Survey Data
Reg No
15609015
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Rectory/glebe/vicarage/curate's house
In Use As
House
Date
1842 - 1878
Coordinates
305712, 151934
Date Recorded
08/06/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey over basement Church of Ireland rectory, extant 1878, on a rectangular plan with single-bay full-height side elevations; three-bay full-height rear (west) elevation. Occupied, 1911. Sold, 1947. "Restored", 1951. Sold, 1988. Hipped slate roof with clay ridge tiles, paired cement rendered central chimney stacks on cement rendered bases having concrete capping, and cast-iron rainwater goods on paired cut-granite dentil consoles retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered roughcast walls on cut-granite chamfered cushion course on roughcast base. Square-headed central door opening approached by flight of three cut-granite steps with concealed dressings framing timber panelled door having overlight. Square-headed flanking window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing fixed-pane timber fittings. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-six timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings to rear (west) elevation centred on square-headed window opening in tripartite arrangement (ground floor) with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing three-over-six (basement) or six-over-six timber sash windows centred on six-over-six timber sash window having two-over-two sidelights. 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 with roughcast piers to perimeter having rubble stone capping supporting "Fleur-de-Lys"-detailed wrought iron double gates.
Appraisal
A rectory representing an integral component of the nineteenth-century built heritage of County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition, one rooted firmly in the prevailing late Georgian fashion, confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking rolling grounds; the compact rectilinear plan form centred on a restrained doorcase; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with the principal "apartment" or reception room defined by a Wyatt-style tripartite glazing pattern; and the monolithic stone 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, thereby upholding the character or integrity of the composition. Furthermore, a symmetrically-composed coach house-cum-stable outbuilding (extant 1904) continues to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a neat self-contained ensemble having historic connections with the Toome parish Church of Ireland Clergy including Reverend Thomas Waring Kennedy (1857-1915), 'Canon formerly of The Rectory Fethard and late of The Rectory Camolin' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1915, 359; cf. 15619011; 15701226).