Survey Data
Reg No
15700713
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Previous Name
Woodlands
Original Use
House
Historical Use
School
Date
1865 - 1870
Coordinates
315987, 160833
Date Recorded
27/09/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay two-storey house, built 1868, on a square plan; two-bay (north) or four-bay (south) two-storey side elevations. Occupied, 1901. Vacant, 1911. Adapted to alternative use, 2006. For sale, 2008. Hipped slate roof on a U-shaped plan with pressed or rolled lead ridges, cement rendered chimney stacks having "Cyma Recta"- or "Cyma Reversa"-detailed capping supporting terracotta octagonal pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on paired timber consoles retaining cast-iron downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered roughcast walls on cut-granite plinth. Segmental-headed window openings in segmental-headed recesses (ground floor) with cut-granite sills on panelled risers, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds framing one-over-one timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings (first floor) with cut-granite sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds framing two-over-two timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): vestibule (north) retaining encaustic tiled floor; segmental-headed door opening into hall with carved timber surround framing timber panelled double doors having overlight; hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; office (north-east) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surround to opposing window opening framing timber panelled shutters, and picture railing below moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; dining room (north-west) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters, cut-veined black marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and picture railing below moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; bow-ended drawing room (south-west) retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters, cut-white marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and decorative plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on decorative plasterwork ceiling rose; billiards room (south-east) retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters, cut-black marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on decorative plasterwork ceiling rose; and (first floor): carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters. Set in landscaped grounds.
Appraisal
A house erected for Lieutenant General John Christopher Guise VC CB (1826-95) to a design by John McCurdy (c.1824-85) of Leinster Street, Dublin (Irish Builder 1st June 1868, 144), representing an important component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of Gorey with the architectural value of the composition confirmed by such attributes as the compact near-square plan form; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with the principal "apartments" or reception rooms defined by polygonal bows; and the coupled timber 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 where contemporary joinery; Classical-style chimneypieces; and decorative plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, an adjacent coach house-cum-stable outbuilding (extant 1840) continues to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained estate making a pleasing visual statement in a sylvan street scene presently (2007) undergoing extensive "suburban" development.