Survey Data
Reg No
31303026
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Farm house
In Use As
Farm house
Date
1840 - 1870
Coordinates
126063, 322402
Date Recorded
16/12/2010
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay two-storey "double-fronted" farmhouse, extant 1870, on an L-shaped plan with four-bay two-storey side (south) elevation. Occupied, 1911. Sold, 1930. Pitched slate roof on an L-shaped plan with clay ridge tiles, yellow brick Rattrap bond chimney stacks on chamfered bases having red brick corbelled stepped stringcourses below capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on slightly overhanging eaves having timber consoles retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Rendered, ruled and lined walls; fine roughcast surface finish (east) over coursed rubble limestone construction. Square-headed central door opening with concealed dressings framing glazed timber panelled door having overlight. Square-headed window openings with dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds framing one-over-one timber sash windows. Set in landscaped grounds with rendered octagonal piers to perimeter having capping supporting looped wrought iron double gates.
Appraisal
A farmhouse representing an integral component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of the rural environs of Ballina with the architectural value of the composition suggested by such attributes as the distinctive "double-fronted" footprint; the slight diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a feint graduated visual impression; and the decorative timber work embellishing the roofline. Having been reasonably 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, thus upholding the character or integrity of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1896) continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a neat self-contained ensemble having historic connections with the Ormsby family including Arthur Ormsby JP (b. 1827/9), 'Landlord' (NA 1911).