Little Elagh, 39 Upper Galliagh Road, Londonderry, BT48 8LW

Little Elagh is an imposing mid-Victorian small house located on Upper Galliagh Road. The building dates to approximately the 1860s, though the owner believed it to be circa 1830. It has been substantially altered, particularly through the insertion of PVC windows, which precludes its inclusion on the statutory list.

The house is a two-storey, three-bay-wide structure with two-storey rear returns, finished with smooth rendered walls and pitched, hipped slated roofs. The principal entrance façade faces south-south-east and presents a pleasing symmetrical composition. Flanking the central entrance are two two-storey canted end projecting bays. The round-headed entrance door is four-panelled with a plain fanlight, set within a simple band surround with keystone imitation and crude lugs. Thin pilasters flank the door with a simple cornice above. The upper door panels are rounded.

The two-storey projecting bays each contain three windows at each level. All windows throughout the building are top-hung PVC type. Window cills are continuous, forming bands that extend as a string course across the façade. A thin moulding runs slightly above the head of the windows at both levels, with moulded panels on each facet above. Beneath the eaves runs a frieze with bottom moulding enlivened by a rhythm of paired modillions. The façade is framed on either side with plaster quoins. Some plasterwork has been colour-washed at various periods. There is no plinth.

The side elevations, each two bays deep, contain irregularly placed windows at ground and first floor levels serving the rear rooms. The paired modillions return on these elevations, with quoins omitted at the back corners. An ogee gutter is carried around three sides with three cast iron downpipes.

The rear returns feature irregularly placed and sized windows with smooth cement-rendered walls throughout. The slated roofs are hipped to the front and gabled at the rear, featuring triple double roofs with a narrow roof over the stair area that is not evident from the front elevation. Plain ridge tiles and four red-brick chimneys are present. An attic with laylights exists, and the bays are crowned with faceted roofs over lead hips.

The house is set back from the road with a straight path leading from a pedestrian gate with plastered piers to the front door. A vehicular entrance further west has similar but larger plastered piers. To the east stands a collection of stone and corrugated metal outbuildings arranged regularly but with little architectural consideration. Across the road is an irregularly shaped paddock bounded by a random rubble front wall with two symmetrically arranged entrances, their gates framed by walls rising quaintly at each side.

The house commands splendid panoramic views towards Derry. The garden is poorly maintained with mature trees present.

Historical evidence from Ordnance Survey maps shows an earlier house in a closer position to the road in 1830, with the paddock across the road clearly distinguishable and a long barn beside the road. The 1850 revision shows the house in a similar position with additional outbuildings. The present structure was likely rebuilt at its current location circa 1860s. A previous occupant, John S Brown, owned the house and surrounding land. The current owner has been in residence for ten years.