Survey Data
Reg No
14819259
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social
Original Use
Worker's house
In Use As
Worker's house
Date
1880 - 1910
Coordinates
205621, 204627
Date Recorded
31/08/2004
Date Updated
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Description
Detached two-bay two-storey herdsmen house, built c.1890, with lean-to single-bay addition to north. Set within Birr Castle demesne. Pitched slate roof with rendered chimneystack and cast-iron rainwater goods. Smooth rendered plinth to pebbledashed walls. Timber sash windows with stone sills to lean-to. Timber frames with cast-iron casement windows to main house. Square-headed door opening with timber battened door. Outbuilding to south. House set against demesne wall with pedestrian gate to north giving access out of the demesne.
Appraisal
This modest house was built for the herdmen who looked after the estate cattle in the cowsheds on the other side of Mount Palmer. It is a picturesque addition to the Birr Castle demesne. Located against the demesne wall, it retains much original fabric and materials. Wth its simple design, it attests to the high level of estate building in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.