Survey Data
Reg No
15701940
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Farm house
In Use As
Farm house
Date
1865 - 1870
Coordinates
295735, 139548
Date Recorded
22/08/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey farmhouse, built 1868, on an L-shaped plan; two-bay (west) or single-bay (east) two-storey side elevations. Occupied, 1901; 1911. Refenestrated, ----. Hipped slate roof on an L-shaped plan with clay ridge tiles, paired slate hung central chimney stacks having red brick chevron- or saw tooth-detailed capping supporting yellow terracotta tapered pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered slate flagged eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Creeper- or ivy-covered fine roughcast walls with rusticated rendered quoins to corners. Central door opening into farmhouse with timber panelled door having overlight. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing replacement one-over-one sash windows replacing two-over-two timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central hall retaining tessellated "quarry tile" floor, carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers. Set in landscaped grounds with rendered piers to perimeter having chamfered capping.
Appraisal
A farmhouse erected for George Carley Owens (d. 1875) representing an integral component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of the environs of Enniscorthy with the architectural value of the composition, one attributable to the namesake George Carley Owens (d. 1867) given as an 'Architect late of Enniscorthy County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1868, 413), suggested by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking the meandering Urrin River; the compact plan form centred on a restrained doorcase, albeit one largely concealed behind a replacement porch; the slight diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a feint graduated visual impression; and the high pitched near-pyramidal roofline. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original or replicated fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where contemporary joinery; Classical-style chimneypieces; and sleek plasterwork refinements, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1903); a "beehive kiln" (see 15701941); and a chimney (see 15701942), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble having long-standing connections with the Owens family including George Jackson Owens (1871-1931), 'Farmer [and] Brick and Pottery Manufacturer' (NA 1901; NA 1911); and Robert "Carley" Owens (1915-77).