Conservation and Management of the Walls of Derry

The Walls of Derry are the largest Monument in State Care in Northern Ireland. Under a far reaching guardianship agreement with their owners: The Honourable the Irish Society (who were responsible for building the structure in the early 17th century) they have been maintained by The Department of the Environment since 1955.

Over that time the structure has been regularly maintained and repaired with significant investment being made as the security situation in the area has improved and the walls opened up once again to full (and free) public access.

Today, the structure is well maintained with good signage and a fine set of newly restored cannon set on archeologically correct carriages. The structure is a fitting centrepiece to the efforts of the city council, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and other key stakeholders to promote the heritage of the city through the Walled City Signature Destination Project which aims to improve the social and economic development of the Walled City.

As part of this effort, NIEA along with the city council and NITB has developed a Conservation Plan for the monument. This sets out what is important about the structure, explains why this should be considered important and sets out a series of policies to ensure that this can be maintained into the future. The work involved detailed research and extensive consultation with all potential stakeholders.
See Derry City Walls Conservation Plan (.PDF 6.33Mb).

As a monument in a busy city this structure is not just managed by one agency. As well as the repair and maintenance work carried out on the wall by NIEA, the Northern Ireland Roads Service of the Department of Regional Development maintains the road surface and lighting on the structure. The city council performs cleaning operations and organises events. The City Centre Rangers of the City Centre Initiative provide a warden's role and the Department of Social Development has in the past funded improvements to the surface of the wall. The Northern Ireland Office and the police are responsible for security and policing issues. As a result, the Derry City Walls Management Plan (.PDF 1.81Mb) has been created to develop the policies of the Conservation Plan. A formal Management Group was set up in September 2009 to help ensure that the full potential of the monument can be achieved.

The research for the Conservation and Management Plans has resulted in much improved records of the walls which can be accessed at the Monuments and Buildings Record in Belfast or in Derry City Council's Museum and Heritage Division in Londonderry. In October 2011, we published a Gazetteer (.PDF 4.48Mb) which builds upon this research and more recent investigation provides a detailed description of the monument and associated history.

To help promote the walls, Derry City Council has joined the Irish Walled Towns Network. Carrickfergus - which is the other city in Northern Ireland to retain major fragments of a city wall is also a member of this group. We have recently published a book on Carrickfergus Walled Town and Castle.