Survey Data
Reg No
13400207
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
House
In Use As
House
Date
1860 - 1900
Coordinates
223467, 296758
Date Recorded
09/08/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey house, built c. 1880, having modern porch to front elevation (northeast). Hipped natural slate roof with a central pair of brick chimneystacks having brick string course and stepped brick tops. Painted lined-and-ruled rendered walls to first floor, faux-rusticated/channelled rendered walls to ground floor separated by rendered bevelled string course/sill course, and having simple rendered plinth course. Square-headed window openings having ornate rendered fluted surrounds with classical motifs and having rendered keystones with lions head motifs. Six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows to first floor openings and nine-over-nine pane timber sliding sash windows to ground floor openings, all with cut limestone sills. Central square-headed opening with decorative rendered fluted pilasters flanking half-glazed timber panelled door and with stained glass overlight. Set back from road in own grounds to the northeast of Ballinamuck.
Appraisal
This unusual house, of late nineteenth-century appearance, retains much of its early character, fabric and form. The window openings are embellished by the highly ornate rendered surrounds having cherubic, floral and lion-headed motifs, which helps add an element of artistic interest to the façade. The centrally placed doorway is adorned with similar rendered surrounds, which unifies the decorative scheme of the house. The string course and the variety of rendered finishes to the front façade add further interest. The diminishing windows are a feature of many modest sized houses in rural County Longford, emphasising the vertical thrust of the house. This building is an unusual structure to find in such a rural location, and it makes a positive contribution to the architectural heritage of north County Longford.