Survey Data
Reg No
15703201
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Archaeological, Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Previous Name
Mackmine Castle
Original Use
Country house
Historical Use
Barracks
Date
1852 - 1863
Coordinates
297225, 132221
Date Recorded
24/08/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached eleven-bay two-storey country house, extant 1863, on an L-shaped plan centred on single-bay four-stage tower on a square plan with single-bay single-storey projecting porch to ground floor; seven-bay (north) or three-bay (east) two-storey wings abutting single-bay full-height turrets on circular plans. Occupied, 1911. In alternative use, 1916-20. In alternative use, 1925. Vacant, 1925-44. Sold, 1944. Dismantled, 1945. Resold, 1965. Pitched roofs now missing, paired rendered diagonal chimney stacks having corbelled stepped capping, and concealed rainwater goods retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered rendered, ruled and lined walls (tower) on battered base with rusticated rendered quoins to corners supporting "arrow loop"-detailed battlemented bartizans centred on battlemented parapets having lichen-spotted coping; rendered, ruled and lined walls (wings) on overgrown plinths with Irish battlemented parapets having lichen-spotted coping; rendered, ruled and lined walls (turrets) on overgrown plinths with cut-granite battlemented parapets on triple beaded corbels having lichen-spotted coping. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds supporting timber lintels with hood mouldings over. Interior in ruins. Set in overgrown grounds.
Appraisal
A country house erected for John Richards JP (1808-81) representing an important component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition, 'a specimen of a unique English baronial castle of moderate dimensions [with] the old parent tower and its modern adjuncts being in perfect harmony with each other' (Lacy 1863, 471), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking the meandering River Slaney with its gently rolling backdrop; the angular plan form centring on a largely restructured tower house [SMR WX032-001----]; the uniform or near-uniform proportions of the openings on each floor with those openings originally showing elegant bipartite glazing patterns; and the battlemented bartizans embellishing the roofline as a picturesque eye-catcher in the landscape. Although reduced to an ivy-enveloped ruin following a prolonged period of unoccupancy, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, thus upholding much of the character or integrity of a country house having historic connections with the Richards family including Albert Garner Richards JP (1840-1911), one-time High Sheriff of County Wexford (fl. 1896).