2005:301 - DERRY: Rialto Theatre, Derry

Excavations at the site of the former Rialto Theatre in Londonderry revealed several distinct archaeological areas and a large quantity of mainly unstratified artefacts. All features and artefacts date from the 17th–19th centuries and show that there has been ongoing occupation of this site for the last 400 years.

In Area 1, the western area of the site, were 18th–19th-century cobbled surfaces, 18th-century drains, an 18th-century wall and a late 17th-/early 18th-century well. In the south-western part of the site were two layers of 18th–19th-century cobbles on two levels; the upper level was to the south and was 0.5m higher than the lower level. The lower area of cobbles ended at an 18th-century stone wall to the north-west and south-east. This wall was 0.4m wide and survived to a maximum height of 0.6m. It was built from ‘schist’ stone and bonded with lime mortar. These cobbles are likely to be the remains of the rear yards of the houses which lay along Linenhall Street and Market Street. The wall may have been an earlier boundary wall that surrounded the yard of a house on Linenhall Street.

The cobbles lay over several 18th-century drains. These were 0.4m wide by 0.4m deep, were brick-walled and had flagstone bases and capping. These flags, too, were schist.

The cobbled surface and one of the 18th-century walls overlay an earlier well. This well was 1.2m wide and survived to a depth of 4m. The upper 3.25m was formed from dry ‘schist’ stone walling while the lower 0.75m narrowed to a rounded base and was cut directly into the bedrock. The material within the well appeared to be the result of deliberate infilling and contained artefacts of 17th–19th-century date. The stratigraphy of the site suggests that the well is most likely to be of late 17th-/early 18th-century date.

All of the features within this area of the site were badly truncated by late 19th- and 20th-century terracotta drains and the concrete foundations of the Rialto Theatre.

In Area 2, the south-eastern area of the site, along Market Street, was a 19th-century structure. This long narrow building comprised three small stone-built rooms with cobbled floors. The rooms had internal dimensions of 3m by 2.5m. The walls were 0.5m wide and survived to a maximum height of 1m. They were formed from schist stone and bonded with lime mortar. As a terracotta drainage pipe was discovered underneath this structure, it is likely that these rooms are of mid- to late 19th-century date. Map evidence suggested that this was part of ‘Sir Edward Reid’s Market’, which was built in 1869.

In Area 3, the eastern area of the site, was an 18th-century hearth and a 19th-century wall. At the eastern edge of the site was a badly truncated stone wall with a rectangular extension on its northern end. This feature ran parallel to Newmarket Street at a distance of 3m from it. The wall was 5m long and 0.4m wide and survived to a height of 0.1m. The rectangular structure was built around the northern end of this wall and had an internal dimension of 1.25m by 1m. The walls of this structure were 0.3m wide and survived to a height of 0.2m. Both the wall and the rectangular structure were formed from schist stone loosely bonded with lime mortar. The hearth was likely to have been the remains of an 18th-century terraced house; the wall was a further part of ‘Sir Edward Reid’s Market’.

The lack of extensive remains in this area was unsurprising, as this area was badly disturbed by the building of the retaining wall for the Rialto Theatre.

In Area 4, the northern area of the site, were the surprisingly well-preserved remains of a large 17th-century house. This house had internal dimensions of 13m by 7m (oriented north-west to south-east) but may have been larger, as excavations could not be continued closer to Linenhall Street due to the possibility of undermining the retaining wall. The walls of the house were 0.5–0.75m thick and were built on foundations 0.1–0.6m deep. They were formed from schist stone and bonded with lime mortar. The internal surface of the walls was coated in a 10mm-thick layer of mortar, which was presumably a plaster or render to create smooth internal walls. The house had a flagstone floor and had a brick fireplace at its southern corner. All artefacts recovered from secure contexts indicated that this house was 17th century in date. Map evidence suggested that this house was built between 1625 and 1685; it appeared to have been demolished by 1738.

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