Roe Valley Hospital, (Former Workhouse), Benevenagh Avenue, Limavady, Co Londonderry, BT49 OAQ

Roe Valley Hospital (Former Limavady Workhouse)

This is a former workhouse, designed by the English architect George Wilkinson and constructed between 1840 and 1859, representing a typically practical Victorian response to endemic poverty. While fundamentally utilitarian in conception, the building makes a conscious architectural gesture through its quasi-Tudor detailing applied to doors and windows. The overall massing and roofline are enlivened by staircase towers with pyramidal roofs and splayed hip lines, and the whole composition is held together by a rigid symmetry — though this weakens slightly where the south-east wing of the rear block is shortened. The severity of the form is softened by carved wooden bargeboards and the interplay of gables they adorn. The plan form — and in particular the organisation of the yards — is a masterpiece of simplicity, well suited to a philosophy of minimal building. It is also remarkable that a building of this type has proved so adaptable to its present use as a hospital, and the yards retain potential for use as gardens, as Wilkinson himself originally intended through a scheme of tree planting. He had a keen personal interest in geology and topography.

The building complex as a whole displays an impressive unity. Walls throughout are built of random rubble stonework with a characteristic rust staining, all roofs are pitched and slated, and all window openings are trimmed with either sandstone or brick, with quoins treated in the same manner. Originally the windows had small diamond panes, though most of these have since been replaced.

The Complex: Three Principal Blocks

The former workhouse consisted of three principal blocks and a connecting range, all built in random rubble stone trimmed at the quoins with sandstone, and roofed with natural slate.

The First Block — a two-storey range five bays long — has end bays that form lateral pavilions projecting approximately 500mm at the front and around three metres to the rear. This block contained the admission and receiving wards, together with offices and the boardroom.

The Second Block — a two-storey range fifteen bays long — has three-storey, two-bay-wide lateral blocks at each end, built in the same manner. It contained the male and female wards, schoolrooms, and children's wards.

The Third Block — a two- to three-storey range fifteen bays long — has a single-storey section continuing in line at the north-east end, and is built in the same fashion as the first. It contained the infirmary, the so-called idiot wards, and sheds. Its length is slightly greater than that of the second block.

The Second and Third Blocks are connected by a single-storey slated building with a short single range projecting at right angles on each side, and of similar construction throughout. This connecting block contained the kitchen, laundry, washhouse, workroom, a large room used for dining and work tasks, and a chapel.

Surrounding these blocks were wall-enclosed yards forming a large overall rectangle. Men, women, boys, girls, and the so-called idiots were all segregated, and each group had its own exercise yard. Within the yard at the north-west, single-storey stone-built and slated outhouses were erected. Originally, the ground floor of the third block incorporated projecting sheds for use of those in the respective exercise yards. At the north-east, outside the former yard wall, there is a small five-bay-long red brick building with five oculi on each long wall and a gateway in the gable end, with a pitched and slated roof. To the north, a narrow strip of ground was set aside as a paupers' graveyard.

At the present time, Roe Valley Hospital occupies the second and third blocks and the connecting range, with some modern extensions added. The first block is occupied by a mental health charity. Many of the enclosing yard walls have been removed, though sufficient remain to the rear of the third block to help visualise the original arrangement.

Exterior: The First Block

The entrance or north-west façade of the first block has a central entrance door with three pointed arches and a bold chamfered sandstone surround, with a simple hood moulding above and label stops. On either side are square two-light windows with chamfered sandstone surrounds, square hood mouldings, and moulded label stops. A simple moulded string course runs across the façade at first-floor level, neatly stepping up over the entrance. Originally there was no ground-floor window in the gabled lateral pavilions, but a modern rectangular opening has since been inserted in one, spoiling the composition. Each lateral pavilion has a centre window with a chamfered sandstone surround without a hood moulding and a prominent cruciform mullion and transom, while in the centre of the façade three similar windows slightly piercing the eaves are framed by gaily curved bargeboards forming gabled dormers. The lateral gables have almost identical curving bargeboards, though much larger, completing a pleasing composition. Two chimneys in red brick adorn the ridge. At the south-east gable a single-storey porch projection carries a door similar to the main entrance but narrower.

On the rear elevation the gabled laterals are treated similarly to the front, with one window at first-floor level in each. In the centre there are three windows at ground level and a single off-centre window above, with a small gabled dormer high up in the roof. The north-west gable has a single door at ground level and asymmetrically arranged windows. Downpipes from the front façade roof make devious routes downwards. Nothing remains of the yard walls at this block.

Exterior: The Second Block

The south-east façade of the second block is characterised by dominant rows of windows at ground and first-floor levels, with a central door repeating the form of the main entrance but without label moulding. Above the door is a delightful cantilevered, gabled, and slated canopy with curvy bargeboards; the rafter feet are exposed at the ends and the underside is sheeted and painted white. The windows have the cruciform mullion and transom arrangement, except those on either side of the doorway, which each have six lights. There were formerly external doors to each classroom giving direct access to the enclosed yards, but these have now been built up.

At each end of the block, double-pile, gabled, three-storey lateral pavilions form positive terminations, punctuated with six-light windows. Unfortunately many of these openings have lost their original windows and been replaced with inappropriate modern ones. Each window has a trim of red brick, which — like the quoins — is painted white in most instances. Where the two-storey main range meets the three-storey lateral blocks, staircase towers with pyramidal roofs and triple windows on each face rise through the rear slope of the roof to create a lively roofscape. Whether these towers were original is uncertain, as they do not appear on some early drawings and axonometric projections.

On the rear elevation the window arrangement broadly mirrors the front, though there have been many modern insertions. A staircase protrusion built in stone and two storeys high appears to have been added later. The original connecting link between the second and third blocks is much obscured by modern extensions, particularly those dating from after the Second World War, which are easily identified by their rendered plasterwork finish.

Exterior: The Third Block

The third block is of lesser width than the second. Although it has a continuous unbroken pitched roof and gabled ends, the floor levels within vary between two and three storeys. Two projecting bays have been added to its rear. Windows and doors have been more or less retained but there are many alterations. On the south-west façade a series of segmental-headed small windows provide high-level lighting to what were the idiot wards. This block is not symmetrically balanced on the connecting link: it is shorter to the south-east and continues beyond as a single-storey range.

Historical Background

By the end of the 18th century it was estimated that two million people in Ireland were living at near-starvation level, and the question of relief for the poor became urgent. However, relief was slow in coming, and several decades passed while Select Committees and Royal Commissions deliberated. Developments in England stemming from the Poor Relief Act 1834, which provided for the erection of workhouses there, eventually prepared the way for equivalent legislation in Ireland. Accordingly, an Act for the more effective relief of the destitute poor in Ireland passed into law on 31 July 1838. Sir George Nicholls (1781–1865), poor law reformer and administrator, was assigned by the Government to organise and superintend the Act in Ireland. The Irish Commissioners consisted of three members, later increased to four. Some 130 Poor Law Unions were to be established, each with a Board of Guardians. The Commissioners dictated policy and the manner of workhouse provision, but each Board of Guardians had to provide revenue for both capital and running costs, raised through the Poor Rate. Money was borrowed and charged with interest against the Poor Rates of each Union — a matter that was contentious for the Guardians, who raised the funds but had to accept the prescribed manner of erection and management.

Nicholls selected George Wilkinson (fl. 1830–65), an English architect, from a shortlist of three. Wilkinson arrived in Ireland in January 1839 and had standard plans and specifications ready to present to the Commissioners by 1 May 1839. The cost of Irish workhouses was to be two-thirds that of a comparable English workhouse.

Limavady Workhouse received its first admission on 15 March 1842. It was sited on 7 acres and 14 perches of land, designed for 500 persons, and cost £5,982 to build — the contractor being McCarter of Derry — with fittings costing a further £1,309. In 1844, asphalt replaced the original clay floors, but this proved unsatisfactory and the ground floors were subsequently tiled. In 1846 an extension was built to provide a fever hospital — a single-storey stone building in the north-east yard costing around £400, built by Robert Boyd and handed over in December 1846. A plot of ground was set aside for a graveyard in the same year. In January 1848 an extension over the idiot ward to the north-west was completed.

The effects of the Great Famine greatly increased admissions, which rose from 37–40 per week to 80–100 per week; by early 1848 there were 950 people in residence. As the burial ground was too close to the complex, a further half-acre was rented at a short distance away. There were 7–8 deaths per week at this time, which was low compared with other parts of the country.

After the Famine, from 1850 for the next 80 years, the routine of the workhouse and fever hospital continued without interruption and with little improvement. The duties of the Board of Guardians were gradually extended to cover dispensary services, health, education (minimal), graveyard management, and sanitary conditions including water supply.

In 1898 Mrs Jane Ritter became chairperson of the Board of Guardians; she was succeeded by her daughter Mrs Jane Robertson, and later by her daughter Dorothy Robertson. This brought a new element of compassion for the inmates, and a sister of Dorothy, Dr Kathleen Robertson, became Medical Officer. It was under the Robertsons, and with the change in government, that the workhouse began its transition to a district hospital. In 1928 conversion and improvements took place costing around £7,500, not without opposition — some members had proposed purchasing and converting Pellipar House, Dungiven, as an alternative. On 1 April 1930 the last workhouse inmates were transferred to Coleraine.

Plans were then made to adapt the building for proper hospital use; Mr Kennedy, architect of Coleraine, was consulted. On 1 April 1933 the Board of Guardians ceased to be responsible for the District Hospital, and a new Board of Governors was appointed, meeting for the first time on 13 March 1933. Many improvements and adaptations were carried out over the following three years, and in September 1937 Mrs M. McCausland of Drenagh performed the opening ceremony. The Second World War brought increased activity and additional temporary accommodation. In 1948 the Roe Valley Hospital came under the Northern Ireland Hospitals Authority, which brought further changes including external extensions, service improvements, and — as regards building character — alterations to windows. Despite all of this, the original form, materials, and details have survived remarkably well.

Setting

The complex is situated to the south-west of Limavady town centre, between Irish Green Street and Scroggy Road, and is now surrounded by contemporary buildings, though it was originally set in open countryside with an approach avenue from Irish Green Street. Later, the former railway line from Limavady to Dungiven was constructed past the reception block, passing beneath a bridge.

References: John O'Connor, The Workhouses of Ireland, 1995; M. H. Gould, The Workhouses of Ulster, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1983; H. Dixon, Report on Workhouses in Northern Ireland, 1982; D. Girvan, The Buildings of North Derry, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society.