Northland Road Gate Lodge, University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Northland Road, Londonderry, BT48 7JL

Northland Road Gate Lodge, University of Ulster, Magee Campus

This is a single-bay two-storey stone former gate lodge built around 1880, located at the southwest corner of Magee Campus facing west onto Northland Road. It forms part of a larger complex that includes a pair of pedimented arches and a two-storey range of outbuildings to the north.

The main lodge is constructed in random coursed schist with lime pointing, featuring a projecting schist plinth course with chamfered ashlar sandstone trim. Quoins and window dressings are also in ashlar sandstone. The roof is hipped with natural slate, roll-moulded lead ridges, exposed rafter tails and cast-iron guttering to overhanging eaves.

The west elevation fronts directly onto Northland Road. The ground floor contains a timber oriel window with four timber brackets supporting a PVC membrane roof covering. The oriel is currently concealed behind a fake photographic image of a pair of windows printed onto vinyl-faced board. The first floor has paired windows in segmental-headed ashlar sandstone openings with flush splayed sills, though these are now boarded up.

The south elevation originally featured a bay window to the right and a single window opening above, with a door opening to the left. All of these are now boarded up. A small section of rubble schist stone wall beyond the pedimented arch is all that remains of the former coach house.

The east elevation is abutted by a single-storey lean-to addition with painted rendered walling and a single-pane timber sash window to the first floor. This elevation extends northward as a two-storey front to the outbuildings, with square-headed window openings that have red brick toothed surrounds to the northern half. Two small modern rooflights are set into the east-facing roof slope.

The outbuildings to the north have artificial slate roofing with roll-moulded black clay ridge tiles and some steel rooflights. The north gable has smooth rendered walling with unpainted finish, clipped eaves, and a brick header string course at eaves height. A tripartite fixed window is centred just below the apex. The west elevation to the former stable is constructed in random coursed schist with partial rendered quoins and a series of small circular vents regularly spaced. Cast-iron gutters run to both sides on rise and fall brackets.

Two double-height round-headed ashlar sandstone arches with voussoired details and dropped keystones are integral to the composition. The arches rise from impost cornices to piers and are surmounted by full pediments. Early twentieth-century iron gates hang in the road-fronted arch only. A rubble schist screen wall connects the two arches, with the impost cornice extending across it. A further arch set at a right angle abuts the east elevation of the lodge, featuring a voussoired square-headed opening with a pedestrian iron gate containing a circular monogram 'McC' highlighted in gold-coloured paint.

The complex is situated at the southwesternmost corner of the Magee Campus with a gravel car park to the rear. The site fronts directly onto Northland Road.