Survey Data
Reg No
15701501
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Country house
In Use As
Country house
Date
1815 - 1825
Coordinates
296003, 151225
Date Recorded
12/11/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay two-storey over basement country house, built 1820, on an L-shaped plan centred on (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle Tuscan portico to ground floor; three-bay (west) or single-bay (east) two-storey side elevations. Sold, 1864. Leased, 1901; 1911. Sold, 1920. For sale, 2003. Hipped slate roof on an L-shaped plan with pressed or rolled lead ridges extending into clay ridge tiles, paired granite ashlar central chimney stacks on cut-granite bases having cut-granite chamfered capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on overhanging eaves having paired timber consoles retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Rendered, ruled and lined walls on rendered plinth with rendered band to eaves. Round-headed niches centred on square-headed door opening behind (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle Tuscan portico approached by flight of seven cut-granite steps with cut-granite fluted columns having responsive pilasters supporting "Cyma Recta"- or "Cyma Reversa"-detailed cornice on blind frieze below blocking course, and moulded surround framing glazed timber panelled double doors having overlight. Square-headed window openings (ground floor) with cut-granite sills on dentil consoles, and moulded surrounds with "Cyma Recta"- or "Cyma Reversa"-detailed hood mouldings framing six-over-six timber sash windows without horns. Square-headed window openings (first floor) with cut-granite sills on dentil consoles, and moulded surrounds framing six-over-six timber sash windows without horns. Interior including (ground floor): central hall with coffered segmental barrel vaulted ceiling on moulded plasterwork cornice; inner hall retaining carved timber Classical-style surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, and plasterwork cornice to ceiling; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers. Set in landscaped grounds.
Appraisal
A country house erected for Thomas Richards De Rinzy JP DL (1785-1869) representing an important component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition, 'a handsome modern mansion of the Grecian Doric order [completed to] a design by Mr. [Thomas Alfred] Cobden [1794-1842]' (Lewis 1837 I, 625), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking the meandering River Slaney with its gently rolling backdrop; the compact plan form centred on a pillared portico demonstrating good quality workmanship in a silver-grey Mount Leinster granite; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the coupled timber work embellishing a slightly oversailing 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, including crown or cylinder glazing panels in hornless sash frames: meanwhile, an entrance hall showing 'Ionic columns and a coffered ceiling [in] a very pleasing neo-Classical room not unlike the Morrison's [sic] work at Ballyfin [in] County Laois' (Craig and Garner 1975, 58); contemporary joinery; Classical-style chimneypieces; and decorative plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (see 15701502); and a walled garden (see 15701503), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of an estate having subsequent connections with the Dundas family including Laurence "Lorenzo" George Dundas JP (1813-97) 'late of Clobemon Hall Ferns County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1905, 130); and Colonel Sir Lorenzo George Dundas (1837-1917); a succession of tenants including Robert Moran (----), 'Army Pensioner – Served in Royal Artillery' (NA 1901); and Major Ernest William Clowes (1869-1951), 'Captain Reserve of Officers' (NA 1911); and the Murphy family including Sir George Francis Murphy (1881-1963), one-time Chairman of the National Bank of Ireland (retired 1951).