12 College Terrace, Rock Road, Londonderry, County Londonderry, BT48 7NZ

12 College Terrace is a Victorian mid-terrace redbrick townhouse of two storeys with an attic, built in 1889–90 as one of a continuous row of thirteen similar dwellings lining the eastern side of College Terrace, Londonderry. The street is situated close to the junction of Rock Road and Strand Road, on the north side of the city centre on the eastern bank of the River Foyle, and the terrace faces west onto the boundary of the University of Ulster at Magee College. No. 12 is flanked to the north by No. 11 and to the south by No. 13 College Terrace, with both neighbouring properties also listed.

Architectural Character and Exterior

The building is rectangular on plan, with a projecting two-storey rear return that steps down to a single-storey extension covered by a slated lean-to roof. The principal elevation faces west and is set back at the pavement edge, looking out over an urban tree-lined green.

The west elevation is built in Flemish brick bond with Victorian industrial brickwork dressings in a contrasting colour. A dentilled brick cornice runs at eaves level with black brick dressings below. Fenestration on the front comprises a single segmental arch-headed window opening at ground floor level, two segmental arch-headed openings on the first floor, and a single small semicircular arch-headed window to the dormer, which is centred on the elevation and topped with a decorative metal finial at its apex. All window and door openings are dressed with red and black brick voussoirs. Continuous decorative brick stringcourses in contrasting colour run at ground floor level, first floor level, and below the dormer window. Ground and first floor windows are four-over-two timber sliding sashes, with a matching small four-over-two sliding sash to the dormer above. All sills have a painted finish.

The entrance consists of a semicircular arch-headed door opening, one step up from the pavement, with a painted six-panel timber door — not original — set within moulded timber architraves that support a slightly projecting cornice with a plain fanlight above.

The roof is finished in natural slate with a pitched profile, terracotta clay ridge tiles to the main roof and rear return, and a modern timber Velux rooflight to the rear. A large two-stage redbrick chimney stack rises from the north side, centred on the ridge and fitted with clay pots. Cast-iron guttering and circular downpipes serve the front elevation. The east elevation to the rear was not accessible for inspection at the time of survey.

The rhythm of fenestration and ornamental detailing is consistent across the full terrace, giving the row a unified architectural character. The terrace's gentle curve is a deliberate compositional departure from the earlier rectangular terraced squares found elsewhere in the city, such as Crawford Square and De Burgh Terrace.

Setting

College Terrace overlooks a low schist wall on its western side, topped with plain iron railings, which forms the boundary of the Magee College campus. Behind the wall stands a collection of mature trees. A rear alleyway runs the full length of the terrace, providing access to the rear yards of all thirteen houses.

Historical Context

College Terrace was laid out in 1889–90 during a period of sustained economic growth and urban expansion in Londonderry that had begun in the mid-19th century with the development of Georgian-style terraces on Great James Street, Queen Street, and Clarendon Street. The terrace was originally built by the Trustees of Magee College to provide accommodation for the college's employees. Magee University had opened in 1865 as a seminary for young men seeking a career in the Presbyterian Ministry, before being renamed the Presbyterian Theological College when it became a constituent college of the Royal University of Ireland in 1879. A significant period of building activity on and around the campus followed between 1881 and 1911.

Rock Road itself had first appeared on maps as early as 1689 but was not named until 1865. According to Calley, it was named after The Rock, a house and hamlet of smaller buildings located off the Strand Road. One of the earliest known photographs of Derry, taken around 1872, shows this hamlet as a small number of two-storey buildings on what is now the site of Rock Terrace, close to the banks of the River Foyle, with Magee College visible on the overlooking hill.

The first recorded occupant of No. 12 College Terrace was a Mr James Donnell. By 1901 the house had passed to James Hart Thompson, a local shipping clerk, and the Thompson family continued to reside there until at least the 1970s. The 1911 Census Building Return described No. 12 as a second-class dwelling containing six rooms. Its rateable value was set at £10 in the Annual Revisions, rising to £20 during the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936–57) and further to £28 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956–72). Although the terrace was originally intended to house college staff and students, within a decade of its construction the majority of its houses had passed to occupants unconnected with the campus.

Alterations and Later History

In 1984, No. 12 underwent a renovation that included the repointing of its exterior brickwork and chimney stack and the installation of a new entrance door. Since Magee College's incorporation into the University of Ulster in 1969, the majority of houses along College Terrace have been converted from privately occupied dwellings to multiple-occupancy student accommodation, a change attributed in the Magee Conservation Area Design Guide to the negative impact of the nearby Strand Road bars and night clubs on the quality of residential life. The entire terrace was first listed in 1980 and subsequently incorporated into the Magee Conservation Area in 2006. The Design Guide identifies College Terrace, together with the Rock Road and part of Northland Road, as a zone of distinct character within the conservation area, noting that the stepped eaves, attic dormers, chimneys, and overall high architectural quality of the terrace contribute greatly to the variety and quality of the wider Magee Conservation Area. Calley has written that College Terrace competes with Palace Street for the accolade of most charming street in the city, remarking that the north side — which carries no buildings and borders the Magee campus — with its low schist wall and collection of mature trees, gives what is a small space the feeling of an oasis.