Century old Guildhall snap sparks debate

The photo was contained in an album recently discovered in a store room of the old Lisnagelvin Primary School prior to their relocation to new premises (See page 16 for a feature on the album).

As seen, the picture - which has been enhanced to bring out the detail - depicts an image facing down Shipquay Street towards the gate with a view onto the Guildhall. Interestingly, the gate itself has 'castle towers' inside and outside its structure. On top of the mini castles are a flag display accompanied by bunting. And, another unusual sight is the portcullis (iron gate) visible at the top of the gate arch itself.

What is certain is that the gate visible in this old picture is not the original gate. Of course, the original gates simply served a functional role allowing and restricting access within the Walled City as and when necessary. Historically, the gates are famed for having been slammed against the oncoming Jacobite forces in the running up to the Siege of 1688 / 89.

The Sentinel spoke to Londonderry historian Richard Doherty, an authority on the Siege. Richard said: "I've not seen this photo before and it is a fascinating image.

"There are records of a portcullis at Shipquay Gate and another at Butcher's Gate in 1786 when a house on Shipquay Gate was removed. The guildhall dates the photo as sometime in the 1890's or early 20th century, probably the former, and there's been a lot of change to the gate since then.

"I suspect that the 'portcullis' in the photo was ornamental rather than a fully working one as none of the gates are original and much work has been done to them, not to mention the building of the additional gates. There was even a proposal to put an eighth gate at the bottom of Linenhall Street to give access to Foyle Street but this was turned down by the Irish Society.

"Shipquay Gate was rebuilt between 1805 and 1808, thus doing away with the original. The tower is also intriguing and I can find no mention of it in CD Milligan's book 'The Walls of Derry', nor in Colby's Ordinance Survey of 1837.

"I have an old photo of Shipquay Place, looking towards the Gate, but the tower does not feature and the Gate is the modern version with no crenellations (defensive structures) as in your photo."

The Guildhall was built in 1890, replacing the old Town Hall which was situated where the The Diamond War Memorial now stands. However, the Guildhall was ravaged by fire at Easter 1908, and the only thing that survived was the clock tower. The building was re-opened in 1912.

And, it is this fact that has prompted another avid local historian, Tony Crowe to offer a more specific theory that the crenellations were temporary structures put there to mark the opening of the Guildhall or for a royal visit.

Either way, what is sure is that this is a rare glimpse of the City's past. Anyone who shed more light on the image, is asked to please contact the Sentinel on 71348889 or email

[email protected].