Survey Data
Reg No
13402216
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Social, Technical
Original Use
Electricity substation
In Use As
Electricity substation
Date
1940 - 1960
Coordinates
211890, 259941
Date Recorded
18/08/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached multiple-bay single and two-storey substation, built c.1950, comprising multiple-bay two-storey block to the west with eight-bay single-storey block abutting to the east. Flat roofs with cast-iron rainwater goods. Smooth rendered walls with rendered "bolt-and-wave" logo. Square-headed window openings with glass block window fittings. Square-headed door openings with metal fittings. Set in own grounds with electrical transformers and machinery.
Appraisal
This is a rare example of functional Modernist architecture in rural County Longford. Substations such as this were built to a standard design throughout Ireland as part of the Rural Electrification Scheme by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). Its plain functional form and the materials used in its construction are typical of buildings of its date. The "bolt-and-wave" logo was designed by Francis Joseph Brandt (1894-1975) and symbolises the production of electricity by the Shannon Scheme.