Survey Data
Reg No
15703210
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Country house
In Use As
Country house
Date
1800 - 1840
Coordinates
297863, 129115
Date Recorded
01/10/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey country house, extant 1840, on an L-shaped plan centred on (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle Ionic portico to ground floor; five-bay two-storey side (south) elevation. Vacant, 1901. In occasional use, 1911. Sold, 1921. Resold, 1937. Resold, 1976. Hipped slate roof on an L-shaped plan with pressed or rolled lead ridges, paired rendered central chimney stacks having cut-granite stringcourses below capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on timber eaves boards on slightly overhanging eaves retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Rendered, ruled and lined walls on rendered plinth with rendered monolithic pilasters to corners supporting rendered red brick header bond stepped cornice. Segmental-headed central door opening behind (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle Ionic portico on two cut-granite steps with cut-granite columns having responsive pilasters supporting "Cyma Recta"- or "Cyma Reversa"-detailed cornice on blind frieze on entablature below blocking course, and concealed dressings framing timber panelled door having fanlight. Square-headed flanking window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-four timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds framing nine-over-six (ground floor) or six-over-six (first floor) timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central entrance hall retaining carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled reveals or shutters with carved timber 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. Set in landscaped grounds.
Appraisal
A country house representing an important component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition, 'the new and beautiful residence of the Reverend [Thomas] Bell [1802-81]' (Lacy 1852, 240), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking the River Slaney with its rolling backdrop; the symmetrical frontage centred on a pillared portico demonstrating good quality workmanship in a silver-grey granite; 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; restrained chimneypieces; and plasterwork refinements, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, an adjacent coach house-cum-stable outbuilding (extant 1840); an untended walled garden (extant 1903); and a nearby gate lodge (see 15703211), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of an estate having subsequent connections with the Williamson family including Robert Williamson (d. 1888), 'late of Brook Hill [sic] County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1888, 733; 1900, 536); and Reverend W. Williamson (NA 1901; NA 1911).