11 Northland Road, Londonderry

11 Northland Road is a substantial late-Victorian end-of-terrace townhouse, built in 1899 in red brick with red brick dressings. It stands three storeys to the front, with a large four-storey rendered rear return constructed at half-landing height, and a two-storey stone and brick outbuilding to the rear. The house is the first and southernmost of a terrace of three, situated on an elevated corner site at the junction of Northland Road and Clarence Avenue, on the east side of Northland Road, with views down towards the River Foyle to the east. It was built a year before its neighbours at Nos. 13 and 15, and differs from them in its external detailing, brick colour, and in its use of Westmoreland Green roof slates. The architect is not known with certainty, though Edward J. Toye or Robert Eccles Buchanan are plausible candidates, as both designed contemporary dwellings along Northland Road between 1895 and 1902.

The front (west) elevation retains much of its original character, style, and proportions, though it has been repointed. Its principal features are a two-storey three-sided canted bay window with a hipped slate roof, a moulded brick cornice, and a string-course between the ground and first floor windows, with a continuous painted sill band at ground and first floor levels. The canted bay windows and the single window above the entrance opening are 4/1 double-hung timber sliding sashes with moulded horns; their top panes contain coloured decorative glass with a rectangular plain pane at the centre. Second-floor windows are 1/1 double-hung timber sliding sashes with moulded horns, paired on the right-hand side at second-floor level. The window bays above the entrance opening at first and second floor are slightly wider than those of the bay.

The front door is framed by a red brick pedimented aedicule surround with a decorative keystone above a square-headed opening, and decorative floral detailing to the brick pilasters on either side. Terracotta tiling with a floral motif is set to either side of the door opening. The door case contains a pair of raised-and-fielded, diamond-faced, three-panel timber half-leaf doors with a plain architrave surround and a plain transom light above.

The south gable elevation is rendered and unpainted, with no window or door openings. It is topped by a large two-stage red brick chimney stack with buff clay pots, and at ground-floor level is abutted by a high brick boundary wall from the adjoining property. The north elevation is party wall, adjoining No. 13 Northland Road.

The rear (east) elevation is of smooth unpainted render. A 1/1 timber sliding sash window is visible at third-floor level; remaining windows were not inspected as full access was not granted. uPVC rainwater goods serve the rear elevation. The four-storey rear return, also rendered and unpainted, has an irregular fenestration pattern. On its south elevation, the third floor has a single 1/1 timber sliding sash window with moulded horns to the left, and a timber casement window to the right, with three further casement windows below at second-floor level. A circular cast-iron downpipe runs down the south elevation of the return. The east elevation of the return has a 1/1 timber sliding sash window at fourth-floor level and is topped by a small red brick chimney stack with a single buff clay pot on the rear gable wall.

The two-storey stone outbuilding to the rear has red brick dressings and a roughcast render finish. Its east elevation faces onto a rear laneway accessed via Clarence Avenue, and contains two square-headed door openings, each fitted with a galvanised door; the right-hand door has a transom light above, and the left-hand doorway has a small uPVC casement window to either side. At first-floor level there are three square-headed window openings: the left-hand bay is fully concealed by vertically sheeted timber boards, and the remaining bays have horizontal timber sheeting partially concealing the openings. The south elevation is blank with smooth unpainted render. The north elevation adjoins the outbuildings of Nos. 13 and 15, forming a continuous row. The outbuilding has a pitched slate roof with black clay ridge tiles.

To the front, a small garden is enclosed by a low red brick wall with a painted capping stone and metal railings above.

The main roof is covered in natural slate (Westmoreland Green); rainwater goods to the main house are uPVC and cast-iron to the rear return. Windows throughout are timber sliding sashes.

The house was built on land leased from the Trustees of Foyle College, and its first occupant was Miss Margaret Scott, initially valued at £45 in the Annual Revisions. The 1901 census records Margaret Scott and her sister Mary in residence — they named the house 'Ard-Na-Loc' and operated a jewellery and furniture business at the corner of Bishop Street and The Diamond. The census building return for that year described the house as a first-class dwelling of ten rooms, with a stable and coal house as its sole outbuildings. Margaret Scott died in 1925, and the house passed to Hugh Knox, who had been employed in the Scotts' store and had boarded at Ard-Na-Loc in 1901. Knox continued to operate the furniture and jewellery store at The Diamond and lived at Ard-Na-Loc until his own death in 1937, when his widow Elizabeth took possession. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936–57), the house was valued at £53; by the Second Revaluation (1956–72) this had slightly fallen to £52, with Elizabeth Knox still in residence.

The building was first depicted in plan form on the Annual Revisions Town Plan of Londonderry (circa 1873–1910), already showing its four-storey rear return and two-storey outbuilding in their current configuration. The house was listed in 1991, underwent a general renovation and repair in 1992, and was treated against water ingress in 2012. The terrace was incorporated into the Magee Conservation Area in 2006.

The broader context of the area's development is relevant to understanding the house. The northward expansion of Londonderry had begun in the mid-19th century with Georgian-style terraces on Great James Street, Queen Street, and Clarendon Street. Edenballymore and Northland Road remained largely rural in character even when Crawford Square was laid out in the 1860s–1870s. The opening of Magee College in 1865 stimulated a wave of new terraced development nearby, including College Terrace, Clarence Avenue, and Florence Terrace. Nos. 11–15 Northland Road form part of this later phase of prosperous late-Victorian expansion. Together, the three houses have group value, and their historical authenticity and presence enhance the Magee Conservation Area.