Survey Data

Reg No

50010798


Rating

Regional


Categories of Special Interest

Architectural, Artistic


Original Use

House


In Use As

Apartment/flat (converted)


Date

1795 - 1805


Coordinates

316103, 235561


Date Recorded

18/11/2011


Date Updated

--/--/--


Description

Terraced three-bay four-storey house over exposed basement, built, c.1800, as one of pair. Double-pile slate roof with pair of rear pitches set perpendicular to front pile, that to south shared with adjoining house to south. Roof hidden behind rebuilt parapet wall with granite coping with early lead hopper and downpipe breaking through to north with lead brackets. Brick chimneystacks to north party wall. Red brick walls laid in Flemish bond rebuilt to top floor. Chamfered granite plinth course above painted rendered basement walls. Yellow brick walls to rear elevation laid in Flemish bond. Gauged brick flat-arched window openings with flush rendered reveals, granite sills and replacement aluminium windows. Decorative bowed wrought-iron balconettes to first floor windows. Gauged brick round-arched door opening with painted stone Ionic doorcase. Original timber door with eight raised-and-fielded panels and central bead flanked by engaged Ionic columns on plinth bases and blocked up sidelights supporting stepped lintel cornice with swag motifs and plain fanlight. Door opens onto shared granite platform with dividing wrought-iron railing to south, integrated bootscraper to north railing and five granite steps bridging basement. Basement enclosed by original wrought-iron railings and cast-iron corner posts set on moulded granite plinth wall to street with matching gate and concrete steps providing basement access. Pair of cast-iron coal-hole covers set in granite slabs to front pavement.

Appraisal

This tall house, standing on Mountjoy Square, displays the classic form and many of the features of Georgian domestic architecture. It retains an early panelled door, one of the last sets of remaining lead rainwater goods, and decorative balconettes to its first floor. It constitutes an important part of a coherent terrace and provides examples of the subtle variations that contribute to the architectural interest on this most uniform of Georgian squares. The survival of the stone landing and steps to the entrance, and of the plinth, gate and railings to the basement area, provides an appropriate setting for the building and defines the street edge. Mountjoy Square was built on lands formerly belonging to Saint Mary’s Abbey, laid out in 1790 by Luke Gardiner II and complete by 1818. Originally called Gardiner Square the plan was to develop a strong vista from Custom House to Mountjoy Square. Unlike other Georgian squares in the city, this one was more carefully laid out with a unified parapet height and the east-west approaches offset to create a sense of enclosure. After falling into serious neglect and dereliction throughout the twentieth century resulting in the loss of one third of its original buildings, the square has since been rebuilt.