Survey Data
Reg No
31312010
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Rectory/glebe/vicarage/curate's house
Historical Use
House
Date
1815 - 1820
Coordinates
116198, 256321
Date Recorded
30/11/2010
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey over raised basement Board of First Fruits Church of Ireland glebe house, built 1817, on a symmetrical plan. Occupied, 1901; 1911. Partly reconstructed, 1963, producing present composition. Renovated, ----. Now disused. Hipped slate roof with lichen-covered clay ridge tiles, rendered central "wallhead" chimney stack to rear (north) elevation having stepped capping supporting terracotta octagonal pots, and replacement uPVC rainwater goods on eaves boards on cut-limestone eaves retaining some cast-iron octagonal hoppers and downpipes. Replacement cement rendered walls. Square-headed window openings centred on segmental-headed door opening originally approached by flight of steps with replacement concrete sills, and concealed dressings framing replacement uPVC casement windows centred on replacement uPVC casement window having fanlight. Set in landscaped grounds with lichen-covered cut-limestone monolithic piers to perimeter supporting looped wrought iron double gates.
Appraisal
A glebe house erected with financial support (1809) from the Board of First Fruits (fl. 1711-1833) representing an integral component of the early nineteenth-century built heritage of the outskirts of Cong with the architectural value of the composition, one recalling the contemporary Bunavaunish House (1819; see 31311811), suggested by such attributes as the compact plan form centred on a much modified doorcase; the definition of the principal floor as an elevated "piano nobile"; and the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with feint fissures suggesting the further definition of the principal "apartments" by Wyatt-style tripartite glazing patterns: meanwhile, aspects of the composition illustrate the partial reconstruction of the glebe house to a design signed (6th November 1962) by Harold Fellowes Prynne (----), Architect to the Diocese of Tuam (RCB). Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original fabric: however, the introduction of replacement fittings to the openings has not had a beneficial impact on the external expression or integrity of the glebe house. Furthermore, a symmetrically-composed coach house (extant 1838) continues to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble having historic connections with the Cong parish Church of Ireland clergy including Reverend Edward Lorenzo Moore (d. 1873; Lewis 1837 I, 392); and Reverend Robert Young Lynn (1844-1923), 'Church of Ireland Clergyman' (NA 1901; NA 1911).