house, Church Street · NIAH 40815088

This substantial terraced house, of late nineteenth or very early twentieth-century date, retains its early form and character despite some modern alterations. The plain front elevation is enlivened by the gable-fronted bay with canted bay window at ground floor level, and by the overhanging eaves supported on moulded brackets. The battened timber panel to the gable- fronted bay adds additional interest to the front elevation. The irregular plan with canted bay window is a feature of many houses of its type and date in Ireland. The loss of the salient fabric to the window openings detracts somewhat from its appeal and integrity. This building forms a pair of related structures with the building adjoining to the east (altered and not in survey). It is very similar in form and appearance to a terrace of four three-storey buildings along Grianan Park a short distance to the south-east, which date to slightly later than this house on Church Street (not depicted on the Ordnance Survey twenty-five inch map of 1902). This building originally dates from the period when Buncrana was a popular seaside resort, frequented by the middle classes of Derry, particularly following the opening of the railway line to the town in 1864. Its forms part of an interesting group of substantial houses and villas built to the west and south-west of Buncrana during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. This building is an integral element of the architectural heritage of Buncrana, and is an attractive feature in the streetscape to the west of the town centre. The attractive hooped wrought-iron railings, and the pedestrian gateway with hooped wrought-iron railings and cast-iron gate posts, add significantly to the setting and context, and complete this composition.