Archway, Between 8-10 Strand Road, Londonderry, County Londonderry

Archway Between 8–10 Strand Road, Londonderry

A simple stucco archway with large aedicule of the Corinthian order, facing west onto Strand Road and now providing access to Victoria Car Park. The structure is of significant social and civic value as the last vestige of Victoria Market, originally established in 1852, and as a reminder of its predecessor use as the King's Stores—a yard for storage of arms and gunpowder for Ebrington Barracks, later renamed Queen's Stores during Queen Victoria's reign.

The archway comprises a large stucco aedicule of the Corinthian order with a central square-headed archway flanked by segmental-headed pedestrian openings. A large central triangular pediment rises above, supported on plain pilasters with salient cornice. The letters "VICTORIA MARKET" appear in raised plaster on the pediment, which bears a painted coat of arms of Derry City. Plaster coping and balusters run along either side. The north and south elevations are abutted by commercial terrace buildings, while the east elevation is rendered in plain stucco and painted.

Historical Context

Prior to the 1850s, Londonderry's principal markets were located within or immediately adjacent to the city walls. The establishment of Victoria Market outside the walls in 1852 reflected the northern expansion of the city during the early Victorian period, which coincided with economic and population growth. The site had previously been occupied by the King's Stores, recorded on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1830 as a facility for arms and gunpowder provision. When Ebrington Barracks was constructed in the 1840s on the western side of the river, the stores became redundant but remained in use under the new name Queen's Stores until the 1850s.

County Surveyor Gordon Stewart designed the market accommodation at this location in 1852, and the Second Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1853 names it Victoria Market. The market functioned as an open-air space and served principally as the city's grain market for the sale of oats, wheat, barley and other cereals, operating daily. It also hosted major events; the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland held its annual show there in 1875. The archway itself was constructed between 1873 and 1904—it does not appear on the detailed town plan of around 1873 but was certainly erected by 1904, when the adjoining commercial buildings were built around it.

Victoria Market remained in use into the 1930s. Griffith's Valuation recorded the market's rateable value at £200 in 1856, rising to £250 in the First Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland in 1935. By the Second Revaluation (1956–72), the site was no longer functioning as a market space. The archway, which bears Derry's coat of arms and motto, was listed in 1985 and underwent restoration shortly thereafter. The site is now used as public car parking, with the archway as its entrance.