Survey Data
Reg No
15320022
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
In Use As
Gates/railings/walls
Date
1800 - 1840
Coordinates
247454, 239834
Date Recorded
23/08/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Field gate, erected c.1820, comprising a pair of rubble limestone gate piers (on circular-plan) supporting a pair of wrought-iron flat bar gates. Located adjacent to the northwest of the main entrance gates to Sidebrook House (15320021). Single-arched rubble stone bridge over drain to the front of gateway (northeast).
Appraisal
An appealing and unassuming set of gate piers with associated wrought-iron gates, representing a good example of their type and retaining much of their vernacular character despite being out of use. Simple vernacular entrance gates of this nature were once very common features of the rural landscape of Westmeath but are now becoming increasingly rare on account of clearance to accommodate modern agricultural needs and road widening schemes etc. Although construction was primarily functional, they exhibit visual appeal in the rural countryside. The circular gate piers are a north Leinster vernacular tradition, now in terminal decline. The location of these gates immediately adjacent to the main entrance gates to Sidebrook House (15320021), suggests that they may have been formerly in use as the main entrance gates serving the house (15320019) to the southwest. The simple single-arched bridge over a drain to the front of the gates adds further interest to this site.