10 Coshquin Road, Londonderry, Co Londonderry, BT48 0ND

Long, low, largely two-storey gable-ended vernacular house with an integrated outbuilding, of pre-1830 construction, located on the northern edge of the city of Londonderry in the townland of Ballymagrorty. The building is a typical example of a vernacular dwelling with attached outbuilding showing clear signs of later 19th century development. Many vernacular dwellings followed a similar course of evolution: beginning as single-storey thatched structures, they were usually raised a storey in the later 1800s or early 1900s and given some degree of architectural formality. Although this house is one of an increasingly scarce number of vernacular dwellings whose development halted at the late 19th century stage, it is not among the best examples of the type, and much historic fabric has been lost.

The building is arranged in a linear fashion and set at a right angle to the road, with the eastern gable facing directly onto Coshquin Road. The eastern half of the structure is taken up by the outbuilding, while at the western end of the dwelling there is a small single-storey section, attached to the western gable of which is a now largely ruinous single-storey outbuilding. Directly behind the house, on the northern boundary of the plot, there is a low, single-storey freestanding range of crudely constructed outbuildings. The west side of the front garden is bounded by a low stone wall into which a small stone-built shed is incorporated. To the west stands a two-storey outbuilding, the southern side of which was recently destroyed by fire.

The main roof is pitched and slated with blue-black natural slate, while the single-storey portion is covered with corrugated iron. Two chimneystacks sit on the ridgeline of the two-storey portion: the eastern stack is cement rendered and possibly a mid-20th century rebuild, while the western stack is formed in straw-coloured clay brick consistent with late Victorian work. There is a further rendered chimneystack to the western gable of the single-storey portion. The two-storey section has a shallow eaves course, while the single-storey portion has a noticeably deeper one. Rainwater goods appear to be moulded asbestos, much of which is broken and missing.

The walls are mainly roughcast. The eastern gable of the two-storey section and most of the single-storey section are finished in limewashed rubble stone. The exposed upper portion of the western gable on the two-storey section is finished with smooth render. A split in the coursing of the stonework to the rear indicates that the two halves of this wall are not tied in, suggesting the structure was built in stages.

Many window openings are bricked up; the remainder are boarded over, concealing all window frames. The frames themselves are still in place, and most are six-over-six and six-over-three timber sash windows. Some timber lintels are externally exposed. The front door is timber, though the central section is protected with metal sheeting concealing any detail. Door openings to the rear are either boarded over or bricked up.

The main entrance is set to the left of centre on the front, south-facing façade. To the right of the entrance there is one window opening at ground floor and a much lower opening at first floor level. To the left of the entrance there is one window opening at ground floor, while at first floor there are two window openings — one to the left side and one directly above the door. These large first-floor openings rise above the eaves into gabled half-dormers. To the far left is the partially collapsed single-storey outbuilding, which has one window opening. To the right is the two-storey outbuilding, with three irregularly arranged openings: one at ground floor and two at first floor.

The east façade is gabled and faces directly onto Coshquin Road. The gable itself is blank. To the right side there is a modern-style gate: the left gatepost abuts the eastern gable of the house and is semi-circular in plan, while the right side attaches to the gable of the low outbuildings. Viewed from the east, the two-storey outbuilding is to the left, the dwelling house to the centre-right, and the single-storey outbuilding to the far right. The ground floor of the two-storey outbuilding has two door openings, with a single window opening at first floor. The house itself has two windows to the left, a door in the middle, and a further window to the right at ground floor level; at first floor there are three window openings, with the leftmost being smaller and those to the right formally arranged in line with the ground-floor openings below. The north face of the single-storey portion has no openings. To the centre of this façade there are the remains of a cow-tailed pump. The west gable is blind.

Internally, the dormer windows contain Georgian-paned sash frames, no longer visible externally due to the boarding up of the openings. Their style could suggest the roof was raised at an earlier date than the late Victorian upgrade, though it was not uncommon for this style of window frame to be used in vernacular dwellings even in the later 19th century.

The site is located on the northern edge of Londonderry. Coshquin Road was originally a winding country lane and the area adjacent to the site is now much suburbanised with modern housing developments, though the retention of hedgerows has largely preserved the rural character of the vicinity. The western boundary of the site is formed by a low stone wall with a small gable-ended single-storey outhouse integrated into it. The eastern boundary is also a low stone wall, street-fronted and merging with the eastern gable of the house. To the immediate west of the house is the two-storey gable-ended outbuilding. Adjoining the northern boundary is a small nursery school. To the south there is an overgrown garden; to the rear there is a wide laneway with the character of a farmyard.

A slightly longer building matching the position and orientation of the present structure is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1830. In the first valuation of around 1831, the building is recorded as a slated house occupied by a Mr Long, measuring 35 feet by 22½ feet by 8 feet, with a thatched office and barn measuring 23½ by 20 by 6¼ feet, a thatched byre of 17½ by 23 by 7½ feet, a stable of 23 by 19½ by 5¾ feet, a piggery of 23 by 10 by 5 feet, and a store of 32½ by 18½ by 11¼ feet, the last three also with thatched roofs. The revised Ordnance Survey map of 1851 shows a similar building. The valuation of around 1856 records the property as the home of John Long, with Doctor Young as the immediate lessor. No dimensions are given, but the low rateable value of £2-10-0 — more than £2 less than that recorded in 1831 — suggests the house was little altered and that some outbuildings elsewhere on the plot may even have been removed. The valuers note that Mr Long was a tenant at will whose lease had commenced in 1817. It is possible the building dates from that year, but the grading given in the first valuation suggests it may be older, possibly 18th century.

John Long appears to have died around 1880, as the property is recorded as being in the hands of his representatives in 1881. In the same year the rateable value rises to £4, indicating that the house was upgraded at this time. The late Victorian yellow brick chimney, brick eaves, and elements of the interior layout and detailing suggest that work was indeed carried out around this date, likely involving the raising of the roof and the creation of the half-dormers. Martha Long is listed as occupant in 1894, followed by Elizabeth and Catherine Long in 1919. The plan is shown, much as today, on the 1904 25-inch Ordnance Survey map, with a longer outbuilding to the rear to the north-west.

In 1945 the house was bought by Robert Chambers, a bachelor who shared it with his two sisters. Mr Chambers's mother is believed to have run a Brethren Sunday school in the eastern outbuilding section. Despite his modest home, Mr Chambers was locally believed to have been a very wealthy man. Samuel Wylie was resident from 1950; Hugh Riddles is listed as occupant between 1961 and 1963, and Hamilton Bell from 1965 to 1968. From 1968 until at least 1972 the property is recorded as vacant. The house is marked as Brae Ard on the Ordnance Survey 25-inch map of 1960–62.