Survey Data
Reg No
15702603
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Previous Name
Hollymount
Original Use
House
In Use As
House
Date
1842 - 1863
Coordinates
296852, 137768
Date Recorded
20/08/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey house, extant 1863, on a rectangular plan with two-bay two-storey side elevations. Occupied, 1911. Flat topped hipped slate roof on a quadrangular plan with pressed iron ridges extending into clay ridge tiles, paired rendered central chimney stacks having stringcourses below cornice capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta tapered pots, and replacement uPVC rainwater goods on timber eaves boards on box eaves having timber consoles retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered rendered, ruled and lined walls on rendered chamfered plinth with rusticated rendered quoins to corners. Elliptical- or segmental-headed central door opening approached by two cut-granite steps, timber doorcase with panelled pilasters supporting thumbnail beaded shallow cornice on blind frieze on fluted consoles, and rusticated surround centred on scroll keystone framing timber panelled door having overlight. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing one-over-one timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with timber panelled shutters to window openings. Set in landscaped grounds on a slightly elevated site with cast-iron octagonal piers to perimeter having finial-topped capping supporting wrought iron double gates.
Appraisal
A house erected by Francis Davis (1777-1863) representing an integral component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition, '[a] neat and modern residence…whose fields of pleasing appearance are ornamental and suitable introductions to a principal suburb of Enniscorthy' (Hickey alias Doyle 1868, 178-9), suggested by such attributes as the compact plan form centred on a Classically-detailed doorcase demonstrating good quality workmanship; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the decorative timber work embellishing the roofline. 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 where contemporary joinery; restrained chimneypieces; and plasterwork refinements, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, an adjacent walled garden (extant 1903); and nearby outbuildings (extant 1903), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained estate having historic connections with the Davis family including Albert Samuel Davis JP (1856-1915), 'Flour Mill Owner and Merchant late of Enniscorthy County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1916, 150); and Air Commander Francis Knox Haskins (1887-1969; Rowe And Scallan 2004, 551).