A blog of sketches of historic buildings - Marks of Time

March 26th, 2017

26/3/2017

21. Georgian Courthouse – Lifford Courthouse.
Also of the style, but a little more assertive, is Lifford Courthouse. Designed by the architect Michael Priestly and completed in 1754 (he also designed Port Hall House near Lifford and Prehen House near Derry), this public building makes much of its oversized windows. Their alternating stepped surround is of a form popularised during the period by the London architect James Gibbs and reflects a developing professional class of architects and designers. At the same time Priestly was drawing up plans for the Earl of Abercorn to reorganise Strabane and build 300 houses.

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4/3/2017

13. New Settlers- Hansard Memorial, Lifford

After the war a new King, James I of England and VI of Scotland, allowed O’Neill and O’Donnell to return to their lands. But some places, like Lifford and Derry were given to former soldiers and English laws were increasingly introduced. This memorial of 1622 to Sir Richard Hansard and his wife Anne in Lifford church explains that he was originally from Lincolnshire, educated at Cambridge and then became a soldier. He served during the Nine Years War and became governor of Lifford at its end. James gave him permission to found a corporate town at Lifford as part of the Ulster Plantation in 1610.

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13/3/2016

Hansard House and Grammar School, the Diamond, Lifford, Co Donegal. Demolished in the 1960’s to make way for an extension of the Council Offices next door. The school was founded in 1619 following an endowment in the will of Sir Richard Hansard, who was granted the town and surrounding area in the Ulster Plantation

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5/3/2016

Of the O'Donnell Tower House (built 1527) and illustrated on this copy of a map of Lifford in 1602. Nothing now remains. This illustration shows English fortifications during the Nine Years War and what appears to be a typical tower house of three or more stories and a pitched roof behind battlements.

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3/3/2016

Inside the church is this elegant memorial of its benefactor Sir Richard Hansard and his wife Anne. It dates from 1622. The plaque behind tells of his life: Originally from Lincolnshire, he was educated at Cambridge and then became a soldier. He served during the Nine Years War (1594-1603) against O'Neill and O'Donnell and their allies, and became governor of Lifford following their defeat. He was granted Lifford and surrounding lands by James I in the Ulster Plantation of 1610 and given permission to found a corporate town at Lifford. It also tells that as part of his will, this church and a schoolhouse were built, and funds provided for a schoolmaster and town officials. The memorial is the best of its type in the western half of Ulster.

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2/3/2016

Around the corner is this elegant church. Beautifully sited at the crest of a hill, this is St. Lugadius Church (Cof I). Unusually for an Anglican church it is a building which has been in continual use since its construction in 1622 (many are rebuilds of the mid nineteenth century with the older building a ruin nearby). The church today has the appearance of a eighteenth century or nineteenth century building. The tower was constructed in 1800 and major extensions were added in the 1850’s.

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28/2/2016

Completing the formal composition of public buildings around the Diamond until 1960 and closing the square, was Lifford Gaol. A forbidding building, it was constructed in 1793 in a castellated style with Tudor hood mouldings over some windows and projecting bays to give the impression of towers.

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25/2/2016

Lifford Courthouse on the opposite side of the Diamond dates from 1754. Architect Michael Priestley. It is has a strong composition with stepped ‘Gibbs’ surrounds to the windows and door and a tall plaque with the coat of arms of George II above the door. It looks a little Iberian in its composition, something that would not be out of place in Portugal or South America.

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24/2/2016

The Co Donegal Planning Office in the main square or ‘Diamond’ of Lifford is an important apparently Georgian building which brings a strong civic presence to the square. However, pyramidal kneeler stones on the gables give the game away, for this detail is more commonly found on Gothic churches. Gothic was popular during the Victorian period. The building we see today was, according to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, built or remodelled in 1868. The central door surround with Tuscan columns is carefully detailed and may be a remnant of a previous building on the site.

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23/2/2016

Across the border and into Lifford. This is the Garda Station on the main street of c.1870. Unrendered, it stands out in the streetscape as a civic building. The central block is detailed in a Tudor Revival style with hood mouldings over the windows and kneeler stones to the ends of its gables. The blocks to each side are simpler and more Georgian in their detail. Unfortunately the historic windows have been replaced in plastic reducing its historic character.