16 Florence Terrace, Northland Road, Londonderry

No. 16 Florence Terrace is a mid-terraced Victorian townhouse of three storeys and two bays, built in 1874–75 to an Italianate style, with the architect unknown. It stands on the north-west side of Northland Road in Londonderry, in the townland of Edenballymore, and forms part of a terrace of five similar houses (Nos. 12–20 Florence Terrace). The adjoining No. 10, built in 1890, is similar in form and style but was designed by the local architect and civil engineer William Barker (1851–1898), who was also responsible for several other buildings in the Magee College area. It is considered unlikely that Barker designed Nos. 12–20, as these were constructed before he had established his independent practice in the city.

The house has a rectangular plan form facing south-east, with a three-storey roughcast return to the rear built at half-landing height, stepping down to a rendered and painted modern single-storey extension. The roof is pitched natural slate with black clay ridge tiles, a small semi-circular dormer centred on the front elevation, and a large two-stage brick chimney stack with buff clay pots. Timber fascia boards and a moulded soffit with paired block modillions run beneath the eaves, with half-round cast-iron guttering and circular cast-iron downpipes to the front.

The front elevation is rendered and retains much of its historic character, style, and proportions. To the right-hand side of the entrance door is a single-storey three-sided canted bay window with segmental arched headed windows, moulded panels below a moulded sill-course, and a moulded string-course above the windows, finished with a deep moulded cornice and parapet above. All windows are 1-over-1 double-hung timber sliding sashes with moulded horns. Upper-floor windows have moulded architraves with stop blocks on the sills, and the first-floor windows have keystones. There are four steps up to a recessed segmental arched headed door opening, flanked by a low painted concrete wall to either side. The door case contains a pair of two-panel timber doors, flanked by decorative corbel brackets on plain pilasters supporting a deep moulded cornice with a plain fanlight above. The south-west and north-east sides are adjoined to the neighbouring Nos. 14 and 18 Florence Terrace respectively.

To the rear, the elevation is of smooth render with an unpainted finish, with a three-storey roughcast return at half-landing height. Rear windows are square-headed, with a 1-over-1 timber sliding sash at first-floor level and a 2-over-2 of the same type at second-floor level, along with a small rooflight to the rear of the main roof. Cast-iron rainwater goods serve both the rear elevation and the rear return. The rear return is roughcast rendered to the north-west elevation and smooth rendered to the north-east elevation, both unpainted. Window openings to the rear return are square-headed with uPVC casement windows at first and second-floor level on the north-west elevation. At ground-floor level on the north-west elevation, the return is abutted by a modern single-storey extension with timber casement windows and a half-hipped slate roof. The rear return has a pitched slate roof with black ridge tiles.

The house is set on the north-west side of Northland Road with a small front garden enclosed by a low painted timber fence and a tall hedge. The front elevation faces south-east, overlooking Magee University and the River Foyle beyond. The terrace enhances the Magee Conservation Area, within which it was included in 2006.

The northern expansion of Londonderry had begun in the mid-19th century with Georgian-style terraces on Great James Street, Queen Street, and Clarendon Street. The Edenballymore area and Northland Road were still largely rural in character when the Victorian terrace of Crawford Square was built in the 1860s–1870s. The city's expansion was driven by a period of economic growth and prosperity lasting from the 1860s to the end of the 19th century, and was further stimulated by the opening of Magee College in 1865, which prompted the construction of several new terraced streets in the vicinity, including College Terrace, Clarence Avenue, and Florence Terrace. Nos. 12–20 Florence Terrace were leased by James Caldwell, a local tea merchant whose business, J. Caldwell & Co., operated from premises on the Strand Road.

The terrace is first depicted on the Annual Revisions Town Plan of Londonderry (c.1873–1910), which shows the row in its current layout, with each house possessing its existing rear return, suggesting few structural changes have been made since construction. The Annual Revisions records confirm that No. 16 was built between 1874 and 1875, and was originally valued at £33. Its first occupant was a Mr. John Cockburn. By 1911 the property was occupied by Dr. James H. Ferguson. The 1901 census described No. 16 as a first-class dwelling of 11 rooms, with a coal house as its sole outbuilding. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936–57) recorded that the terrace was owned by the McFarland family of Aberfoyle House, and the value of No. 16 had risen to £32. By the 1930s the house was occupied by James A. Piggot, a local company director. Piggot died in 1961, after which the house passed to a Mr. Maurice C. Barr, who remained at the address until at least the 1970s. The value of the house remained at £32 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956–72).

No. 16 Florence Terrace was listed in 1979. Shortly after listing, the building underwent renovation that included an overhaul of the roof, replacement of the rainwater goods, and the installation of a modern dormer window.