Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 - 1940

Architect and engineer, of Derry. William Barker, who is said to have come from an old Derry family, was born on 12 August 1851.(1) He served an apprenticeship with the Derry builders GEORGE & GEORGE & amp; ROBERT A. FERGUSON  ROBERT A. FERGUSON and subsequently practised as an architect and engineer in Derry. According to the biography in Ferguson, Rowan & Tracey, while he was 'still young' he was responsible for 'large undertakings in Omagh, Coleraine and other towns…had charge of the Corporation waterworks at Creggan and was associated with the layout of Foyle College grounds for building purposes.' The works which are noted in the Irish Builder all date from the 1890s.

Barker died on 30 May 1898; according to family tradition, he had been unconscious for six months following a fall from a horse. He left a widow, Mary, née McCracken (1860-1943) and three children, Mary Violet (1884-1941), Thomas McCurdy (1885-1967), future Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,(2) and William Alexander (1897-1965). He was buried in Derry City Cemetery, later joined by his wife and his son William Alexander.(3)

Address: Orchard Street, Derry, 1885-1897.(4)

See WORKS.



References

All information in this entry not otherwise accounted for was supplied by Barker's great-grandson William Warnock in e-mails to the IAA, 11 & 12 Jan 2004. There is a brief biography of Barker in W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 61 (where he is wrongly named Baxter).

(1) Barker's dates of birth and death are from his gravestone in Castlerock Presbyterian Burial Ground.
(2) According to Shane McCurdy (e-mail  of 9 May 2008), Thomas McCurdy Barker was a survivor of the 1945 atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki, where he was being held as an internee.
(3) Information from Shane McCurdy (e-mail, Feb 2009)
(4) Derry Almanac for the years 1885-1897.


20 work entries listed in chronological order for BARKER, WILLIAM


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Building: CO. DERRY, LARGY (LIMAVADY), PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Date: 1882
Nature: Alterations and improvements, for Rev. J. Gallaugher.. Tenders invited, Jul 1882.
Refs: Julia E. Mullin, The Presbytery of Limavady (Limavady: NortH-West Books, 1989), 111, citing Londonderry Standard, 25 Jul 1882.

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, DIAMOND, PRESBYTERIAN YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION
Date: 1883
Nature: -
Refs: W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 22

Building: CO. DERRY, DUNGIVEN, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Date: 1887
Nature: Extensive renovation including replacement of pews, windows, ceiling, addition of end gallery, underground stoves and minister's room at rear of church. Contractor: James Wray, Limavady.
Refs: Julia E. Mullin, The Presbytery of Limavady (Limavady: North-West Books, 1989), 99.

Building: CO. TYRONE, URNEY, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Date: 1888
Nature: New church.
Refs: IB 30, 1 May 1888, 127;  illus. in Laurence Kirkpatrick, Presbyterians in Ireland: an illustrated history (Booklink, 2006), 197.


Building: CO. DERRY, FLORENCE TERRACE, NO. 10
Date: 1890
Nature: -
Refs: W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 50

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, PARK AVENUE, BETHANY HALL
Date: 1890
Nature: -
Refs: W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 48

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, EAST WALL, YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION NEWS ROOMS
Date: 1891
Nature: Gymnasium at rear
Refs: W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 27

Building: CO. DONEGAL, BUNCRANA, LOUGH SWILLY HOTEL
Date: 1892
Nature: Adds & alts. WB superintending architect. Builder: Ballantine, Derry.
Refs: IB 34, 15 Mar 1892, 72; Alistair Rowan, The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster (1979), 155

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, EBRINGTON, YOUNG & ROCHESTER FACTORY
Date: 1892
Nature: -
Refs: W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 47

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, NORTHLAND ROAD, MAGEE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Date: 1895
Nature: Professor's house
Refs: W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 39,61

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, FOYLE ROAD, STORES & SHOP
Date: 1895
Nature: For James Mitchell
Refs: IB 37, 15 Jun 1895, 146

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, FOYLE ROAD (& JOHN STREET), STORES & SHOP (JAMES MITCHELL)
Date: 1895
Nature: Pork curing stores & shop to be erected for £465.
Refs: IB 37, 15 Jun 1895, 146; Architect 53, 7 jun 1895, suppl. p. 16

Building: CO. TYRONE, OMAGH, UNION WORKHOUSE
Date: 1895-96
Nature: Alterations.
Refs: Architect 54, 29 Nov 1895, suppl. p.10

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, WATERSIDE, HOUSES (004)
Date: 1896
Nature: 4 houses to be erected.
Refs: IB 38, 11 Nov 1896, 230

Building: CO. DONEGAL, FAHAN, REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Date: 1897
Nature: Renovation to be undertaken.
Refs: IB 39, 1 Feb 1897, 23

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, ORCHARD STREET, HOUSES (005)
Date: 1897
Nature: To be erected.
Refs: IB 39, 15 May 1897, 100

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, LITTLE JAMES STREET, HOGG & MITCHELL SHIRT FACTORY
Date: 1897
Nature: To be erected.
Refs: IB 39, 1 Mar 1897, 51; 41, ? ? 1899, 1; W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 46

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, EBRINGTON, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Date: 1897-99
Nature: Work (i.e. new church?); lecture hall completed after Barker's death by M.A. Robinson. (According to Fitzpatrick, congregation was formed in 1896).
Refs: IB 39, 1 Apr 1897, 71; 41, 15 Nov 1899, 185; W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (1970), 34; Alistair Rowan, The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster (1979), 388;  illus. in Laurence Kirkpatrick, Presbyterians in Ireland: an illustrated history (Booklink, 2006), 206.


Building: CO. DONEGAL, LETTERKENNY, CASHELSHANAGAN, HOUSE
Date: 1898
Nature: Tenders invited for erecting new villa, for Capt. Frederick Thomas Verschoyle of Castle Troy, Co. Limerick
Refs: Irish Times, 26 Jan 1898;  IB 40, 1 Feb 1898, 20.

Building: CO. DERRY, DERRY, ABERFOYLE TERRACE, NOS. 003-35
Date: 1902
Nature: -
Refs: W.S. Ferguson, A.J. Rowan, J.J. Tracey, Historic Buildings…in and near the City of Derry (UAHS, 1970), 50