Survey Data
Reg No
50910090
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural
Original Use
Shop/retail outlet
In Use As
Shop/retail outlet
Date
1880 - 1900
Coordinates
315828, 233908
Date Recorded
01/03/2016
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Attached single-bay four-storey gable-fronted commercial building, built c. 1890, with retail unit to ground floor having recent timber fittings. Pitched roof, concealed behind brick parapet with red terracotta coping, with gables to front and rear elevations, front having terracotta eaves course breaking through to centre and surmounted by ball finial. Red brick walling, laid in Flemish bond, with red terracotta dressings, including sill and head courses. Upper floors of facade flanked by engaged hexagonal brick columns rising to ball finials. Square-headed window openings to top two floors, paired to top floor and triple to second floor, with terracotta voussoirs, block-and-start surrounds with bowtelll-moulded reveals and mullions, and having one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows. First floor has composite four-over-three light window with segmental-headed fixed lights. Narrow square-headed blind opening to attic storey, with red terracotta head and chamfered sill.
Appraisal
A well-composed late nineteenth-century commercial building. The narrow proportions of the facade represent a measure of continuity with the original Georgian plot size, but the style and ornamentation are wholly of the late Victorian period, characterized by a combination of red brick and terracotta, and displaying eclectic architectural detailing. Notably, the strong vertical emphasis, emphasized by engaged hexagonal columns, is skilfully balanced by the use of repeated horizontal banding between floors. The gradual narrowing of the window openings adds visual interest, while representing a departure from the earlier Georgian gradation by height. The building contributes to the architectural diversity of Wicklow Street and to the commercial core in general.