Survey Data
Reg No
50100401
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
House
In Use As
Office
Date
1780 - 1800
Coordinates
316487, 233540
Date Recorded
30/06/2016
Date Updated
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Description
Corner-sited three-bay four-storey former house over basement, built c. 1790 as part of terrace of eight (Nos. 80-87), west gable elevation being blank, and having two-bay return to Upper Merrion Street. Now in use as offices. Pitched slate roofs, behind brick parapet with granite coping, having return roof perpendicular to street. Brick chimneystack to west with terracotta pots, and shouldered rendered chimneystack to east with yellow clay pots. Parapet gutters, cast-iron hopper and downpipe to west, and shared replacement uPVC to east. Flemish bond brown brick walling over painted granite plinth course, and painted rendered walls to basement; rendered walls to east elevation of return. Square-headed window openings, diminishing in height to upper floors, with raised rendered reveals and painted granite sills. Timber sliding sash windows, nine-over-six pane to first floor with cast-iron balconettes, three-over-three pane to top floor, and six-over-six pane elsewhere with painted carved granite block-and-start surrounds to basement. Apparently mainly six-over-six pane timber sash windows to east elevation of return. Round-headed main doorway with painted rendered linings, fluted frieze and cornice on engaged Ionic columns, and having petal fanlight and eight-panel timber door with beaded muntin and brass furniture. Granite platform with remnants of cast-iron boot-scrape, and having five granite steps. Wrought-iron railings enclosing basement area with some decorative cast-iron posts on carved granite plinth. Cast-iron coal-hole cover set in granite flag to footpath.
Appraisal
No. 87 Merrion Square is located on a prominent corner site, is elegantly proportioned and effectively terminates the west end of this important set-piece square at its junction with Upper Merrion Street. Well-retained, the building features an Ionic doorcase, complete with petal fanlight which serves to enliven an otherwise restrained façade. It is enhanced by its intact setting, which contributes to the intact appearance of the square. Developed as part of the Fitzwilliam Estate, Merrion Square is one of the best-preserved Georgian streetscapes in Ireland. The north, east and south sides of the square are lined with terraced houses of eighteenth and nineteenth-century date, while the west side is terminated by the garden front of Leinster House. The houses maintain a relatively uniform building height and design, attributed to standards promoted in Fitzwilliam's leases. Individuality was introduced through the design of doorcases, ironwork and interior decorative schemes.