buildings along with its neighbours to the north-east (see 40815017-20). Pitched artificial slate roofs with terracotta ridge tiles, surviving sections of cast-iron rainwater goods, projecting red brick chimneystack and chimneybreast to the north-west end having projecting red brick detailing (on triangular-plan), and with moulded eaves course to the south-west and south-east elevations supported on moulded brackets. Modern rooflights. Mono-pitched artificial slate roofs to box bays and to porch. Red brick walls (English garden wall bond) with flush smooth rendered stringcourses and sill courses. Red brick stringcourse beneath brackets at eaves level. Square-headed window openings, paired to outer bays to the south-west elevation and to box bay windows and gable-fronted dormer to the south-east elevation, having replacement one-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows with leaded coloured glass to upper panels. Replacement windows at dormer level. Square-headed door opening to centre of porch to south-west elevation having replacement door with replacement side lights; replacement overlights incorporating earlier coloured and painted leaded glass panels. Low rendered rubble walls to basement level to the south-east and south-west elevations having decorative wrought-iron railings over. Set back from road to the south-west of the centre of Buncrana with gardens to front and rear. House overlooks the Mill River to the south. Gateway to the north comprising a pair of roughcast rendered gate piers (on square-plan) having smooth rendered plinths, gable-fronted coping over, and with a pair of wrought-iron gates. Complex of single- and single-storey with loft level outbuildings to the north having pitched and hipped natural slate roofs with terracotta ridge cresting, red brick walls with sections of stone, and square-headed doors, loading bays, and carriage-arches with battened timber doors and double-doors, and with square-headed window openings to the south-west gable end having cast-iron framed windows with flush red brick block-and-start surrounds. Section of rubble stone boundary wall to the south-west of site having gateway to the south-west. Pedestrian gateways to site with cast-iron and wrought-iron gates.
Appraisal
This elegant, substantial and well-detailed late Victorian house retains its early character and form, and forms part of a formal terrace of five buildings along with its neighbour to the north-east (see 40815017-20). Although the houses differ in design and scale, the use of similar detailing, similar materials, and the smooth rendered stringcourses and sill courses, give a unity to the overall terrace and creates a composition with a strong architectural character. This is a highly unusual terrace of buildings to find in County Donegal, and is of a type that is more commonly encountered in the middle class Victorian suburbs of Dublin. The box bay windows and the gable-fronted dormers to both main elevations create a distinctive composition of some aesthetic appeal. The pronounced smooth rendered bands to the front elevations create variety to the main elevation, while the pronounced eaves course on moulded brackets, and the large chimneystack with brick detailing adds interest at roofscape level. Although the window fittings have been replaced, the replacements are in keeping with the original fittings and fail to detract substantially fro the visual appeal of this building. The terrace is now known as the Crescent but it was originally called Victoria Crescent, possibly in honour of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, which may date this terrace to this year or slightly afterwards. This terrace dates from the period when Buncrana was an important seaside resort, frequented by the middle classes of Derry, particularly after the opening of the railway line to the town in 1864. It is one of a number of substantial houses and villas built in this part of Buncrana during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. Altogether a handsome piece of domestic architecture that is a fine addition to the architectural heritage of Buncrana. The outbuildings to the north, the rubble stone boundary walls, and the gateways all add to the setting and context of this building.