Survey Data
Reg No
31210008
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Previous Name
Saint Aidan's Catholic Church
Original Use
Presbytery/parochial/curate's house
In Use As
Presbytery/parochial/curate's house
Date
1885 - 1895
Coordinates
134180, 289176
Date Recorded
23/11/2010
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey parochial house, extant 1895, on an L-shaped plan with two-bay (north) or single-bay (south) two-storey side elevations. Renovated. Replacement hipped artificial slate roof on an L-shaped plan with ridge tiles, cement rendered chimney stack originally paired[?] having corbelled stepped stringcourse below capping supporting terracotta pots, and uPVC rainwater goods on rendered "Cyma Recta"- or "Cyma Reversa"-detailed cornice retaining some cast-iron conical hoppers and downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered rendered, ruled and lined walls on rendered chamfered plinth with diamond pointed rusticated rendered quoins to corners. Camber-headed central door opening with threshold, rendered doorcase with pilasters supporting moulded archivolt, and concealed dressings having bull nose-detailed reveals framing timber panelled door having overlight. Camber-headed window openings with cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings with hood mouldings over on "Acanthus"-detailed consoles framing replacement uPVC casement windows replacing two-over-two timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central entrance hall-cum-staircase hall retaining timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, staircase on a dog leg plan with balusters supporting banister terminating in newel, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; and timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with timber panelled shutters to window openings. Set back from street in landscaped grounds shared with Catholic Church of the Holy Family.
Appraisal
A parochial house erected under the aegis of Reverend Denis O'Hara PP (1850-1922; fl. 1887-1922) representing an integral component of the late nineteenth-century built heritage of Kiltimagh with the architectural value of the composition confirmed by such attributes as the compact plan form centred on a handsome doorcase; and the slight diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with those openings showing sleek "stucco" refinements. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior: the introduction of replacement fittings to most of the openings, however, has not had a beneficial impact on the character or integrity of a parochial house forming part of a neat self-contained group alongside the adjacent Catholic Church of the Holy Family (see 31210007) with the resulting ecclesiastical ensemble making a pleasing visual statement in Chapel Street.