Survey Data
Reg No
13401307
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
Gates/railings/walls
In Use As
Gates/railings/walls
Date
1720 - 1740
Coordinates
209075, 276581
Date Recorded
01/09/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Entrance gates serving Brianstown House (13401105), erected c. 1731, comprising a pair of ashlar limestone gate piers (on square-plan) having projecting plinths, moulded string courses and moulded stepped capstone with ball finials over. Wrought-iron double leaf flat bar gates. Gateway flanked to either side (east and west) by sections of rubble stone boundary wall (on curved/quadrant-plan) having rubble stone coping over. Rubble limestone boundary estate walls to the north and the south. Located to the southeast of Brianstown House, at the start of long approach avenue to house, and to the northwest of Longford Town.
Appraisal
This fine, classically-inspired gateway is an important element of the Brianstown House (13401105) complex. High status residences in Ireland are traditionally approached by entrances that reflect the grandeur of the main house, as is the case with this fine gateway. The piers are well-crafted and detailed using high quality ashlar limestone masonry, and represent notable examples of top quality eighteenth-century craftsmanship. The cut and carved limestone of these piers is designed to show not just the skill of the craftsmen involved but also the wealth and taste of the patron who originally commissioned them. The rubble limestone boundary walls provide an interesting textural contrast with the moulded detailing of the piers, and add considerably to the setting of this impressive gateway. A gate lodge formerly stood to the northwest of the gate, inside the boundary wall (Ordnance Survey six-inch map sheets 1838 and 1914), now no longer extant.