Survey Data
Reg No
15703773
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
House
In Use As
House
Date
1855 - 1860
Coordinates
304661, 123096
Date Recorded
29/08/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey house, built 1856, on a T-shaped plan with single-bay two-storey projecting end bay; two-bay (west) or single-bay (east) two-storey side elevations. Occupied, 1901; 1911. Renovated, 1994. Replacement hipped fibre-cement tile roof on a T-shaped plan with concrete ridge tiles, rendered chimney stacks having corbelled stepped capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, rooflights to rear (north) pitch, and uPVC rainwater goods on timber eaves boards on slightly overhanging timber boarded eaves having dentil consoles. Replacement roughcast walls bellcast over rendered plinth. Square-headed central door opening into house with step threshold, and concealed dressings framing glazed timber panelled door having overlight. Square-headed window openings centred on paired square-headed window openings (first floor), cut-granite sills (ground floor) or cut-granite sill course (first floor), and concealed dressings framing two-over-two (ground floor) or three-over-three (first floor) timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling, staircase on a dog leg plan with turned timber balusters supporting carved timber banister, and carved timber surrounds to door openings to landing framing timber panelled doors; drawing room (west) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, cut-veined white marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and picture railing below moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on decorative plasterwork ceiling rose; dining room (east) retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, cut-black marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and picture railing below moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on decorative plasterwork ceiling roses; 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 on a slightly elevated site with cast-iron piers to perimeter having finial-topped chevron- or saw tooth-detailed corbelled stepped capping supporting cast-iron double gates.
Appraisal
A house representing an important component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of Wexford with the architectural value of the composition confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking the River Slaney estuary with Wexford Bridge (15501001) and the spires of the so-called "Twin Churches" (15502138; 15505043) as a backdrop; the compact plan form centred on a restrained doorcase; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the monolithic timber work embellishing a slightly oversailing 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 coach house (extant 1903) continues to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained suburban estate having historic connections with Richard McDonald (Bassett 1885, 137); and John FitzSimon (1843-1921), 'Draper' (NA 1901; NA 1911; cf. 157037--).