Survey Data
Reg No
15702545
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Farm house
In Use As
Farm house
Date
1835 - 1845
Coordinates
293935, 138821
Date Recorded
23/08/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey over part raised basement farmhouse, under construction 1840, on a rectangular plan; two-bay full-height side elevations. Occupied, 1901; 1911. Sold, 1963. Renovated, ----. Hipped slate roof with clay ridge tiles centred on cement rendered, ruled and lined chimney stack on axis with ridge having stepped capping, central rooflight to front (east) pitch, and replacement uPVC rainwater goods on slightly overhanging eaves retaining wrought iron spandrels. Replacement cement rendered, ruled and lined walls on cement rendered chamfered plinth with rusticated rendered piers to corners. Hipped segmental-headed central door opening approached by flight of four cut-granite steps, timber doorcase with engaged colonettes on padstones, and concealed dressings having concave reveals framing timber panelled door having sidelights below fanlight. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing eight-over-eight (ground floor) or four-over-eight (first floor) timber sash windows with six-over-six (basement), eight-over-eight (ground floor) or four-over-eight (first floor) timber sash windows to side elevations. 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 carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters. Set in landscaped grounds.
Appraisal
A farmhouse erected by Lorenzo John Walters (1810-54) representing an integral component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of the rural environs of Enniscorthy with the architectural value of the composition, a 'neat villa…with pretty garden and little farm' (Hickey alias Doyle 1868, 177), suggested by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking gently rolling grounds; the compact rectilinear plan form centred on a Classically-detailed doorcase not only demonstrating good quality workmanship, but also showing a pretty radial fanlight; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the 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 where contemporary joinery; chimneypieces; and sleek plasterwork refinements, all highlight the artistic potential of a farmhouse having historic connections with the Black family including Joshua Black (1841-1919) '[late of] Clohass Enniscorthy County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1919, n.p.).